Immediately, I felt old and ill-attired.
Formal evening wear isn’t your typical dress for a leisurely Friday night at the bookstore. Then again, the midnight release of Stephenie Meyer’s “Breaking Dawn” was anything but typical.
And I was anything but young.
With an odd mix of trepidation, excitement and caffeine, I went to the unveiling of Meyer’s final installment of her popular “Twilight” saga. The vampire romance has captured the hearts of post-Harry Potter fans and people who really like to dress up like werewolves and vampires painted in pasty make-up with blood-red lipstick. They talk in clipped, breathy sentences when ordering a venti double latte, soy decaf, while flirting with an extremely patient cafe server.
Prom dresses were everywhere. Bella, the story’s central love interest of vampire hottie Edward Cullen, has a pivotal scene at her prom in the first book. So, crinoline-, silk- and glitter-adorned young girls lined the crowded aisles yelling, “I love Edward more!” “No, you don’t; I love him more!” Then, they’d giggle and run off to the cafe for a chai tea refill and more flirting with the increasingly less patient cafe server who started checking his watch.
Not exactly the place you’d expect a mother of two who values sleep.
So why was I there?
You see, I’m a closet “Twilight” fan, a borderline groupie. This is a story of romance. I love romance. Vampires? Not so much, but stay with me. This is my confession: I was hooked at the very first paragraph, where Bella faces impending death. Then enters Edward, then Jacob. Oh, so many choices. Ain’t love grand?
So, here I am in a Barnes and Noble on a Friday night, dragging my friend Kelly into this odd-yet-inspiring pool of literary teens and, like me, a few mothers masking their genuine interest in this most unusual love triangle.
I invited Kelly, suggesting we throw caution and our Target shopping list to the wind and do something bold — like stay up past 10 p.m. Our husbands and kids opted out — with a faint detection of snickering under their breaths — so it would be two middle-aged mamas out on the town.
Look out, Paris! The old girls were going to shake things up a bit!
OK, it was just a book release party. In Ocala. With teenagers. And one now-tense cafe attendant. Yet, as she’s done so many — and probably regrettably — times with me before, Kelly signed on. The next step: pre-midnight party prepping.
We both took afternoon naps.
By 10:30 that night, we were dressed and ready. So were most of the area’s young adult population who looked way more awake than Kelly and I, but we weren’t going to let a little finely aged metabolism hinder our fun.
First, we checked out the book’s trivia contest and decided that, since I had read only two of the books and Kelly none, we’d decorate masks at the craft table. Two new friends — Katelyn and Amanda, ages 12 and 13 — shared ideas on the series’ ending, saying Edward was “totally amazing” and they “hoped Bella would marry him instead of Jacob.”
Kelly pulled out her reading glasses so she could see where to glue her sequin. I asked our young friends if their moms had read the series since — ahem — there’s a growing number of adult women catching the vampire fervor, or so I’d heard.
“Nooooo,” they both replied in high-pitched unison. “Our moms totally don’t get it.”
Kelly and I nodded, “Yeah, ours either.”
Just before midnight, we joined the book line behind a few Goth prom queens and a mature-looking woman about my age who was wearing a custom-made Bella bracelet with wooden wolf and crystal heart pendants. Wearing a “Cullen 01” baseball shirt, she said the series gave her hope for romance, adding the book has “done wonders” for her friend’s marriage, too.
Dr. Phil needn’t be worried. This isn’t Jane Austen by any stretch. Yet, I have to admit Edward and Bella’s smoldering romance is enough to keep the female reader’s interest regardless of age or bone density.
For me, the journey began on a rainy summer day.
I decided to see what all the “Twilight” hype was about, and 24 hours later, I’d finished book one and was onto the second. Dare I say it? It was love at first bite.
I’m not into the vampire literary genre, although the love story works because of Edward’s “I-can’t-have-you-because-I’ll-consume-you” dilemma. (Translated: lots of intense hand-holding and hugging. Kind of like Mr. Darcy Meets Dracula.)
Plus, Edward is just so darn sensitive. He caters to Bella’s every whim — well, almost. He actually likes to watch her sleep. What’s not to love? Hey, I read my share of serious lit, but when it comes to fun and fantasy, bring on the hunky vampire!
By 12:30 a.m., my caffeine high was waning, so with my new book in hand, Kelly and I headed home, joining the herd of prom queens and vampires migrating, nose-in-book, toward the parking lot. Surprisingly, my husband was still awake, mainly out of curiosity about my big night and to make sure I got home safely. Alas, here was my Edward.
The fact that he waited up for me was the best part of the evening — like, totally amazing.
I giggled all the way to my kitchen coffee pot to set the timer for morning. Then it was off to bed, where I would sleep like Bella until the dawn would break for the next new glimmer of “Twilight.”
With an odd mix of trepidation, excitement and caffeine, I went to the unveiling of Meyer’s final installment of her popular “Twilight” saga. The vampire romance has captured the hearts of post-Harry Potter fans and people who really like to dress up like werewolves and vampires painted in pasty make-up with blood-red lipstick. They talk in clipped, breathy sentences when ordering a venti double latte, soy decaf, while flirting with an extremely patient cafe server.
