An Open Letter to Ms. Meyers

Dear Ms. Meyers,

I recently read Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. These books were recommended highly by a wide variety of people and since I finished all three in less than a week, there was obviously much about them I enjoyed. However, I have a serious concern that I would like to bring to your attention. It seems to me that both New Moon and Eclipse send the message that threatening suicide is somehow a romantic and acceptable way to demonstrate love. This theme is especially troubling to me since these books are marketed toward teenagers (an age group that is already at risk for suicide).

In New Moon, Bella purposely puts herself in life-threatening situations so that she can hear Edwards voice. In other words, she is trying to hurt herself because a boy broke up with her and that is the only way she can get his attention. Not only that, but Bella nearly lets herself drowned because at least then she will no longer feel the pain of not being with Edward. Is this the message you would like to send to impressionable teenage girls?

If Bella were the only one to set this dramatic example, I would not be so concerned. However, Edward actually does attempt to commit suicide. When he thinks that Bella is dead, he tries to get the Volturi to kill him. To make matters worse, you actually seem to think that this gesture is a noble demonstration of Edward’s love for Bella. Come on! Suicide is not a demonstration of love. It is a selfish, stupid, irreversible decision. And I think it is morally irresponsible to write a book targeted toward teens that portrays it any other way.

But it gets worse. In Eclipse, Jacob threatens to kill himself if Bella does not kiss him. So, of course, she kisses him in order to save his life. The logical message here is that if Bella had not given into Jacob’s demands, it would have somehow been her fault that he died. This is not true. And I wouldn’t want my teenage daughter thinking that she has to do whatever a boy says just because he has threatened to kill himself.

Ms. Meyers, I know you can’t go back and change your already published novels but I am hoping that this letter will prevent you from continuing to glorify suicide in future novels. And I also think that it would be responsible of you to address the inappropriateness of the character’s actions in some sort of forum. I just worry that some of your devoted fans will take the message of your novel too far.

Does Anyone Else think the J. K. Rowlings is a Whiney Hypocrite?

Seriously. I don't know if any of you have been following this story but J.K. Rowlings is suing a fan for creating a Harry Potter Lexicon. She claims that "this book constitutes the wholesale theft of 17 years of [her] hard work. Ha! That claim is, quite simply, ludicrous.

First of all, in order for that claim to be true, Harry Potter would have to actually be her original idea. Yeah right. Have any of you read the Worst Witch? If not let me sum it up for you. It is about a little girl named Mildred who goes to Mrs. Cackle's Academy for Witches where she is disliked by the potions teacher and a blond bully. Mildred also has to practice flying her broomstick for an important school event but somehow her broomstick gets bewitched. Sound familiar? For more similarities between the Worst Witch and Harry Potter go here. And the sad truth is The Worst Witch is just one example of where J.K. Rowlings stole her ideas. Ever heard of a 1984 book titled The Legend of Rah and the Muggles which coincidentally enough has a main character named Larry Potter? Hmmmm. (As an interesting side note, before making the Harry Potter movies, Warners Brothers made sure to buy the rights to the Worst Witch.)

Secondly, an encyclopedia is not plagiarism. Come on. This guy is not claiming that J.K. Rowlings ideas are his: he is just organizing them for people who have already presumably bought and read all seven of her books. Rowlings goes on to claim that this lexicon would hurt sales of the Harry Potter Encyclopedia she was planning to write. Yeah right. Don't you think that people would still buy her version as the official version?

Don't get me wrong, I really did and do enjoy the Harry Potter books. I just think that it is ironic that an author who stole ideas from other authors without any sort of citation is suing a fan for openly and lovingly (aka giving Rowlings all the credit) organizing the Harry Potter world into a lexicon.

Oh, I just found an article written by Orson Scott Card that said what I was trying to say, only much MUCH better. You can check it out here.