You forgot emotional blackmail and blaming the victim (or the female, anyway: Emily and Leah were blamed for things they weren't in control of, but nobody tried to excuse Victoria's actions on the grounds that she was heartbroken or anything). Don't know if I can recommend any better books, per se, but there is this Twilight fanfic named Luminosity that I will call one of the few good things to come of this series.
You've also just gotta love the last book's theme of pedophilia. Because it's super normal to fall in love with babies and raise them (possibly groom them into your perfect girlfriend) and them date them when they're seven but LOOK grown up.
And it's not like the girl should have any choice about a werewolf imprinting on her and following her around. She should be cool with it. Being clawed in the face when he rages is just part of a woman's duty.
We all already knew that being able to bare children is what defines women. Transwomen are just crazy and barren ladies are just freaks of nature. Not even sure why Smeyer needed to nail that one in.
The man in a relationship should know where his woman is at all times, obviously. He's just trying to protect her. It's for her own good so she better not disobey. In fact, he might as well just make all her decisions for her; he knows best.
Everyone should put all their self worth into their romantic relationships. Oh, and also push everyone else in their life away. After all, you only need a sigificant other to keep you happy.
I could go on but I think I made my point. I think teens would get better values from watching porn than reading this slog.
Don't forget "As a female, the man in your life is so important that, without him, nothing else matters. Being with him is worth risking everything, even your life." Gag me.
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Role Models and things we teach our Children...
I have a niece who started to read this series, and came to me to talk about some of the characters and situations she was reading about. I, being an adult male, decided that I'd try to explain to a 12 year old what she was trying to figure out, so I picked up the book, and read it.
To quote Dorothy Parker: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
I'm not going to comment on the technical quality of the writing, or the grammar, or anything around the background or research issues. What appalled me was the message this book was sending to its readers.
In this modern day and age, young teens are struggling with defining who they are, and how they fit into society and their relationship with their peers. Meyer's work is a glorification of pretty much all negative stereotypes for young women. Recommending this series, even for a "laugh", is just like watching the Saw or Hostel series of movies with your teenage boy, and telling him: "that's what you should aspire to when you're older. It's GOOD to be a sadistic serial killer who tortures people, because that's what boys are supposed to be." Meyer's series send the exact same type of message to young girls; and it's not a subtle message, one that teens might miss. No, it's right out there in front of them, as my niece was asking about (she was confused about whether there was something less obvious Meyer was trying to say, and I had to confirm her interpretation, sadly enough). Submissiveness to male desires is OK. Beauty is all that matters and outweighs any other consideration. Non- (or at best, dubious) consensual sex is just fine. Happiness is to be found in conforming to other's opinions. The designated "Good" people can do no wrong, ever, because they're "Good". The list goes on and on.
I can't possibly recommend this to any teen (or pre-teen), even for an escapist fantasy. It's actively harmful in its message. There's simply no redeeming values in the characters or their decisions that a teenage girl should be exposed to. Message-wise, it's on a par with Birth of a Nation or Mein Kampf, something I think we can all agree that no teen should be viewing/reading for positive role models or valuable social advice.