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Becoming Edward
Rachel's hooked on Twilight and is in love with Edward Cullen. Clive is obsessed with Rachel but he's no Edward. Lewis is in love with himself until he meets Rachel. Both boys fail to win her until one of them has the bright idea of becoming Edward. This light-hearted teenage novel is for young adults who are fans of paranormal romance, especially Twilight and Breaking Dawn.
276 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2011
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898 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
September 26, 2011
Very sassy, smart writing. What a great idea for a book. It's original and funny with some bittersweet and laugh-out-loud moments. The characters are very well portrayed (I love Cassie! I think we share the same hair!).
I'm pretty sure both teens and adults are going to love this delightful novel.
I'm pretty sure both teens and adults are going to love this delightful novel.
June 8, 2011
An absolute MUST READ for any Twilight fan, a love triangle to rival A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's a wonderful story that's funny and irreverent, clever and absorbing. This is YA fiction at its best!
June 11, 2011
To Read:
Can't wait to read this one. Well, I hope it will be available here in the Philippines :))
SALUTE TO FAYE!
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Currently reading:
Currently reading and WOW. I'm definitely falling in love with this one :)) I guess I like this better than other Vamp books even this one doesn't have any magical creatures. I can't wait to finish this one :))
•Lewis is a great guy but a little playboy at first but he seems to change since he met Rachel. From the cool guy that can get any girl he wanted to a a guy who acts like a nerd because he didn't know what to say when he's around Rachel. He seems to be a little obsessed with her too. Now that there's a girl that can turn off his charm and make him realize that he have to work hard to get the girl he wanted.
Thanks to Olivia, her sister he got the idea of copying Edward Cullen's look and manners. Who did that? He must be crazy for her.
•Clive to me as a guy who waits in side line. I mean that He loves Rachel or likes her but he doesn't have the guts to say it to her or even show it and then he's like a stalker. He started working in a bookstore where Rachel and her friend, Cassi hangs out and he's staring at her when she's at the cafe and she won't see if Clive is out there staring. If not for his parents he won't express his love for Rachel by writing her a book/manuscript about vamps but he did give her the book/manuscript but he didn't told her the real reason for asking her opinion and why he wrote it.
•The there's Rachel. Every girl wants to be a Rachel. well, if not for the fact that she's like by a good guy who would write for her and share the same passion for reading and there was this ultimate guy who can charm every girl except her. She's kinda naive for not knowing that Clive likes her. She gives mixed signal to Clive and Lewis. Hope that she found her true love.
Still not yet finished but can't wait :))
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READ:
This book is great. Well, for the first time I get to review a book this long. This is a huge success not only for me but to the author. :))
Well, I love the ending.
•Lewis and Rachel are for each other and even though Lewis have this phase where he copies Edward they get through with it together.
•Clive and Olivia are together. I never really thought that Olivia and Clive would end up together at the end of the book. Well, Olivia liked him at first because of the manuscript he wrote for Rachel.
I rate this one as 5.
-Nicole
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2011
This was one of those random Kindle purchases that I make every once in a while when I come upon an ebook that simply intrigues me. I mean, come on, a book about a guy that decides to become Edward Cullen to win the girl? For the female Twilight fans, that is a MUST read if for no other reason than to find out how it goes! Plus, at a price like $2.99, it's simply too hard to resist.
I adore this book. Not only was the premise amusing and just too cute for words, but the characters were seemingly realistic and relatable. Rachel is most definitely one of those girls that is so addicted to Twilight and Edward Cullen, simply no boy will ever compare to the fictional heartthrob. She was also relatively sane for a die-hard Twilight fan, which is one stereotype that I was glad was not personified in the book. As a fan of Twilight, I fancy myself rather sane and definitely still connected to this thing we like to call reality.
I think the only thing that I wasn't so happy with was how far Lewis went with the whole 'becoming Edward Cullen' concept. Maybe I didn't use my imagination enough when I was reading the synopsis, but I was thinking he would fully turn on the Edward gentlemanly charm and maybe do the signature bouffant hairdo. But, no. It goes much deeper than that... almost to the point of sheer chaos. While it was cute, it was definitely straddling the line and teetering on outright creepy.
Becoming Edward was a fun, light-hearted read that can pretty much be read in one sitting. It's an endearing story about how far one guy will change to get the girl with many laugh-out-loud moments that will surely make the people around you think you're as crazy as those silly Twilight fans. ;)
I adore this book. Not only was the premise amusing and just too cute for words, but the characters were seemingly realistic and relatable. Rachel is most definitely one of those girls that is so addicted to Twilight and Edward Cullen, simply no boy will ever compare to the fictional heartthrob. She was also relatively sane for a die-hard Twilight fan, which is one stereotype that I was glad was not personified in the book. As a fan of Twilight, I fancy myself rather sane and definitely still connected to this thing we like to call reality.
I think the only thing that I wasn't so happy with was how far Lewis went with the whole 'becoming Edward Cullen' concept. Maybe I didn't use my imagination enough when I was reading the synopsis, but I was thinking he would fully turn on the Edward gentlemanly charm and maybe do the signature bouffant hairdo. But, no. It goes much deeper than that... almost to the point of sheer chaos. While it was cute, it was definitely straddling the line and teetering on outright creepy.
Becoming Edward was a fun, light-hearted read that can pretty much be read in one sitting. It's an endearing story about how far one guy will change to get the girl with many laugh-out-loud moments that will surely make the people around you think you're as crazy as those silly Twilight fans. ;)
August 24, 2011
Rachel is in love with Edward Cullen. Really, who wouldn't be? It's not like she's writing "Mrs. Edward Cullen" in her notebooks, or plotting horrible deaths for Bella Swan. It's just that Edward is so...well, "perfect" is the only thing that comes to mind. Real boys just can't measure up. Clive's been interested forever, but she just doesn't see him. Lewis would change his player ways for her, but she can't see past them. Only Edward will do, and that's just who Lewis intends to be. New hair, new clothes, no tan - nothing's too much if it means having Rachel. He'd do anything for her...anything but stop being Edward.
