What is your opinion on Stephenie Meyer?

[samanthaeh76]

I enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and her stand-alone book, The Host.

The Twilight books were written in such a way that the emotion was palpable, which is a huge draw for younger readers. Her characterizations, while a little shallow and two-dimensional, were showy enough to disguise the weak parts of the books. The parts that I enjoyed were mainly the twists on traditional vampire lore and the pacing of the first three books. I enjoyed the last one, but it dragged on and on. I actually liked the movie better on that one.

The Host had an interesting concept, although it had the same issues with a weak heroine as the Twilight books. Meyer's style matured a little and made this book a much better read for me.

[Ella]

I just can't bring myself to read anything by her. Nothing of hers sparks any interest. But, on the other hand....if it gets one teenage girl off the streets for a few hours/days, it isn't all that bad, is it??

[FlorenceDupuis]

Actually I love Stephenie Meyer, I think she writes really well and her writing is addicting and she writes good story. The story of twilight was good, but of course not THAT original, but the host is an original story and its a very good one. I am sitting on hedge, hoping she'll announce a new novel. And re-reading Twilight books.

[Dream Catcher]

Wayyyyyyy overrated

[Bfrisco]

I'm not really a fan. I read Twilight without any knowledge of how popular it was, so I thought it read like a teen romance novel, some of which I enjoy (Meg Cabot, anyone?), but I wouldn't call her a great author. I was genuinely surprised to hear it was so popular (and also that there was even a sequel, but that's a different issue). She writes for a particular audience and it paid off for her.

[thegiltyone]

She's not a good author. Her books captured hearts of youth because we all dream of finding love. They were not written well. I tried "The Host" and couldn't get the second chapter finished.

[saouad]

Hi everyone!

What a debated topic! I agree with many who have voiced that it is very effective in drawing its audience in.

I took issue with the transparency of the author's agenda, if that is legitimate grounds for a critique.

What I mean is this: the plot is very much subservient to what seems to be an archetypal teenage girl fantasy. As a result, characters are flat, the action often comes across as implausible -convenient, really- even for vampire fiction.

The books try so hard to play out all the elements of this fantasy (Bella being popular yet indifferent in a new school, feeling desired by someone previously considered unattainable, etc.) that it sometimes feels more like a disjointed daydream than a novel series.

What do you think? Is it fair to criticize an author for unabashedly writing out thinly veiled fantasies?

[britt1125]

I think she's and okay writer. I feel like her books are written towards young adults and that most young adults aren't readers. Her books are simple and maybe she writes them that way because she wants to give a story to someone who doesn't really enjoy reading. I can't say this for positive though. But maybe she is trying to get more teens to read by giving them something that is more simple. I wasn't a big fan of the Twilight movies. I felt like they were odd and I really don't like the actress that played in them i feel like she can't act.

[alstrapani19]

I thought Stephanie Meyer was an excellent writer and took an interesting story plot that has been told time and time again and made it something to marvel at. But i believe that ever since her books were made into movies she and has books have been criticized to a very harsh extent due to the bad acting and terrible script that was written and performed.

[randompadley]

there is no doubt that she created something that really captivated a target audience, which was teenage girls, and i do believe her plot and characters were done extremely well, while it isn't my type of story you can't deny it had something special, something with an extra spice.... but he writing im sorry is just terrible, i have no problem with the twilight sage and the fact that everyone is mad over it, if a book/film has affected people that much then kudos... but people that say her writing is amazing is wrong, she just cannot write, her sentence structure is appalling at times, and its so monotonous and choppy, so so hard to read, one of the times where I actually liked watching the film as it didn't pain me to have to read her sentences

[kutley]

When I first read the twilight saga, I was much younger and easily swept away by the "romantic" plot. After revisiting the novels a few years later, no longer captivated by the plot, I noticed her writing was very weak. Her characters were shallow and she consistently propagated the damsel in distress theme. From what I've read so far, she's an okay writer. She has potential but I wouldn't call her a great author.

[Winter]

Her books are what they are - entertainment, not great literature. The Twilight books are good page turners with a fun new twist on vampires. Yes, there are lots of things I don't like about her stories and her characters. I also definitely preferred Twilight to The Host, which I found way over done. Still, they are fun stories, and if you read them without expecting too much, and without taking them too seriously then sure, why not.

[monique_wllms]

i believe that Stephanie Meyer is a very good author. the twilight TRILOGY was very well done. it was original and romantic and thrilling and a series i simply could not out down. however i think the last book in the series was absolutely dreadful. i think she sold out to make a deadline or to make it better for the movies. either way the last one was am embarrassment

[GliddenBooks]

What's not to love? She's obviously followed her passion for writing, and found a widespread following. While it's easy to criticize technicalities, I think it is indisputable that she is passionate, accomplished and successful - what more is there? Doing what you love and finding it profitable.

[Gemma_375]

It took me years to get round to reading the Twilight series as I assumed it would be something that would not interest me. I caved eventually, however, and found that they really drew me in! I know some people have said that the style of writing isn't very good but I really enjoyed it. I have just finished studying for a master's in forensic psychology, and took on an English Literature course on the side so I was reading really heavy legal and psychological texts of a day and then reading old, complex, wordy texts (which were technically brilliant in their use of language, but were really slow going in plot) for "fun" in my spare time so after all that I found it quite refreshing to read something fast paced, engaging and simple for a change. Overall I found Meyer's simple style a lot more engaging than the likes of JK Rowling whose first 4 books I enjoyed when I was quiet young, because of the plot, but as I got older I got really fed up with the repetition dictated by Rowling's complete lack of vocabulary!