The response to
Twilight has been mixed. While the books have become immensely popular, they have also generated much controversy.
Positive reception Twilight has gathered acclaim for its popularity with its target readers.
The Times lauded it for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation." Other reviews described
Twilight as an "exquisite fantasy", and a "gripping blend of romance and horror".
Lev Grossman of
Time wrote that the books have a "pillowy quality distinctly reminiscent of Internet
fan fiction", but still praised the series, comparing it to
The Lord of the Rings and
Harry Potter: The
Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the book a "hot new teen novel",
Entertainment Weekly called Meyer "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice",
The New York Times described
Twilight as a "literary phenomenon", and Matt Arado of
Daily Herald noted that the
Twilight books have become the "hottest publishing phenomenon since a certain bespectacled wizard cast his spell on the world." The large and diverse online fan community of the series are often noted, sometimes even being called "cult-like". Despite this, the series is often considered to have a wider appeal; Crystal Mack of
Daily Herald said, "While teenage girls are the main audience, young boys and adults of both genders have also been swept up in the phenomenon." The author and the series' popularity are often compared with
J. K. Rowling and
Harry Potter. Describing the fan following of the books, the
Phoenix New Times wrote, "Meyer's fandom is reminiscent of
Harry Potter mania." Rebekah Bradford of
The Post and Courier stated that the series has a "huge crossover appeal much like the
Harry Potter books before them." According to the
Daily Telegraph, "Stephenie Meyer, in particular, has achieved incredible success across all the English-speaking nations and Europe and many will say that her
Twilight series has filled the hole left by
Harry Potter." Meyer has responded to such comparisons, saying, "It's terribly flattering to be compared to her, but there's never going to be another J. K. Rowling; that's a phenomenon that's not gonna happen again", however noting that "you can compare my fans to her fans more easily [than me to her]. I do think that we both have people who are just really really enthusiastic, and will come miles to see you and be involved, and everybody really cares about our characters." Economically, the town of
Forks, Washington, the setting for the
Twilight series, has improved due to
tourism from fans of the books. Forks is visited by an average of 8,000 tourists per month, and has been described as a "mecca for Twilighters". In response to plans for the aging Forks High School to be renovated,
Twilight fans have teamed up with Infinite Jewelry Co. and the West Olympic Peninsula Betterment Association to collect donations in an attempt to save the brick appearance or the building altogether. On November 5, 2019, the
BBC News listed
The Twilight Series on its list of the
100 most influential novels. However, King understood the appeal of the series, adding, "People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual." negatively compares the
Twilight and
Harry Potter book series: "
Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity ...
Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend". Laura Miller of
Salon.com wrote that "the characters, such as they are, are stripped down to a minimum, lacking the texture and idiosyncrasies of actual people", and said that "
Twilight would be a lot more persuasive as an argument that an 'amazing heart' counts for more than appearances if it didn't harp so incessantly on Edward's superficial splendors." Elizabeth Hand of
The Washington Post wrote, "Meyer's prose seldom rises above the serviceable, and the plotting is leaden." The article, featured on the
Yahoo! website Shine, also criticized the books and the author's final word on the series was, "Good books deal with themes of longing and loneliness, sexual passion and human frailty, alienation and fear just as the
Twilight books do. But they do so by engaging us with complexities of feeling and subtleties of character, expressed in language that rises above banal mediocrity. Their reward is something more than just an escape into banal mediocrity. We deserve something better to get hooked on."
Controversy The books have also been widely critiqued as promoting, normalizing, and idealizing an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. Sci-fi website
io9 noted that Bella and Edward's relationship meets all fifteen criteria set by the
National Domestic Violence Hotline for being in an abusive relationship. L. Lee Butler of
Young Adult Library Services Association commented how he was unusually hesitant to stock the
Twilight books in his library because he felt the books were "robbing [teen girls] of agency and normalizing stalking and abusive behavior." Many female-oriented and feminist media outlets, like
Jezebel, The Frisky, and
Salon.com have decried
Twilight as promoting an anti-woman message.
Bitch magazine stated the novels "had created a new, popular genre of "abstinence porn", concluding that, "In reality, the abstinence message—wrapped in the genre of abstinence porn—objectifies Bella in the same ways that 'real' porn might. The
Twilight books conflate Bella losing her virginity with the loss of other things, including her sense of self and her very life. Such a high-stakes treatment of abstinence reinforces the idea that Bella is powerless, an object, a fact that is highlighted when we get to the sex scenes in
Breaking Dawn."
Ms. declared that
Twilight promotes a physically abusive relationship and an
anti-abortion message. However, writer Angela Aleiss of
Religion News Service said that contrary to popular opinion, Mormons do permit abortion when the mother's life is in danger. Bella's refusal to abort her fetus, along with her quick marriage and pregnancy, instead underscore the Mormon emphasis on family. Various psychology experts have come out in agreement with the assessment of the relationship as abusive. Melissa Henson, Director of communication and public education for the
Parents Television Council, stated: Many entertainment and media outlets have made similar comments on the abusive nature of Bella and Edward's relationship, including
Entertainment Weekly,
Movieline, and
Mediabistro.com. Meyer has dismissed such criticisms, arguing both that the books center around Bella's choice, which she perceives as the foundation of modern
feminism, and that Bella's
damsel in distress persona is due only to her humanity. Meyer also added, "Just because [Bella] doesn't do kung fu and she cooks for her father doesn't make her worthy of that criticism". Shannon Simcox of
The Daily Collegian has similarly dismissed the criticism surrounding Bella, commenting, "While Bella plays the perfect damsel in distress that gets herself into sticky situations, she is also very in control of herself. She chose to move to Forks and be in a new place; she constantly faces a bunch of people who want to suck the life right out of her, and she is constantly pleading to become a vampire, too, so she can take care of herself and Edward."
Legal issues In December 2010, professional singer Matthew Smith, known as Matt Heart, sued
Summit Entertainment in the case
Smith v. Summit Entertainment LLC. Smith's song "Eternal Knight" was posted on several websites accompanied by cover art which Summit claimed used its "Twilight" typeface mark. Smith won four of the seven causes of action, including his right to continue distribution of his copyrighted song, under the terms that he remove any reference to "Twilight" or the "Twilight Saga".
Book challenges The
Twilight series made the number five spot on the
American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009, for being "Sexually Explicit", "Unsuited to Age Group", and having a "Religious Viewpoint". ==Film adaptations==