This is a really fun, light novel. It's a sweet homage to Twilight fans - acknowledging the hysteria without mocking it. Really, it's a classic tale - girl falls in love with literary character and boy can never measure up. Edward's just the latest in a long line of fantasy boyfriends - you know you've got one, too.
Lewis' transformation is what really makes the novel. It's self-aware at first; everyone knows what's going on. Guys don't ask for Edward's haircut for themselves, after all. The fashion makeover almost ends in disaster - they forgot the peacoat! Lewis makes a convincing Edward, to the point that he has to flee mobs of screaming girls. Lewis likes it - maybe too much. Out goes his surfer van; in comes the silver Volvo. Gold contacts, check. If Edward had fangs, Lewis would be at the dentist's in a hot minute.
This is fluff of the best kind. Girls who want dream boyfriends; boys who don't have a clue what girls want. We've all been there. It's a must for Twihards (you know who you are; we're not judging). Escapism, guilty pleasure, whatever you call it, it's just a great read.
This is a really fun, light novel. It's a sweet homage to Twilight fans - acknowledging the hysteria without mocking it. Really, it's a classic tale - girl falls in love with literary character and boy can never measure up. Edward's just the latest in a long line of fantasy boyfriends - you know you've got one, too.
Lewis' transformation is what really makes the novel. It's self-aware at first; everyone knows what's going on. Guys don't ask for Edward's haircut for themselves, after all. The fashion makeover almost ends in disaster - they forgot the peacoat! Lewis makes a convincing Edward, to the point that he has to flee mobs of screaming girls. Lewis likes it - maybe too much. Out goes his surfer van; in comes the silver Volvo. Gold contacts, check. If Edward had fangs, Lewis would be at the dentist's in a hot minute.
This is fluff of the best kind. Girls who want dream boyfriends; boys who don't have a clue what girls want. We've all been there. It's a must for Twihards (you know who you are; we're not judging). Escapism, guilty pleasure, whatever you call it, it's just a great read.
July 7, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised by this. I thought it would be all moody teenager thinks he's Edward Cullen smarming his way around moody Twilight girl. It's much better than that. It certainly has us guys pegged - we do ridiculous things to get girls and when they don't work it makes us go a bit crazy. It's original, funny (at the expense of the characters, not Twilight) and I totally related to the two boys - one over-thinks everything and the other completely misses the point of why girls are attracted to Edward Cullen - that was spot on.
September 27, 2011
A friend on goodreads sent me this recommendation. I'm indebted to her. I went to amazon.com and read a sample. I was hooked. I had to get this book but it was only available in Kindle format. I don't own a Kindle. I know, I know, it's hard to believe. Someone like me who loves to read doesn't own the latest and greatest reading tool. Call me old fashioned but I love to hold a book in my hand. This book wasn't out in paperback so I googled the title and author. Low and behold, it was available on smashwords in PDF format. I whipped out my card and purchased it immediately.
I am so glad I did. It was sweet and funny and such a pleasurable read. I finished it in one day.
Rachel was such a sweet and funny girl. The other characters were well fleshed out and each one played an integral part of the storyline.
Without giving away too much, here is my synopsis.
Rachel is a twihard fan. She won't date anyone because no one can come close to being her "Edward".
Clive is the guy friend sporting a painful crush on Rachel, but can't work up the courage to do anything about it.
Lewis is a previliged rich kid who meets Rachel and falls for her on sight. He is desperate to prove to her that he is "the one" for her so he re-invents himself to become her "Edward".
Cassie is Rachel's out-spoken brassy best friend who is always looking out for the sweet and shy Rachel.
Put them all together and you get one entertaining read.
This book is perfect for all the Twilight fans who are jonzing for more stories involving Edward or at least the guy who wants to "become" him.
So join me all you twihard fans. You won't be sorry.
I am so glad I did. It was sweet and funny and such a pleasurable read. I finished it in one day.
Rachel was such a sweet and funny girl. The other characters were well fleshed out and each one played an integral part of the storyline.
Without giving away too much, here is my synopsis.
Rachel is a twihard fan. She won't date anyone because no one can come close to being her "Edward".
Clive is the guy friend sporting a painful crush on Rachel, but can't work up the courage to do anything about it.
Lewis is a previliged rich kid who meets Rachel and falls for her on sight. He is desperate to prove to her that he is "the one" for her so he re-invents himself to become her "Edward".
Cassie is Rachel's out-spoken brassy best friend who is always looking out for the sweet and shy Rachel.
Put them all together and you get one entertaining read.
This book is perfect for all the Twilight fans who are jonzing for more stories involving Edward or at least the guy who wants to "become" him.
So join me all you twihard fans. You won't be sorry.
June 19, 2011
Loved it.
July 15, 2011
This book was hilarious! Lewis lost is mind. All the other characters were sensible. Overall it is a nice story to read and I think would be enjoyable for any Twilight fan.
July 13, 2011
A quick entertaining read. Thanks to Jodi for the lend of the Kindle book!
July 11, 2011
Definitely better than I expected! It was an addicting story and I snorted laughing at a couple parts. A bit cheesy and predictable at the end and the people I wanted together didn't end up together. Still a fun read for a Twilight fan.
November 2, 2011
Thank you soooooo much for keeping the love alive!!! Your book makes me so happy! :D xxoo
November 11, 2011
I am a twilight fan and this book is set in my home town, so i was always going to enjoy this book. Great sassy story and i laughed out loud at least once. Great book.
