LFC Article - Etude, a new book like Twilight.

Etude Review, How it compares to Twilight

by Kenny Crane 5/29/12

Etude is a new Young Adult book that tells the tale of High School Senior Beth Arrington. This 2012 published volume by Melinda R. Morgan is the first installment of The Birthright Legacy. Beth narrarates her adventures from the time she begins to recover from a car accident that took her mom's life, to a point where she travels back in time to the Civil War era. The book has several similarities with another very popular Young Adult book series, The Twilight Saga.

The story starts with Beth leaving her life long home to go and live with her Uncle Connor. Her mother has died and her father is off on mysterious business in Europe. The car crash that killed her mom left Beth in a coma for months, followed by more time spent in a mental facility. She lost a year of her life and will be starting her Senior Year of High School in Anderson, Wyoming while living in a room at her uncle's home. At the outset of Twilight, Bella is starting school in Forks, Washington after moving in with her Dad who had been divorced from her mom. In each book, the parents are minor characters but they do play important roles in certain scenes.

Beth quickly makes friends with Darla, who introduces her to some members of the football team including the popular quarterback, Eric, who takes an immediate liking to her. But then Beth meets Jonathan Rollings, a college student who teaches piano. Beth is a huge fan of classical piano music. She was a promising piano virtuoso before losing the ability to use her left hand in the accident. Jonathan show Beth that she can still play the piano with her right hand while he plays the left handed parts. Their duets lead to a blossoming love affair. In Twilight, Bella meets several friends and then becomes entranced by Edward. She also reconnects with childhood friend Jacob who likes her quite a bit.

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It doesn't take long for Beth to notice that Jonathan is not like other people. Aside from his extaordinary charm and confident demeanor, he heals at a rapid rate from a nasty wound and displays superhuman strength in a fight with a deranged evil spirit who has intruded and possesed Eric's body. Beth soon learns that Jonathan is partly immortal; he could live forever but he could also be destroyed under certain circumstances. He heals rapidly and ages very slowly, due to the presence of a clear fluid circulating in his body in addition to his human blood. Bella finds out that Edward is a vampire and Jacob can become a wild werewolf in the Twilight books.

Here are some other points of comparison between Etude and Twilight. Both books have one word Titles. Both are about, and told from the point of view of High School girls in a new school and new town. Both girl's names begin with BE. Both towns figure into the plot; Forks is a classic gothic novel's perfect setting with its cold stormy climate and Anderson is a pleasant mountain town on top of some sort of mystical energy vortex. Both books have the same color schemes on their covers; black and white with a red rose on Etude and a red apple on Twilight. Both books describe the early days of an intense love affair. Both have minor friend characters other than the alternate love interests who have a more prominent role. Both introduce us to especially kind and idealistic family members of the primary charming and attractive main love interest. The biggest similarity is that this main love interest is not your typical human male! They are uberhuman immortals with "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men."

For parents who may be concerned about what their teen daughters are reading, there is another parallel with the Twilight series which should be comforting. Both Jonathan and Edward are complete gentlemen! Both men treat their ladies like gold. They support them emotionally and help them navigate the treacherous waters they find themselves in. In both cases, the couples do embrace and kiss, sometimes passionately. But as in Twilight, there are no sexual relations between the lovers. In both cases, it is implied that the girl is sexually attracted to her partner, and there is no doubt that her man feels the same. But both guys practice an admirable degree of self-control and although all parties are of above the legal age of consent, no sexual activity occurs.

ETUDE Links:
Official Etude Website
Buy Etude at Amazon
Etude on Facebook

Of course Etude is not an exact retelling of the Twilight tale. Beth is much more talented than Bella. She is quite adept at playing the piano and even tutors a younger student with great success. Beth practices critical thinking and understand the scientific method of proposing a hypothesis and then gathering data to see if it can be supported. Some have questioned why Bella and Edward are attracted to each other, besides his attraction to her blood and her attraction to his perfection. Beth and Jonathon share a love for music in general and piano playing in particular. Another major difference in the books is the fate of the alternate love interest; read Etude and see what becomes of Eric!

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Etude means "study", and Jonathon is studying his friend Beth who is complex and who provides a challenging partner for him to get to know as their love affair unfolds. Readers who loved Twilight will probably like and possibly love Etude. I found the book to be interesting and it has some nice descriptive paragraphs about the settings as well as the characters. I read a little at a time and always looked forward to the next time I could spend time with Beth and Jonathon. Now at the end of Etude, Beth has traveled out of current time and into a past time. I recommend that you spend some time with Etude; I think you will find it to be time well spent!

Kenny Crane has been writing about YouTube videomakers and their videos at YouTubeStars.com since June 2006. He also publishes the YouTube Top 100 Weekly Chart of the Most Popular YouTube videomakers.

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