All right, y'all, this is where we get real. *cracks knuckles* If you're a paranormal romance hater, skip this post. If you're a Twilight hater, get out. You can come back when you've read my paper (Bella the Mother-Savior).
Ok. We all good here? Great. In my estimation, Twilight was a fine story. It wasn't on the level of Shannon Hale's Goosegirl for prose perfection, but that didn't matter. It was the story of a boy and a girl falling in love and the impossible obstacles they faced. There were incredibly well-drawn characters, great motivation, and a clarity to the narrative that allowed me, as a reader, to get into the story. For a first-time writer, that was MIRACULOUS. The series built up on that promise, and I enjoyed every minute of it, even when things didn't seem to be going well for anyone involved.
Then the pendulum swung (and the movies were made) and the hate started pouring in. Not from me--I love the series. But all these former fans suddenly rescinded their membership in the camp of adoration and marched straight over to the haters, the crab-bucket that took anything good about the series and found innumerable ways to bring it down. That's human nature--if someone excels, someone else will look for the dark side to cheapen their achievement. I hate it, but I understand it. And if you want to fight with me about it, get your own blog.
Anyway.
Ten years later, and Stephenie has written Life and Death, flipping the gender roles of nearly everyone in the book, somewhat in reaction to the haters (Bella's such a damsel in distress! Yeah, no. As Stephenie says, she's a HUMAN in distress. READ THE STORY. *ahem* Moving on). So, you know the story, but now the human is Beau (a boy) and the vampire is Edythe (a girl). The stakes are the same, the obstacles are the same, but Beau and Edythe have their own voices and their own story to tell. Edythe isn't as emotive as Edward--she doesn't always clearly explain what she's thinking and she's not nearly as philosophical. And Beau isn't as vulnerable as Bella--his emotions are kept mostly to the inside. It took a few chapters for me to let go of the original story and hear Beau and Edythe's voices, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. AND THE ENDING. If for nothing else, read Life and Death for the ending. I cannot say anything else, but must quote Professor River Song: "Spoilers!"
The plot synopsis on Goodreads is absolutely useless--they don't even talk about the gender swap. The Amazon synopsis isn't much better, but at least they mention the switching of the roles. So, go into this with an open mind, and read it as a new story, and ponder this question--how would the whole Twilight phenomenon be different if the story had been told this way first?
Gentle Reader Alert: I found nothing of concern.