January 28, 2020
I thought I was going to have this finished this yesterday, but I just couldn't. It wasn't even 10 o'clock and my eyes were dropping.
At the beginning of the book, our main female protagonist, Rachel, mentions the first edition of Twilight which looks like this:
The only one I could find for sale at this very minute was one on a website called Biblico.co.uk selling for £399.99. See here.
While not being the best book I've ever read, it certainly has its charm (while having some flaws, I might add). Considering the strong humour specifically related to Briton, I'm not surprised that this was probably written by someone who is British. I can only imagine this working for someone who understands that type of humour; Americans and other cultures alike may simply not completely understand.
However, being British myself, I thought some parts were hilarious.
First of all, this book 100% has its priorities in place.
Duh.
Although the only thing about this is that Rachel's mother is mentioned, but we never actually get any lines from her. What's she been doing the entire book? What does she think about her daughters and Lewis' relationship? What about the party she goes to on the posher side of town?
Anyway, on some level, this book hit very close to home.
It's very strange.
Like it's echoing my thoughts; it's even more relatable than I'd imagined. Rachel is worried about never finding true love, or someone who is "her" Edward.
I don't think Rachel has been in as many failed relationships as me, but this is something that's definitely played on my mind a lot.
I don't think I need someone who is my "Edward", but you would have thought there would be someone for everyone out there... right? In that respect, though, I'd rather have a Jacob.
Then we meet Lewis. Lewis is our typical arrogant, thinks-he's-god's-gift, reckless, bad boy chick-magnet. He's the Sandbanks bad boy, who leaves a girl asleep in the garden and goes to the beach to avoid her. He's got everything he could ever ask for, the body, money, and looks.
And my, my, how far this character comes in this book. It's almost like Cady from Mean Girls' development in a way (except she has Regina's face, money, and clothes). Except that Cady and Lewis start out different; their only similarities being how they were both influenced to become someone else.
Yes, Lewis is a dick but what confused me the most is how he just decided he was sick of this lifestyle; partying, making out with girls, sleeping in until the late hours of the afternoon and decided to change. He decided that it "wasn't fair" on these girls. I don't know if this is maturity kicking in, but it seems like a lot of teenagers go through some kind of identity crisis and dramatically change the way they think, speak, and look.
I think if you've been taking advantage of these girls for so long, you don't just start thinking about their feelings after some time. If you're capable of doing that now, you were capable of thinking that way then.
Obviously, I expected Lewis's actions as Edward to be disastrous, as it said in the blurb. HOWEVER, I did not expect the copy-cat Port Angeles scene which goes badly wrong. Rachel full-on beats two of those guys up, and later, we see Lynn doing the same in the end scene. Is every female in this book a karate master now? Is Meredith trying to prove books can have strong female protagonists?
I suppose the moral of the story is good; be yourself and try not to get too influenced by a fictional character, so much you end up being that character yourself. Fans might want to dress like their idols, but copying toxic and negative personality aspects is too far; especially if you're putting yourself or others in danger.
So then we meet Clive. And how unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Rachel he is. What is it about this girl?
Or is it just something about Rachel's?
His POV gets increasingly difficult to read as he prattles on and on about how much in love he is with Rachel - so far through the book and this is all we know about him. And when Lewis meets Rachel and becomes infatuated with her.... good grief! We get too much Clive/Lewis and not enough Rachel, in my opinion.
It's clear Rachel only dreams of romance; someone to spend the rest of her life with. She doesn't want quick flings, or casual dates. She wants her Edward; someone who is unconditionally devoted to her.
So after meeting Lewis, Rachel starts falling for Lewis and it's immediate that if Lewis doesn't change the way he is, he'll never bag her. Clive is burning with jealousy, and our love triangle starts from there.
One thing I've got to note is that Lewis waits until last minute to buy his sister Olivia an 18th birthday present. Rachel recommends the special edition box set of Twilight.... but this is a nearly 18 year-old girl we're talking about; the Twilight phenomenon is huge. How in the world has she not read this yet?
Around 43 pages into the book, Rachel states:
However, Edward is portrayed to have creepy and stalkerish tendencies and she completely ignores Clive. If there's any boy she should be staying away from, it's Clive. He even refers to her as an "object" when he touches her on a whim.
After Clive has a strop, acts completely immaturely and yells at his parents for being nice, he tells his mother what's wrong and she suggests writing Rachel a story. So he sits and stares at a computer screen for 24 hours writing this vampire story for Rachel, just for her to go, after he asks her to read it, "Sure" *puts it in her bag, walks away*
I get being in love with someone, but not to the point where you're unhealthily staying up an entire day just to write a story for someone at school.
However, in the end, Rachel drops it, Lewis picks it up and takes it home, and Olivia stumbles across it. So I guess their relationship has been tied off. Olivia deserves better though. It's Clive.
During this scene, though, Clive looks through his iTunes for some inspiration for naming his story and he comes across a folder with singles and random bits of music in it he likes and he comes across A Love Like Blood by Killing Joke. It's not that I thought I was the only person who had a random songs iTunes folder, but it's so weirdly specific to something that I do. I probably do have A Love Like Blood in there, too, but it's more than likely in the "Goth & Punk" folder than the alternative folder.
Then we have that whole "Lynn likes you" "No she doesn't" "Yes, she does" thing going on with Ginster. Just for it to turn out to be Ginster that she likes. I'm as angry at the character - I'm not sure what the point of that was except to make Clive look like a complete idiot.
This book makes a huge point of how old it is; Lewis goes looking for Rachel's profile on Bebo and MySpace? That's just funny.
