Can't give these books a fair rating anymore. I loved them as a twenty-one-year-old, hate them as an adult, but am pretty sure I could still enjoy reading them--even though they're terrible--for nostalgia if nothing else. 
 Original review: 
 Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I loved this book. 
 Let's be honest--no one loves it because it's brilliant literature. We know it's not; in fact, it's fairly mediocre writing, and sometimes downright painful. 
 But sometimes a book hooks you in spite of its flaws. Sometimes the circumstances in your life have as much to do with your reading as the book itself does, and sometimes a book is just what you need... right now. When that happens, that book sticks with you for a long time. 
 Believe me, I have plenty of complaints. The bizarrely codependent relationships... The main character's utter lack of self-worth and tendency toward self-destructive behavior... The number of times a vampire's eyes are described as "ochre" or "golden." There is cheesiness galore, and besides that, I don't know that I could recommend this book to kids I care about without knowing that they're pretty emotionally stable, since it's basically a parade of unhealthy relationships and stupid choices presented as the ultimate ideal of true love. 
 But for me, at that time in my life, it worked. And I'm okay with that.