I am not one of those anti-twilighters who refuses to go anywhere near the book and movie. No, I chose to read the books just to see what was so great about them. However after surrounding myself in the world of twilight I have definitely seen why there are so many haters. I honestly don’t think the books are written well and the characters are so obnoxious that they beg to be slapped throughout the entire series. As much as I can hate the story, the writer, and how obsessed people are getting with a mediocre book there are some positive parts to it. It gets kids reading which is really important, and it is somewhat amusing once you get past the concept of deadly vampires falling in love and sparkling.

     I saw the first movie out of obligation to my mother who thanks to twilight’s popularity has sadly turned her into a twihard. The first movie stayed as true to the book as it could, and for a movie adapted from a book it wasn’t so bad. Even though I will be seeing New Moon sometime in the next week with my dear mother I will probably hate most of it. Aside from this book being my least favorite from the unfortunate series, it means I have to watch two hours of Kristen Stewart on the silver screen again (lets face it, she’s not the most talented actress in the world) . I’m pretty sure I would get more out of the movie if it were muted the whole time; at least I wouldn’t be interrupted by the plot while staring at Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Story-wise I am excited to see how the movie shows Bella and Jacob’s relationship developing and if the movie will end up leaving Edward out of most of the story as it does in the book. Either way, I’m hoping that the new director and increase in budget will mean increase in talent and action throughout the film.

Jocelyn Lamonday

The anticipation of the second movie in the "Twilight” series, "New Moon” has been killing me and millions of other fans for well over a year. With that said, I must admit, while I am a moderate "Twilight” fan I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a "Twi-Hard”.

Needless to say, I was not one of the many fans to camp out and wait for the midnight showing, nor did I re-read the books. However, my intention is to see "New Moon” this weekend, in the hopes that people who see the midnight showing won’t be seeing the movie again for the second time.

So why do I even like "Twilight” some would ask?

Well to begin, I truly was against the whole idea of reading the series of books, not to mention the fact that they are long books and reading and I don’t really mix, but something changed when I saw the first movie.

Yes, I watched the movie before reading the book! But something triggered my curiosity as to how good this "love story” was. After reading the first book, I don’t know what came over me, it was as if I found a story that I couldn’t step away from and within 2 weeks had finished all four books.

I get that many people are opposed to "Twilight,” but to me this series of books and movies gives me a way to step outside my life and into a love story that is packed with romance, violence and of course vampires.

Some may say that these books and movies are stupid or pointless, but to millions, including me, they allow for an escape from the reality of war, death, and a not so stable economy.