I did like the part where Clive gets recruited into Kat's family, though. He thinks about it maurely and unbiasedly, weighting the pros and cons of being an enemy or ali.
And what was with Kat's entry into this? I mean, did Meredith decide that nothing much was happening and decided to introduce a character, which, supposedly, was up in everyone's business all the time? If that was the case, she should have been present throughout the entire book opposed to when things just started kicking off.
Knowing that Olivia and probably Lewis has a guilty conscious about sitting around, doing nothing all day is quite satisfying, although quite unrealistic. Do rich people-riders feel guilty that they're just sitting around, contributing nothing to society, or do they actually look down on us poor peasants and enjoy it? Olivia likes to volunteer at her local charity shop, but I'm sure there's many, many more things she can volunteer at. At the same time, I'm really glad Meredith didn't just make us read about two posh totties, gloating about having all the money and looks. It must be a pretty sad life if you're living with no goals, ambitions, or dreams.
In the end, Cassie, and one of Lewis's friends, Matt, get together and Ginster, who Lynn is dating, calls them "Massie" which is practically shipping them together. This book was published in 2011, so I'm not quite sure if "shipping" was 100% a thing yet, but anyway. On the next page Rachel says "Kat, you're drunk. Go home" which didn't become a meme until a year after this was published.
As a conclusion, I think my favourite character overall was... the ice cream guy. No, that's a joke, but he came close. It's actually Olivia. Clive was too much sometimes; all Lewis needed telling was "be yourself" and Rachel didn't have enough chapters in the book herself. Olivia is the type of sister I'd want. She's down to earth, mature, funny, and compassionate. Not to mention beautiful and endearing.
The entire book gets a 3. It's not terrible, but more could be done to make it an enticing and gripping story.
I forgot to mention that this book mentions going to see Breaking Dawn but in reality, Breaking Dawn is split into two parts.
No-one could ever be Edward, she realised now.
But could he be her Edward?
Definitely.
At the beginning of the book, our main female protagonist, Rachel, mentions the first edition of Twilight which looks like this:
The only one I could find for sale at this very minute was one on a website called Biblico.co.uk selling for £399.99. See here.
While not being the best book I've ever read, it certainly has its charm (while having some flaws, I might add). Considering the strong humour specifically related to Briton, I'm not surprised that this was probably written by someone who is British. I can only imagine this working for someone who understands that type of humour; Americans and other cultures alike may simply not completely understand.
However, being British myself, I thought some parts were hilarious.
First of all, this book 100% has its priorities in place.
For a single mum and her daughter, a hard-looking dog like Cindy was better than having a man around.
Duh.
Although the only thing about this is that Rachel's mother is mentioned, but we never actually get any lines from her. What's she been doing the entire book? What does she think about her daughters and Lewis' relationship? What about the party she goes to on the posher side of town?
Anyway, on some level, this book hit very close to home.
It's very strange.
Like it's echoing my thoughts; it's even more relatable than I'd imagined. Rachel is worried about never finding true love, or someone who is "her" Edward.
I'm worried true love doesn't exist apart from in books and movies. That there isn't an Edward for me, or if there is we might miss each other.
I don't think Rachel has been in as many failed relationships as me, but this is something that's definitely played on my mind a lot.
I don't think I need someone who is my "Edward", but you would have thought there would be someone for everyone out there... right? In that respect, though, I'd rather have a Jacob.
Then we meet Lewis. Lewis is our typical arrogant, thinks-he's-god's-gift, reckless, bad boy chick-magnet. He's the Sandbanks bad boy, who leaves a girl asleep in the garden and goes to the beach to avoid her. He's got everything he could ever ask for, the body, money, and looks.
And my, my, how far this character comes in this book. It's almost like Cady from Mean Girls' development in a way (except she has Regina's face, money, and clothes). Except that Cady and Lewis start out different; their only similarities being how they were both influenced to become someone else.
Yes, Lewis is a dick but what confused me the most is how he just decided he was sick of this lifestyle; partying, making out with girls, sleeping in until the late hours of the afternoon and decided to change. He decided that it "wasn't fair" on these girls. I don't know if this is maturity kicking in, but it seems like a lot of teenagers go through some kind of identity crisis and dramatically change the way they think, speak, and look.
I think if you've been taking advantage of these girls for so long, you don't just start thinking about their feelings after some time. If you're capable of doing that now, you were capable of thinking that way then.
Obviously, I expected Lewis's actions as Edward to be disastrous, as it said in the blurb. HOWEVER, I did not expect the copy-cat Port Angeles scene which goes badly wrong. Rachel full-on beats two of those guys up, and later, we see Lynn doing the same in the end scene. Is every female in this book a karate master now? Is Meredith trying to prove books can have strong female protagonists?
I suppose the moral of the story is good; be yourself and try not to get too influenced by a fictional character, so much you end up being that character yourself. Fans might want to dress like their idols, but copying toxic and negative personality aspects is too far; especially if you're putting yourself or others in danger.
So then we meet Clive. And how unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Rachel he is. What is it about this girl?
Or is it just something about Rachel's?
His POV gets increasingly difficult to read as he prattles on and on about how much in love he is with Rachel - so far through the book and this is all we know about him. And when Lewis meets Rachel and becomes infatuated with her.... good grief! We get too much Clive/Lewis and not enough Rachel, in my opinion.
It's clear Rachel only dreams of romance; someone to spend the rest of her life with. She doesn't want quick flings, or casual dates. She wants her Edward; someone who is unconditionally devoted to her.
So after meeting Lewis, Rachel starts falling for Lewis and it's immediate that if Lewis doesn't change the way he is, he'll never bag her. Clive is burning with jealousy, and our love triangle starts from there.
