Give the readers more credit

Since 2005, one supernatural book series has been charming women ages 14 to 44. It doesn't have the bed knobs and broomstick flair of Harry Potter, but it could turn very similar profits.

Young adult fiction has taken the spotlight away from the likes of classics like Judy Blume and put it on breakout novelist Stephanie Meyers. Meyers is the author of the "Twilight" series, an Anne Rice-meets-The CW drama centered around a plain girl that moves to a small town, only to have her life take a turn for the weird. Unfortunately for Meyers, along with the praise has been a good deal criticism for the message young girls might pull away from her books.

For those who aren't familiar with the series, the book centers on the life of Bella Swan who moves to the cold Northwest away from her Phoenix home to live with her father. In town she meets a group of attractive young people who fascinate her, especially one named Edward Cullen. As Bella grows to love Edward he violently pushes her away, accusing himself of being too violent for her -but then pulls toward her just as quickly in an effort to "protect" the young girl.

Sounds kind of creepy, right?

Among some of Meyers' more negative critics, you'll hear the terms "wife beater," "psycho" and "sadist" tossed around to describe Edward. Bella later drops out of school with plans to have a baby and marry Edward -only after their first night together. Parents who had previously encouraged their kids to read the books, just for the sake of reading, are having second thoughts.

Those criticizing Meyers point out that she has a tendency to season the book with her Mormon beliefs. They feel that young women reading the books will develop the idea that a man who controls a woman is a man who loves. They also feel the book suggests that getting older than 18 will make a woman completely hideous in the eyes of men (Bella spends a good portion of the books complaining that she will get old and "ugly" while Edward can stay a teenager forever).

I don't think that critics are giving the readers of the book enough credit. I'll admit, I read through the first two books and the plot summaries for the last two. While the books struck me as being weird in terms of romance, I didn't get the impression that it was suggesting that I should marry young to a crazy boy who wanted to kill me. Other readers I've talked to share the same opinion, calling the books "junk food" for the brain.

Implying that young women and teenage girls will run off to marry the first weirdo with a sadistic streak they meet after they finish the "Twilight" series insults the intelligence of their audiences. When I was 12, I remember sneaking a copy of "Flowers in the Attic" from my neighbor's house and reading it in my backyard. In terms of creepy romantic involvement, "Flowers" makes "Twilight" look like the Paddington Bear series. Between the incest and the violent parent figures, it's a surprise I didn't turn into a violent kid-whacker who locks kids in my attic. Wait, it isn't surprising. Because reading a book for fun and reading a book looking for a role model can be completely separate.

Sure, there's kind of an obnoxious following of girls who are obsessed with the character of Edward Cullen, but what are they in love with him for? For being attractive. Just like any teenage boy that had a crush on Lara Croft. They didn't have it for her personality.

The critics and parents going up in arms over this book series really need to calm down. At the very least, their kids are reading. And if they are worried that their daughters will emulate the actions of the protagonist, at least she likes old books.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.