Always just a little behind the times over here, we are finally catching up to the mainstream.
Molly has plugged into these Twilight books and therefore so have I.
First the book:
If there is a better example of teeny-bopper chick lit, I would be greatly surprised. This story has it all. Teenage angst, annoying yet lovable parents, crushes, being a new kid at a new school and, of course, forbidden love. And, when I say forbidden, wow, I mean it.
I don't need to tell the story as we have all heard it before. But, I was struck with it's undeniable comparison to Romeo and Juliet; just different problems. Oh, and then, of course, there is the somewhat happy ending with the inevitable sequel with yet another sequel on it's heels.
For Molly this is the first real romance book and frankly I think it is ok. I read it, it is quite chaste really. I mean, what can happen? He is vampire for goodness sake! But, one sex pot of a vampire I have to admit. The majority of the book is page after page of gazing longingly at each other. A little tiring for me but oh-so-exciting for the likes of my kid.
She is, of course, devouring the books. She just finished the 3rd; a 600+ page book in less than a week. Needless to say, she has been bitten.
Ok, now the movie.
We decided to both read the book before we would see the movie. No time like the present, so we rented it this weekend and, yes, it is a pretty darn entertaining movie.
Molly LOVED it. I liked it too. All the gazing woefully at each other was a little over the top but then again who wouldn't gaze at that kid, vampire or not. I call him Sedewick (from the Harry Potter movie) but I guess his name is Robert Pattinson. And, he is undeniably a hottie. I realize that it is undoubtedly inappropriate for such an old bag like me to notice. It sure annoys Molly.
The movie was shot beautifully. Forks, WA never looked so good. Somehow they drained the color from a lot of the footage so it has a very unearthly, pale look. The scenery is striking and for those who don't live in Washington state it may seem hard to believe. But, yes, it looks like that.
Effects? I thought the running really fast and up the trees was a little fakey but Molly was eating it up. The scary vampires vs. the "good" vampires was interesting. And, they were scary! But, he gets his and you are very glad. The baseball game was really fun to watch but, of course, ends all too soon. I won't spoil the whole darn thing!
All in all, a sweet little love story. Lots of complications though, making real life seem easy in comparison.
The brilliant folks behind the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie have done it again. On a day to day basis, they spin simple comfort and delicious down home magic out a historical building on Vashon Island.