One thing I've got to note is that Lewis waits until last minute to buy his sister Olivia an 18th birthday present. Rachel recommends the special edition box set of Twilight.... but this is a nearly 18 year-old girl we're talking about; the Twilight phenomenon is huge. How in the world has she not read this yet?
Around 43 pages into the book, Rachel states:
"She had built her defences high, so only someone of Edward proportions would be strong enough to break through. This immense wall she had created gave her comfort and meant she didn't even have to deal with boys."
However, Edward is portrayed to have creepy and stalkerish tendencies and she completely ignores Clive. If there's any boy she should be staying away from, it's Clive. He even refers to her as an "object" when he touches her on a whim.
After Clive has a strop, acts completely immaturely and yells at his parents for being nice, he tells his mother what's wrong and she suggests writing Rachel a story. So he sits and stares at a computer screen for 24 hours writing this vampire story for Rachel, just for her to go, after he asks her to read it, "Sure" *puts it in her bag, walks away*
I get being in love with someone, but not to the point where you're unhealthily staying up an entire day just to write a story for someone at school.
However, in the end, Rachel drops it, Lewis picks it up and takes it home, and Olivia stumbles across it. So I guess their relationship has been tied off. Olivia deserves better though. It's Clive.
During this scene, though, Clive looks through his iTunes for some inspiration for naming his story and he comes across a folder with singles and random bits of music in it he likes and he comes across A Love Like Blood by Killing Joke. It's not that I thought I was the only person who had a random songs iTunes folder, but it's so weirdly specific to something that I do. I probably do have A Love Like Blood in there, too, but it's more than likely in the "Goth & Punk" folder than the alternative folder.
Then we have that whole "Lynn likes you" "No she doesn't" "Yes, she does" thing going on with Ginster. Just for it to turn out to be Ginster that she likes. I'm as angry at the character - I'm not sure what the point of that was except to make Clive look like a complete idiot.
This book makes a huge point of how old it is; Lewis goes looking for Rachel's profile on Bebo and MySpace? That's just funny.
I did like the part where Clive gets recruited into Kat's family, though. He thinks about it maurely and unbiasedly, weighting the pros and cons of being an enemy or ali.
And what was with Kat's entry into this? I mean, did Meredith decide that nothing much was happening and decided to introduce a character, which, supposedly, was up in everyone's business all the time? If that was the case, she should have been present throughout the entire book opposed to when things just started kicking off.
Knowing that Olivia and probably Lewis has a guilty conscious about sitting around, doing nothing all day is quite satisfying, although quite unrealistic. Do rich people-riders feel guilty that they're just sitting around, contributing nothing to society, or do they actually look down on us poor peasants and enjoy it? Olivia likes to volunteer at her local charity shop, but I'm sure there's many, many more things she can volunteer at. At the same time, I'm really glad Meredith didn't just make us read about two posh totties, gloating about having all the money and looks. It must be a pretty sad life if you're living with no goals, ambitions, or dreams.
In the end, Cassie, and one of Lewis's friends, Matt, get together and Ginster, who Lynn is dating, calls them "Massie" which is practically shipping them together. This book was published in 2011, so I'm not quite sure if "shipping" was 100% a thing yet, but anyway. On the next page Rachel says "Kat, you're drunk. Go home" which didn't become a meme until a year after this was published.
As a conclusion, I think my favourite character overall was... the ice cream guy. No, that's a joke, but he came close. It's actually Olivia. Clive was too much sometimes; all Lewis needed telling was "be yourself" and Rachel didn't have enough chapters in the book herself. Olivia is the type of sister I'd want. She's down to earth, mature, funny, and compassionate. Not to mention beautiful and endearing.
The entire book gets a 3. It's not terrible, but more could be done to make it an enticing and gripping story.
I forgot to mention that this book mentions going to see Breaking Dawn but in reality, Breaking Dawn is split into two parts.
March 23, 2012
The reader gets to know Rachel’s background before we meet best friend Cassie. Cassie talks Rachel into going to Bournemouth town centre on the premise that she will buy her another copy of Twilight.
While they are on the bus, the story moves to Lewis. The reader is immediately aware of his easy lifestyle and the lack of respect he shows for the females in his life. Forgetting to buy a birthday gift for his sister Olivia, he rushes off to Bournemouth town centre. The shops are closing at the end of the day but Books ‘n’ Beans is still open … which is where he meets Rachel.
Clive works in Books ‘n’ Beans but also goes to school with Rachel and Cassie. Dark and brooding he has very little belief in himself.
Lewis invites Rachel to the birthday party at their home in Sandbanks. During the evening, she witnesses something that makes her decide to leave to protect her emotions.
What follows is a romantic dance that I can guarantee will entertain you. Narrated in the third person, the reader spends time with each of the lead characters. The characters are well-developed and the author moves the story on at a good pace. The figurative language had me laughing at times.
I identified with the places (familiar to me as I live in Bournemouth!) and they are true to life (although sadly, I haven’t experienced a personal shopping service in the department store).
Becoming Edward is a well-written teen love story. I admire the way the author has Rachel and Lewis communicating even though they have totally different backgrounds. This could have come across as unbelievable but it is written in such a way that it feels totally natural. The reader will experience ‘gang culture’/bullying with a totally unexpected hero. I enjoy seeing characters grow and feel comfortable in their skin. Usually with the books I read it is the females, but this time it is the two male leads. I have no hesitation in recommending Becoming Edward to the targeted teen market.
I would like to thank the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
While they are on the bus, the story moves to Lewis. The reader is immediately aware of his easy lifestyle and the lack of respect he shows for the females in his life. Forgetting to buy a birthday gift for his sister Olivia, he rushes off to Bournemouth town centre. The shops are closing at the end of the day but Books ‘n’ Beans is still open … which is where he meets Rachel.
