In New Moon, Edward, convinced that he complicates her life too greatly, makes the difficult decision to leaves Bella. For any young woman who experienced a painful breakup with their first love, Bella’s emotional breakdown in New Moon is quite relatable. During her depression period, she discovers a best friend in Jacob. As the friendship begins to blossom into possibly something more, Bella discovers that Edward believes she is dead, and the modern-day Romeo desires the same fate. Bella leaves Jacob behind in the mad dash to save the life of her one true love. Her plan a success, Edward admits that he can no longer live his life apart from the love of his life. Oh, and did I mention the main men in Bella’s life are vampires and werewolves (which makes for some awesome special effects)?! That is just icing on the cake for this complicated love story.

Twilight isn’t for everyone; I can see why many people find the story unsettling, but it is, after all, fiction. There are some positive messages for young fans. Bella doesn’t settle or take the easy way out. Even when he is gone, she fights to keep her memories of Edward alive. “I never saw her as being weak…she trusts her gut.” – Kristen Stewart (Bella). Also, in a country where each year almost 750,000 girls age 15-19 become pregnant, the Twilight series chooses abstinence.

With the success of New Moon still going strong, and the next movie in the series (Eclipse) slated for a June 30 release, fan or not, settle in, this series is here to stay!