Prom dresses were everywhere. Bella, the story’s central love interest of vampire hottie Edward Cullen, has a pivotal scene at her prom in the first book. So, crinoline-, silk- and glitter-adorned young girls lined the crowded aisles yelling, “I love Edward more!” “No, you don’t; I love him more!” Then, they’d giggle and run off to the cafe for a chai tea refill and more flirting with the increasingly less patient cafe server who started checking his watch.
Not exactly the place you’d expect a mother of two who values sleep.
So why was I there?
You see, I’m a closet “Twilight” fan, a borderline groupie. This is a story of romance. I love romance. Vampires? Not so much, but stay with me. This is my confession: I was hooked at the very first paragraph, where Bella faces impending death. Then enters Edward, then Jacob. Oh, so many choices. Ain’t love grand?
So, here I am in a Barnes and Noble on a Friday night, dragging my friend Kelly into this odd-yet-inspiring pool of literary teens and, like me, a few mothers masking their genuine interest in this most unusual love triangle.
I invited Kelly, suggesting we throw caution and our Target shopping list to the wind and do something bold — like stay up past 10 p.m. Our husbands and kids opted out — with a faint detection of snickering under their breaths — so it would be two middle-aged mamas out on the town.
Look out, Paris! The old girls were going to shake things up a bit!
OK, it was just a book release party. In Ocala. With teenagers. And one now-tense cafe attendant. Yet, as she’s done so many — and probably regrettably — times with me before, Kelly signed on. The next step: pre-midnight party prepping.
We both took afternoon naps.
By 10:30 that night, we were dressed and ready. So were most of the area’s young adult population who looked way more awake than Kelly and I, but we weren’t going to let a little finely aged metabolism hinder our fun.
First, we checked out the book’s trivia contest and decided that, since I had read only two of the books and Kelly none, we’d decorate masks at the craft table. Two new friends — Katelyn and Amanda, ages 12 and 13 — shared ideas on the series’ ending, saying Edward was “totally amazing” and they “hoped Bella would marry him instead of Jacob.”
Kelly pulled out her reading glasses so she could see where to glue her sequin. I asked our young friends if their moms had read the series since — ahem — there’s a growing number of adult women catching the vampire fervor, or so I’d heard.
“Nooooo,” they both replied in high-pitched unison. “Our moms totally don’t get it.”
Kelly and I nodded, “Yeah, ours either.”
Just before midnight, we joined the book line behind a few Goth prom queens and a mature-looking woman about my age who was wearing a custom-made Bella bracelet with wooden wolf and crystal heart pendants. Wearing a “Cullen 01” baseball shirt, she said the series gave her hope for romance, adding the book has “done wonders” for her friend’s marriage, too.
Dr. Phil needn’t be worried. This isn’t Jane Austen by any stretch. Yet, I have to admit Edward and Bella’s smoldering romance is enough to keep the female reader’s interest regardless of age or bone density.
For me, the journey began on a rainy summer day.
I decided to see what all the “Twilight” hype was about, and 24 hours later, I’d finished book one and was onto the second. Dare I say it? It was love at first bite.
I’m not into the vampire literary genre, although the love story works because of Edward’s “I-can’t-have-you-because-I’ll-consume-you” dilemma. (Translated: lots of intense hand-holding and hugging. Kind of like Mr. Darcy Meets Dracula.)
Plus, Edward is just so darn sensitive. He caters to Bella’s every whim — well, almost. He actually likes to watch her sleep. What’s not to love? Hey, I read my share of serious lit, but when it comes to fun and fantasy, bring on the hunky vampire!
By 12:30 a.m., my caffeine high was waning, so with my new book in hand, Kelly and I headed home, joining the herd of prom queens and vampires migrating, nose-in-book, toward the parking lot. Surprisingly, my husband was still awake, mainly out of curiosity about my big night and to make sure I got home safely. Alas, here was my Edward.
The fact that he waited up for me was the best part of the evening — like, totally amazing.
I giggled all the way to my kitchen coffee pot to set the timer for morning. Then it was off to bed, where I would sleep like Bella until the dawn would break for the next new glimmer of “Twilight.”
Amy’s very abbreviated summary of the Twilight series
- “Twilight”: Bella, the new girl in town, meets Edward, the handsome and sensitive vampire. First kiss is worth the book alone.
- “New Moon”: Time, distance and a nasty paper cut separate Bella and Edward. Enter Jacob, Bella’s new best friend who just happens to be a werewolf. Maybe Bella needs to take a break from boys.
- “Eclipse”: Bella is in serious danger and must choose between Edward or Jacob. Hmmmm — werewolf or vampire? Either way, it can’t be good. Still more heavy hand-holding.
- “Breaking Dawn”: No spoiler here: Is immortality highly overrated? Will Bella marry sun-averse Edward or move on, graduate and get a high-tech job at Microsoft in Seattle?