Clive works in Books ‘n’ Beans but also goes to school with Rachel and Cassie. Dark and brooding he has very little belief in himself.
Lewis invites Rachel to the birthday party at their home in Sandbanks. During the evening, she witnesses something that makes her decide to leave to protect her emotions.
What follows is a romantic dance that I can guarantee will entertain you. Narrated in the third person, the reader spends time with each of the lead characters. The characters are well-developed and the author moves the story on at a good pace. The figurative language had me laughing at times.
I identified with the places (familiar to me as I live in Bournemouth!) and they are true to life (although sadly, I haven’t experienced a personal shopping service in the department store).
Becoming Edward is a well-written teen love story. I admire the way the author has Rachel and Lewis communicating even though they have totally different backgrounds. This could have come across as unbelievable but it is written in such a way that it feels totally natural. The reader will experience ‘gang culture’/bullying with a totally unexpected hero. I enjoy seeing characters grow and feel comfortable in their skin. Usually with the books I read it is the females, but this time it is the two male leads. I have no hesitation in recommending Becoming Edward to the targeted teen market.
I would like to thank the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2015
This is one of the worst books that I've ever read! I thought that it was going to be fun and quirky, but it was poorly writen with a predictable plot and shallow, boring characters.
Looking back on it, I don't know why I thought a book that is dedicated to worshiping Twilight would be good.
The most ridiculous part of the whole novel was the fact that a steady, level header man, who also is a bit of man whore,(Lewis) would be interested in a book like Twilight and get obsessed with it. Towards the end, his sister Olivia brings up the point that Lewis always gets into obsessions and becomes the character. This bothered be because a) why mention it at the end? Its never been metioned previously and b) THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! No one, and I mean no one who isn't a mental health paitent, can get away with getting so obsessed with a imaginary character and come out of it like nothing ever happened. I don't understand how when Lewis started to act like Edward, his sister didn't immediately throw him in an aslyum.
Another plot flaw was when a character called Kat appeared out of the blue and she was turned into a major antagonist! When she first appeared I couldn't work out why she was mentioned or why she was so scary!I don't understand why she was even in this book, let alone a major character.
Also, the ages of these characters! Rachel is still in High School, but Lewis and Olivia aren't and haven't been for a long time, even though Olivia only turned 18 at the start of the novel. Also, even though Rachel and her friends are in high school, they are stil somehow able to be served in a bar! I'm sorry, but I think the author just couldn't remember the age of the characters throughout the novel and decided on about 3 or 4.
I mean, I can usually handle bad writing cause the amazing plot or concept makes up for it, but in this case, the writing and the plot were in competition for the worst of each ever!
I hated this book and regret reading it! Don't read it cause it's a waste of time!
Looking back on it, I don't know why I thought a book that is dedicated to worshiping Twilight would be good.
The most ridiculous part of the whole novel was the fact that a steady, level header man, who also is a bit of man whore,(Lewis) would be interested in a book like Twilight and get obsessed with it. Towards the end, his sister Olivia brings up the point that Lewis always gets into obsessions and becomes the character. This bothered be because a) why mention it at the end? Its never been metioned previously and b) THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! No one, and I mean no one who isn't a mental health paitent, can get away with getting so obsessed with a imaginary character and come out of it like nothing ever happened. I don't understand how when Lewis started to act like Edward, his sister didn't immediately throw him in an aslyum.
Another plot flaw was when a character called Kat appeared out of the blue and she was turned into a major antagonist! When she first appeared I couldn't work out why she was mentioned or why she was so scary!I don't understand why she was even in this book, let alone a major character.
Also, the ages of these characters! Rachel is still in High School, but Lewis and Olivia aren't and haven't been for a long time, even though Olivia only turned 18 at the start of the novel. Also, even though Rachel and her friends are in high school, they are stil somehow able to be served in a bar! I'm sorry, but I think the author just couldn't remember the age of the characters throughout the novel and decided on about 3 or 4.
I mean, I can usually handle bad writing cause the amazing plot or concept makes up for it, but in this case, the writing and the plot were in competition for the worst of each ever!
I hated this book and regret reading it! Don't read it cause it's a waste of time!
September 16, 2011
This was recommended to me by a friend and it wasn't what I was expecting - It was much, much better! I read it in an afternoon. It's not Shakespeare, but it's light, fluffy, funny and totally entertaining. Five stars, easy.
August 12, 2011
I was rooting for Clive. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2011
This book is a super cute and fast read. It is a great read for those of us who were or are obsessed with finding our Edward!! Great for Twilight fans!!
May 13, 2012
A light and heart-warming read, with extravagant but funny characters. Every girl looking for "her Edward" should read this!
October 30, 2011
Was a fun read! :D
October 1, 2011
This was really good.You will enjoy this especially if your a twilight fan.I really like this book though I wish some parts were diffrent it ok.Overall i enjoyed the book
October 15, 2011
Very light, very fluffy, very quick read. For Twilight fans only, as is probably obvious!
April 23, 2019
Not the most well-written books I've ever read, but still an entertaining read.
The sudden changes in perspective make it confusing and chaotic. The characters aren't THAT likeable, and we don't REALLY get to know what motivates them, - and where the heck are all the grown ups?!?
LOADS of references to the Twilight Saga, which is what makes it fun; it not only talks about, but also mimics the Twilight Saga. How many similarities can you find along the way? Personally I gave up counting - there where many!
The sudden changes in perspective make it confusing and chaotic. The characters aren't THAT likeable, and we don't REALLY get to know what motivates them, - and where the heck are all the grown ups?!?
