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<\/p>\nSo it starts with this:<\/p>\n
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And then I get this:<\/p>\n
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So I send this:<\/p>\n
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As I think about the many conversations happening around YA literature, youth literacy, and reading efforts in our schools, it’s more and more obvious that the people that matter most in these discussions are not being included. I couldn’t be more thrilled to get someone as knowledgeable in the Twilight<\/em> series to add such an astute addition to the current discourse. If you’re wondering, Sam’s a natural writer and voracious reader. Already with a few completed drafts of novels under her belt, she will be helping me co-teach a unit to her fellow seniors in a week in conjunction with National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO<\/a>).<\/p>\n I know my email said this would be a conversation, but I’ve written enough and want to yield the proverbial mic to Ms. Diego for the duration of this post (your comments are encouraged to further this discussion with a true expert).<\/p>\n Defaced of Embraced?<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone has had to read them. Many have been asked to analyze the writing. Some of us even read them for the sole purpose of a good book. But, have our classic novels become a victim of this Twilight<\/em> epidemic?<\/p>\n Sure, many girls are going crazy for this newly famous Edward Cullen character. Yet, you have to wonder what Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Benett, Cathy, Heathcliff, even Romeo & Juliet have to do with Twilight. Although these classic stories have been mentioned in the series, it leads me to believe that what was once a nice reference has become an act of violation.<\/p>\n Recently, our classic novels have been reprinted with different book covers; those which resemble that of the Twilight<\/em> series. While they may look new and shiny, the same story remains. However, I can\u2019t help but realize that that\u00a0feel<\/em> of the authenticity of the book has been defaced. And yes, Pride and Prejudice<\/em> may not have had the best cover to begin with, but the story itself was so different than anything read before. Which is what made it that much lovelier.<\/p>\n Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga<\/em>, was inspired by five different books throughout her skyrocketing writing career. Classics such as Romeo & Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, The Merchant of Venice<\/em> and even A Midsummers Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>. These are all wonderful classics that, let\u2019s face it, have inspired many other writers, but to take that inspiration to a new level is to be questioned.<\/p>\n By now it is obvious that Meyer is a big fan of our wonderful classics. We welcome her to our club with open arms. Does that mean that what she does afterwards will affect us? Of course.<\/p>\n Everyone is different, everyone likes things and appreciates them differently. Meyer\u2019s reprinting process is an act of embracing those wonderful novels that once inspired her. To others, like myself, it has become an act of defacing such wonderful novels that will remain fresh and great for years to come. I do not wish them to become sellouts.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just one more question: Do we want our spectacular novels to be known as the books that inspired Stephenie Meyer? Or do we want them to be known for the writer\u2019s who did anything and everything to put a good book in our bookshelves?<\/p>\n Think about that next time you hit your local Barnes and Noble and see Pride and Prejudice<\/em> with a flowery\u00a0cover.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nTell people this is awesome:<\/h3>