8 notes May 31, 2012 One of my fourth-graders picked up Twilight on our library outing. I tried to convince her casually of twenty other books she might like, but that's the one she wanted; apparently she'd already seen the movies. A:(on the walk back) You don't like Twilight? Me:...well...I have mixed feelings about it. For myself. A:What do you mean? Me:I'm glad that it makes a lot of people want to read, and that it has a female main character. But I don't think Bella is a very strong character. A:Yeah she is, she does all that stuff with Edward and she has to choose between him and Jacob. Me:...okay, but...does she really make a lot of choices? I mean, isn't most of the book things happening TO her, instead of her DOING things on her own? A:... Me:It doesn't mean it's not a good book -- any book you like is, to you, a good book. A:...you're right. Well. But she COULD be a strong character. I mean if the book was different. If instead of what happens she does what she wants and maybe she makes her own decisions. Me:So if the book was different she'd be a better character? If you could rewrite it? A:Yeah. Me:Maybe you should rewrite it. A:Yeah. I'll write it better. ...but I still like Bella. Except she should have picked Jacob, because Jacob is hot. Filed under education reading twilight well as long as we're choosing our partners for the right reasons