Some would say it all started with Harry Potter, but young readers have been reading about witches, wizards and other fanciful beings long before Hogwarts was a household name, and it seemed fairly innocent, enough for most parents to not be worried.
But with the overwhelming success of “Twilight,” a story of a community of vampires, and the subsequent books and movies that have gained an almost cult-like following among young (and quite a few older) readers, there has generated a feeling of unease surrounding the “other-worldly” theme. Vampires and werewolves are not real, yet there are many who believe in them, and the “Twilight” books tend to glorify the culture and encourage that belief.
How do parents explain the struggle between good and evil that are found in these books? And is there any moral substance to them?
Author Dave Roberts addresses these questions in his book, “The Twilight Gospel: The Spiritual Roots of Stephanie Meyer’s Vampire Saga,” and his conclusions are somewhat surprising.
In examining the series, Roberts found that while they do addressed topics such as the undead, excessive materialism, violence and rampant sexuality – to name a few, the “Twilight” books does have important moral and spiritual lessons to be learned.
“The books are an excellent read,” Roberts says in his concluding chapter “Twilight of the Soul,” “but the flaws are serious and the series should be read with caution and thought.”
Using examples from each of the books in the “Twilight” series, as well as detailed character studies, Roberts shows that while there are unsavory aspects of the story, there is also quite a lot of good to be found among the pages, including respect, love of family, a surprising good deal of Biblical references that come into play, traits that reflect author Stephanie Meyers’ background in the Mormon faith.
Written in a clear, entertaining manner for a serious subject, “The Twilight Gospel” encourages adults to interact with the teens to help them understand what is good and what is bad in the “Twilight” books.
Thank you to Stephanie Garvey at Litfuse Publicity for the review copy of "The Twilight Gospel." I was not compensated for this
review.
And just because I don't take this vampire stuff too seriously, back by popular demand, Vampire Kitty! And a cute cartoon!
