Teenage vampires

I know it makes me a 17 year old girl (ok a 13 year old girl) but I really enjoyed the film Twilight and particularly enjoyed the work of Robert Pattinson (its fine, he's 23) so for Christmas I received the books in the series to see if I like them too.

I talked at the end of last year about how much I love Peter Pan. Well Edward Cullen, the main character in this series, is another incarnation of Peter Pan. He's brave, confident, loyal, strong, chivalrous and physically appealing, and (as a vampire) immortal so he never grows up. Edward Cullen is forever 17. The Edward in the books is even more attractive than the Edward in the films. An enhanced version, perhaps. More brooding and old fashioned and mysterious.

The author of the books is a Mormon, and I was therefore very interested to see how this plays out in the text. In particular, the way that lust is played against sexual abstinence (so far) is very interesting. The plot device of a vampire not being able to give into his sexual lust for Bella because it would inevitably lead to him giving in to his blood lust is quite a sneaky way of writing it in. Because he loves her, he has to stop at kissing...

It is also sneaky in another way, luring in the teenage girls by making them fall in love with Edward and then teasing them with unconsumated love. Edward Cullen wants to do it with Bella, he implies it anyway: "I may not be human, but I am a man." The reader, like Bella, wants Edward. Like Bella, the reader can't have him. One suspects it makes it a bit easier to imagine oneself as Bella...

I think the result is something that would be very appealing to teenage girls, and so I can see why the series has been so successful.