LOADS of references to the Twilight Saga, which is what makes it fun; it not only talks about, but also mimics the Twilight Saga. How many similarities can you find along the way? Personally I gave up counting - there where many!
July 27, 2018
Cute and funny but I‘d have prefered an ending with rachel choosing neither of the two guys and coming around her expectations as I didn’t see any of them having any chemistry with her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2021
Nice
I enjoyed it a lot. I found it difficult to put it down. I would recommend this to any one.
I enjoyed it a lot. I found it difficult to put it down. I would recommend this to any one.
March 5, 2023
Cute. Nothing more, nothing less.
December 5, 2013
Let me just start off by saying I don't like Twilight. I didn't always start that way, either. When I first saw the hype, I was intrigued. A friend bought me book 1 and insisted I'd love it. Given my 14/15 year old penchant for poorly written fanfiction and YA literature, I figured I'd like it. But I didn't.
Don't get me wrong, it draws me in. Even New Moon, there was a perverse need to keep reading [after DNF-ing on my first try]. (And yes, this is as far as I've gotten). The story hooked me, the characters didn't. And that's something I can't forgive enough to like. So my attention concentrates on the writing, which is pretty basic, blah, and nothing special. Even the world building could have used an editor.
So why pick up a book that was clearly written for Twilight fans? Well, every now and then we all need a piece of trashy literature. I was intrigued to see how, for lack of a better noun, Twihard the book could be. I was expecting something not quite as mindnumbing as Fifty Shades, but still pretty bad.
You see, the idea of a boy doing something for a girl, while done to death as a concept, is still something I love. As a teen, and even an adult, I'm the girl who tries a bit too hard to please. I went on a first date a little while ago and as the closet door creaked open on hundreds of items, I was faced with a crisis that Spice Girls blaring on my clock radio could only narrowly subvert - what was good enough for a first date with a beautiful boy?
This book is a little like that moment. It tries a little too hard at times, but I like the multiple points of view. First of all, they're 3rd person - which isn't my favourite point of view, but unlike 1st, it's a lot harder to get wrong. Secondly, most of the characters have moments like mine in front of the closet door. What do I do? What happens next? And the all seizing terror, how do I keep it going right?
Of course, the book, like the date's end, can be a little predictable if you know where to look. (I don't, which is why mystery novels are like chocolate coated gold for people with my ability to 'see-it-coming'). There's this neat little thing called resolution, or in the case of my date, it was too dark in the bar for him to notice anything but that my knee felt nice under the thin veneer of my I-swear-they-were-made-to-look-painted-on jeans.
Because this book is all about young love - the crazy things it makes you do and feel, the blindness, the shallowness and stupidity of it all, the neat little characteristics that seem earthshatteringly awful to us but are cute quirks that are easily overlooked, the awesomeness we're all too willing to overlook.
And really, it's not all about Twilight. Sure it plays a part and it's a crutch, probably written in there to sell a book, and there's tons of it mentioned to satisfy the fans. But for those who cringe with over it, Rachel's a cool girl. I wish I could have been more like her as a teen. There's a few scenes in here clearly trying to mimic the plot line of Twilight but the twists are AWESOME.
So, what made this book bad? Well, it clearly needed an editor and some tidying. I highlighted a word almost every page. There was a lot of reptition of nouns and adjectives and, for me, it was done wrong and felt clumsy and awkward, like the author's vocabulary wasn't up to par to flesh the sentence out and make it more unique. Sometimes the British-icsms (which are awesome, by the by) made the novel's sentence structure grammatically incomplete. And there were a boat load of typos which reeks self-published hurry.
Nevertheless, this author is GOOD. What she has got is a gift. She rises above the usual YA sound and, while not able to overcome all of the cliches, she gets over the ones that are more irksome than most and delivers tons of the stuff YA genre lovers want in their books. I look forward to seeing more by this author and think she's much better than a lot of what's getting published. I wouldn't be surprised to see if she makes it big someday.
Don't get me wrong, it draws me in. Even New Moon, there was a perverse need to keep reading [after DNF-ing on my first try]. (And yes, this is as far as I've gotten). The story hooked me, the characters didn't. And that's something I can't forgive enough to like. So my attention concentrates on the writing, which is pretty basic, blah, and nothing special. Even the world building could have used an editor.
So why pick up a book that was clearly written for Twilight fans? Well, every now and then we all need a piece of trashy literature. I was intrigued to see how, for lack of a better noun, Twihard the book could be. I was expecting something not quite as mindnumbing as Fifty Shades, but still pretty bad.
You see, the idea of a boy doing something for a girl, while done to death as a concept, is still something I love. As a teen, and even an adult, I'm the girl who tries a bit too hard to please. I went on a first date a little while ago and as the closet door creaked open on hundreds of items, I was faced with a crisis that Spice Girls blaring on my clock radio could only narrowly subvert - what was good enough for a first date with a beautiful boy?
This book is a little like that moment. It tries a little too hard at times, but I like the multiple points of view. First of all, they're 3rd person - which isn't my favourite point of view, but unlike 1st, it's a lot harder to get wrong. Secondly, most of the characters have moments like mine in front of the closet door. What do I do? What happens next? And the all seizing terror, how do I keep it going right?
Of course, the book, like the date's end, can be a little predictable if you know where to look. (I don't, which is why mystery novels are like chocolate coated gold for people with my ability to 'see-it-coming'). There's this neat little thing called resolution, or in the case of my date, it was too dark in the bar for him to notice anything but that my knee felt nice under the thin veneer of my I-swear-they-were-made-to-look-painted-on jeans.
Because this book is all about young love - the crazy things it makes you do and feel, the blindness, the shallowness and stupidity of it all, the neat little characteristics that seem earthshatteringly awful to us but are cute quirks that are easily overlooked, the awesomeness we're all too willing to overlook.
