Excuse me; did you really say that “Twilight” is the next Harry Potter?

With merely one Google search, I manage to pull up more than 10 pages of fan Web sites for the “Twilight” series.  

Not to mention, more than 20 pages of Web sites that believe “Twilight” is the next Harry Potter.

Slashfilm.com reports the “Twilight” movie ranked higher than “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.”

On bellaandedward.com, one blogger compares Harry Potter and “Twilight” consistently.

“Her characters’ charisma to the teenagers is compared to the appeal made by the wizard Harry Potter,” she wrote.

The blogger then goes on to say “Twilight” did beat Harry Potter when Eclipse, the 3rd book in the series, reached bookstores at the same time as a Harry Potter adventure.

As if she could not be more tenacious, she adds J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter series, never even skimmed the level of sensuality that Stephanie Meyer, the author of “Twilight,” explores in depth.

Everyone in the community of the “Twilight” series agrees with the blogger; “Twilight” is filling the hole where Harry Potter once stood.

I, however, beg to differ.

The Harry Potter series is one of the best things to hit the world of fiction.

Harry Potter is irreplaceable, despite what a blogger or 20 pages of Web sites say.

The idea of a love story about vampires and humans interacting is at most cute.

The vampire story line is common among the science fiction crowd; I can see Stephanie Meyer wanting to put a spin on the vampire story line, simply to earn money and become another J. K. Rowling.

But, in order to become great, one first must have an original plot line idea. In addition, one must first learn how to write well.

From the start of the novel, the tone is monotone and blank.  Action of any kind is non-existent until page 50.

For 50 pages, I was bored out of my mind.

Not only is there no hook, there is a passive voice, the vocabulary of a 5 year old, and the writing style of a second grader.

“I detested Forks…I loved Phoenix,” says the very hormonally unbalanced Bella, main character of the “Twilight” series. 

If a writer has been to college, why would she sell herself short by using such basic verbs?”

Mrs. Meyer is not only lacking a thesaurus; she is lacking word choice.

In two paragraphs, Mrs. Meyer uses more “to be” verbs than I have ever seen in any of my little brother’s book cards; she uses the word “try” on almost every single page within the first 50 pages.

When describing rain, one can use such words as “dismal”, “cleansing”, “frightening”, or even “deafening”; instead, Mrs. Myer uses “gloomy” a number of times.

I have plenty of negative comments about “Twilight.” It must be noted that I only made it to page 60 of “Twilight.”

It is a definite possibility the plot could intensify after page 60, the vocabulary could become more sophisticated as the series continues, or even that I am analyzing the book too harshly.

I have heard that one cannot judge a series simply by reading one book. However, I will stand on a few opinionated beliefs.

One, I am a dedicated fan of Harry Potter; so dedicated that I have waited hours for the next Harry Potter book.

Two, Harry Potter opened my eyes to the world of mystery, fiction, and even autobiography. Harry Potter is much more than just a series; those books made me love reading.

Lastly, “Twilight” may have taken over the world of fiction, but in my mind Harry Potter will always be king.

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