Whittemore Library’s YA Weblog

I ordered Twilight by Stephenie Meyer for the YA department several months ago. Since then, the book has barely been inside the library. Library patrons across the state constantly reserve copies of this novel. I had to buy it from WalMart just so that I could read it. So why is it so popular?

The basic premise sounds pretty typical for a teen romance. The main character, Bella, is in love with her lab partner, Edward. It’s a concept that sounds so simple that you may wonder if it’s even worth reading almost 500 pages to find out what happens. But the story becomes more complicated… and those 500 pages go by much faster than some books that are half the length.

The complication in this love story: Edward is a vampire. Bella is attractive to him as a girlfriend – and as a snack. As Edward struggles to balance his desires, Bella’s life is endangered by another vampire who has no interest in keeping her alive. This book is filled with romance and heart-racing suspense.

Twilight’s entertainment factor is a major part of its value. But, like many good books, this novel also contains some food for thought. When Edward warns Bella, “It’s better if we’re not friends,” this situation can be extremely relatable to real life. You probably haven’t been in love with a vampire before. But who hasn’t been tempted by something that seems great even though it could lead to trouble? This novel encourages readers to think about the consequences of temptation even as they sympathize with Bella’s feelings of romance.

Twilight is going to be in the movie theaters in December, but it has a combination of love and danger that make it a promising summer read. So if you can’t wait until winter to find out what happens to Bella and Edward, put your name on the library’s reserve list now!

~Marissa

Sometimes, it can feel like no one is listening. A blog, like this new one, is a way to try to be heard. But if you have something to say, I have another idea for how you can express yourself so that the whole community can hear: write in Our Journal, the Whittemore Library’s journal that is just for teens.

Following the guidelines on the first page of the book, you can express yourself through prose, poetry, drawings, or another creative medium. Make your mark on the journal in the library, or check it out and work on it at home. After you make your contribution, you can look at other teens’ work to see what is on the minds of your peers. (There are already some awesome entries in there!)

The goal of the journal is to capture what it is like to be a teenager in Naugatuck so we need every teen to take part in this project!

You can find the journal on the wall display in the teen section.

~ Marissa