And really, it's not all about Twilight. Sure it plays a part and it's a crutch, probably written in there to sell a book, and there's tons of it mentioned to satisfy the fans. But for those who cringe with over it, Rachel's a cool girl. I wish I could have been more like her as a teen. There's a few scenes in here clearly trying to mimic the plot line of Twilight but the twists are AWESOME.
So, what made this book bad? Well, it clearly needed an editor and some tidying. I highlighted a word almost every page. There was a lot of reptition of nouns and adjectives and, for me, it was done wrong and felt clumsy and awkward, like the author's vocabulary wasn't up to par to flesh the sentence out and make it more unique. Sometimes the British-icsms (which are awesome, by the by) made the novel's sentence structure grammatically incomplete. And there were a boat load of typos which reeks self-published hurry.
Nevertheless, this author is GOOD. What she has got is a gift. She rises above the usual YA sound and, while not able to overcome all of the cliches, she gets over the ones that are more irksome than most and delivers tons of the stuff YA genre lovers want in their books. I look forward to seeing more by this author and think she's much better than a lot of what's getting published. I wouldn't be surprised to see if she makes it big someday.
October 8, 2014
On one of the days that I was on Twitter there was a tweet to get “Becoming Edward” by Faye Meredith for free on that day on Amazon. Intrigue by the title and reading the summary of the story I could not resist and ended up setting up the Kindle app on my devices and downloaded this freebie.
Days later after purchase (and after I had finished reading The 2nd book from the Hunger Games Trilogy, “Catching Fire”) I needed a quick break from that roller coaster ride and started to read this book. I had a guess that this book would be humorous to the sense that someone wanted to be like Edward (if the title did not say it all already) and that instinct was right on. A clear distraction from reading an emotional book to something light and funny is just what I needed and this just what that book gave me.
This book was written in a narrative point of view. The whole time I was reading, it felt like I was watching a play but with a narrater talking in my ear. Describing the scenes and noting the thoughts going on everyone mind gave it a more clearer picture of the story presented before me. Without spoiling on the details of the book too much I can say that where there is an Edward type character chances are there is a Jacob type character that will consists (no surprise) a love triangle. The relationships between the characters where cute to the point that each one knew what they wanted but figuring out how they were going to get there was their challenge.
Need something funny and cute to read about love….I totally recommend this book to all whether they are a Twilight fan or not.
Days later after purchase (and after I had finished reading The 2nd book from the Hunger Games Trilogy, “Catching Fire”) I needed a quick break from that roller coaster ride and started to read this book. I had a guess that this book would be humorous to the sense that someone wanted to be like Edward (if the title did not say it all already) and that instinct was right on. A clear distraction from reading an emotional book to something light and funny is just what I needed and this just what that book gave me.
This book was written in a narrative point of view. The whole time I was reading, it felt like I was watching a play but with a narrater talking in my ear. Describing the scenes and noting the thoughts going on everyone mind gave it a more clearer picture of the story presented before me. Without spoiling on the details of the book too much I can say that where there is an Edward type character chances are there is a Jacob type character that will consists (no surprise) a love triangle. The relationships between the characters where cute to the point that each one knew what they wanted but figuring out how they were going to get there was their challenge.
Need something funny and cute to read about love….I totally recommend this book to all whether they are a Twilight fan or not.
April 1, 2012
I read a lot of Young Adult books and am often not conscious of them being aimed at that target audience. However, I was very much aware that this book was aimed at older teenagers.
That said, it made for an amusing , light read.
Rachel is a young girl, living on a rough estate with an impoverished single Mother. We don't learn anything else about her Mother, or the estate that she lives on (I presume that it was only mentioned to show that she didn't have much money).
She is totally obsessed with the Twilight Saga and no longer dates as she cannot find anyone that measures up to Edward Cullen.
A class mate called Clive has a huge crush on her, that she is totally oblivious to. I found Clive a bit annoying to be honest. His way of second guessing every situation and over analysing everything quickly became irritating.
Enter Lewis.
Rich bad boy. Surfer, beach bum. Spoilt by his parents and sister. Blessed with good looks, money and oodles of charm. Having sex with a different girl every night, to the point that he doesn't even remember their names.
He then falls for Rachel.
And decides to "Become Edward" for her. He gives himself a complete make -over from hair, to clothes, to eye contacts. The silver Volvo. Everything.
Everything except the one thing that Edward does and that every girl wants. The ability to put her needs before his own.
I found this book a humorous, light read (a little bit over-the-top in places) ..... ideal for a lazy afternoon but not one that I would feel the need to read again.
That said, it made for an amusing , light read.
Rachel is a young girl, living on a rough estate with an impoverished single Mother. We don't learn anything else about her Mother, or the estate that she lives on (I presume that it was only mentioned to show that she didn't have much money).
She is totally obsessed with the Twilight Saga and no longer dates as she cannot find anyone that measures up to Edward Cullen.
A class mate called Clive has a huge crush on her, that she is totally oblivious to. I found Clive a bit annoying to be honest. His way of second guessing every situation and over analysing everything quickly became irritating.
Enter Lewis.
Rich bad boy. Surfer, beach bum. Spoilt by his parents and sister. Blessed with good looks, money and oodles of charm. Having sex with a different girl every night, to the point that he doesn't even remember their names.
He then falls for Rachel.
And decides to "Become Edward" for her. He gives himself a complete make -over from hair, to clothes, to eye contacts. The silver Volvo. Everything.
Everything except the one thing that Edward does and that every girl wants. The ability to put her needs before his own.
I found this book a humorous, light read (a little bit over-the-top in places) ..... ideal for a lazy afternoon but not one that I would feel the need to read again.
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