The Twilight Saga: Why Moms are Obsessed with This Teen Romance

Which one of these does not belong: a clumsy yet thrill-seeking 17-year-old loner girl who has no interest in ordinary high school boys, a “vegetarian” vampire attending high school in a Northwestern sleepy town, a Native American teen turned werewolf pining for the love of a human girl, a suburban mom of three?

I heard some fellow moms discussing on the preschool playground how addicted they were to a book called Twilight. While not being an avid reader, I decided to give the book a try. Within a few hours, I was lost in Bella and Edward's world of young love and vampires, and things like dishes, dinner, laundry or parenting were no longer important; I was not going to put this book down until I finished it! The next day, tired and haggard, I drove to the store to buy the second book in the series, and then the third and fourth. I was a women obsessed.

I eagerly awaited each movie with tween-like giddiness, wondering what each character would look like, how the fight scenes would be shot, if the lead actors would have the on-screen chemistry needed to win over the fans of the books. Each movie delivered big time, and the Twilight fandom grew exponentially; the most dedicated groups of “Twi-hards," as they are called, are not teens like the characters themselves, but grown women. Moms in their twenties and thirties are forming fan clubs, and aligning with Team Edward and Team Jacob at their children's bus stops.

It's a bit odd, right? Why are moms swooning over these teen romance books and movies?

Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer is a mom of three boys herself. It’s no wonder that the books she wrote appeal to her peers. Although the books center on star-crossed young lovers, they have all the elements that make her fellow suburbanite moms yell, “Heck, yeah!” Here are some reasons Meyer’s books leave Twi-Moms wanting more:

Reason 1: Love Triangles

My obsession with love triangle plots began around the time when I was using Sea Breeze and buying Teen Beat. I tuned in regularly to “Saved by the Bell” to see who would win the heart of Kelly Kapowski: Zack Morris or A.C. Slater? I was raised on teen dramas. I'm merely a product of my culture.

The triangles that followed did not disappoint: Brandon, Kelly and Dylan on “90210” kept me hooked through college, and Dawson, Joey and Pacey on “Dawson's Creek” had me tuning in even when I was a little embarrassed to be watching as a twenty-something.  The emotional torment, the waffling indecision, the passion and heartbreak: it's such excellent reading and TV watching fodder that one can't turn away. Who will she choose? I can't stand it!

The Twilight saga plays the love triangle game with perfection. Just when you think Bella has made her final choice of beau, her heartstrings are pulled in the opposite direction. Does she choose the person who's right for her, or who she's more passionate for? Why does Jacob let Bella torture him so? Aaaccckkk!

Reason 2: Teen Romance

For hundreds of years, writers have been trying to bottle the magic of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Meyer took the young lovers and thought, 'What if the divide between them wasn't their parents? What if it was death? What if it was the undead…or monsters?' Magic.

Teen romance has its appeal for several reasons:

A) Intensity: First loves spark feelings never felt before and the power it has over those under its influence can actually make your heart hurt. Twi-moms reminisce on those glory days when true love and perhaps algebra was their only concern or care in the world. (Sigh.)

B) Innocence: Steamy scenes in romance novels have their place for a good beach read, but if a writer really wants her female readers to be invested in the development of a relationship, it had better evolve slowly. Young romances, at least the ones moms are willing to read about without closing the book in parental disapproval, take their time, let the chemistry stew, and build to a first kiss. While this kind of sexual restraint is a novelty in this day and age, Edward's background as a young gentleman originating from early 1900s society helps him maintain his beliefs and protect Bella's virtue.

C) Anticipation: That's exactly why readers could not put the Twilight books down- we were all internally screaming, "Would you kiss him already?!?" Is it any wonder that the Twi-fandemonium is so huge for the film, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1”? We have been waiting for Bella and Edward to Get. It. On for over 1200 pages and four years of movie making.

Reason 3: Human Weakness

While moms might be turned off and unwilling to invest in the well-being of a teenage girl who sleeps around with every vampire or werewolf she meets, Meyer has given her character Bella integrity: demonstrating independence, strength, and individuality. She’s a girl who’s unlikely to cave to peer pressure. We like this girl. But, she’s only human, and in this story, that means a bit more.

Being human, she’s vulnerable to the supernatural attraction she feels towards her vampire suitor. She cannot help throwing herself at Edward due to his supernatural vampire beauty and magnetism. Every time she kisses him, she cannot stop and loses control. Poor girl: we can’t blame her. Good thing Edward has supernatural strength and moral conviction.

Bella also frequently encounters her best friend who is in love with her, Jacob. He's a werewolf, causing him to have a higher body temperature, and therefore frequently going without a shirt. Bella always finds herself in predicaments where she needs his body heat to warm her up. Again, poor girl.

Meyer successfully stirs up the sexual chemistry in the love triangle without going there, leaving readers and movie viewers both in love with and frustrated by the story.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1” is in movie theaters at midnight on Friday, Nov. 18. Ticket presales have sold out a number of the first shows, but if you’re a Twi-hard willing to wait in line, you too can be one of the first to see the movie.

“Breaking Dawn” promises to satisfy fans with the wedding of Bella and Edward, the highly anticipated honeymoon, and Bella’s troublesome pregnancy with the vamp-baby. Finally, Twi-moms will be able to relate to the plight of the heroine: a fetus kick to the ribs hurts, supernatural powers or not. And fans will only have to wait one more year to see what happens when the baby is born in “Part 2"!