Bella's Choice in Eclipse: It's a little harder than you think.

Book #3, Eclipse, offers something to the reader that the first two books did not; you have to choose a side. Are you on "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob"? I'm sure you've seen the t-shirts being sold at different stores in the mall, but which one do you pick? Here are a few pros and cons in order to familiarize yourself with each side

Join the Vamps:

- Edward is super hot! Actually, he may be extremely good looking, but his body temperature will not leave you burning up. All vampires have skin that is stone cold, but they are pretty delicious eye-candy.

- Edward's English is impeccable. Born in the early 20th century, Edward has been able to pretty much master the English language. Not only is he easy on the eyes, but his sentences will melt you into a puddle of mush. Maybe it's just the Engligh major in me...

- Vamps take pretty awesome trips- including Italy by the way. They also drive pretty sweet cars- porshe anyone? Living the life of a Cullen has its definite advantages in the material world.

- The love story. Need I say more?

You might want to stay away if...

- as we see in New Moon, sometimes it's hard to stay a vegetarian vamp all the time, especially when you are still new to temptation and how to control your cravings. At the beginning of New Moon, Bella gets a paper cut and the youngest, most inexperienced Cullen, Jasper, has a fit when he smells the blood. Feeling that life is unsafe for Bella, the Cullen's decide to move and they take Edward with him...OH NO I've said too much!

- you DO NOT want to piss off the Volturi. The Volturi are described as the leaders of the vamps, they are the equivalent of the Italian Mob. It's not easy getting on their good side and if you get on their bad side, be-friggin-ware.

- be prepared to engage in war with other vamps, especially those like Victoria. To sum up, Victoria is introduced in Twilight, where her lover, James, tries to kill Bella. Edward retaliates and kills James before James kills Bella. Now Victoria is looking for revenge and wants to kill Edwards lover just as Edward has killed her lover. Also, beware of newborn vamps, those who don't quite know how to be discreet in a world full of fresh meat. The war scene between Victoria and Edward in Eclipse is pretty intense and is a highly recommended read.

Looking for fun in the forest? Join the werewolves for a howling good time:

- Werewolves have an average body temperature of well over 100 degrees. They are also warm, plus they have beating hearts unlike vampires. You could say that werewolves are definitely more human than vampires because they still breathe, they still eat and sleep and do much of the same things as humans do.

- You could be imprinted- legends say that each werewolf has one soul mate, and once a werewolf sees his/her soul mate, they are bonded for eternity. Imprinting can happen at any time, with anyone. Quil, for example, is one of the werewolves in the series. He's imprinted with a girl named Claire. The only problem with this relationship (non-sexual) is that Quil is approximately 16 years old and Claire is about 2 years old. This creates quite a problem now, but, since werewolves don't age, Embry has to wait until Claire reaches his approximate age in order to start a romantic relationship with her.

- The main purpose of the pack is to keep those who are good, regardless of demographics, safe. Werewolves will protect the innocent, it is in their nature to take care of the safety of others.

- The importance of family is a major priority for werewolves. Not only do they keep strangers safe, but their families and the pack are the most important people to them. The pack sticks together.

Stay away when things get heated...

- at the beginning of phasing, werewolves sometimes have trouble controlling their ability to turn from human to werewolf. There are people who have learned the hard way in the series, where, for example, Sam (the pack's Alpha) phased while is girlfriend was standing too close, which resulted in her entire right side to be permanently scared in what appears to be giant scratch.

- the Alpha is the leader at all times. Sam's job is to give direction, give orders and keep the pack united. If he says you fight, then you fight, regardless of whether you think it's right or not. This type of authority can sometimes create problems among pack members, but obeying the Alpha comes before disagreement.

So which side would you choose? I guess it doesn't really affect your life, since vampires and werewolves are supposed to be mythical creatures. But use your imagination and put yourself in Bella Swan's shoes...what would you do? We all know she has already picked Edward, but is it the right choice? Through reading the books, we know that she truly does love Jacob, and it seems as though as some points she seems torn between which side of her heart she should follow.

I really can't say for certain that Bella has made the right choice. Can you?

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