Over the last decade or so there has been an uproar and serious debate over two book series; Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Fans of both series have come forth, in all manner of ways, to convince the world that their story is better, but there will no longer be any need for that. With this research paper I will conclusively prove what everyone knows in their hearts: Harry Potter is better than Twilight. All one has to do is look at the facts. The writing and storytelling is more complex and detailed than Twilight; the genres are varied so there is something for everyone in the Harry Potter books; the characters are imperfect but realistic and much more lovable than the Twilight characters; and finally the morals in Harry Potter are much more desirable than Twilight. The Harry Potter books teach us how to be brave and true to yourself despite adversity. They teach us about love and loss and friendship; Twilight doesn't.
It occurs to me that people reading this may not have the best understanding of what these two series are all about, in which case all my research and points in the paper would become moot. So, let us first explore what these series are all about.
Harry Potter, a seven book and eight movie series that has dominated both the bestseller list and the theaters since they first came on the scene with Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone in Britain in 1997. It has captured the hearts and minds of children and adults alike and because of the multitude of books it is hard to find a brief summary of the whole series, but where there is a will there is a way, "The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers that he is a wizard. Wizard ability is inborn, but children are sent to wizarding school to learn the magical skills necessary to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry is invited to attend the boarding school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, and most of the events take place at Hogwarts. As he struggles through adolescence, Harry learns to overcome many magical, social and emotional hurdles" (Jackk). Truer words were never spoken, because that is what Harry Potter is all about. It may have wizards, and magic, and epic battles between good and evil, but at the heart of it all, this story is about growing up and dealing with everything that goes with it including: the loss of innocence, gaining wisdom, discovering love, and in the end saying goodbye to your childhood as you begin the next chapter of your life.
Twilight is a completely different concept entirely, "Twilight is a young adult vampire-romance novel written by author Stephenie Meyer... It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella 'Bella' Swan who moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn" (Wiki). As you can see, the Twilight and Harry Potter seriesare completely different, which is why it always baffled me when people would compare the two, and even more so when they would say that Twilight was better. It's not. Beyond the romance part there isn't really any plot to the series. Meyer tries to incorporate a plot with the Volturi but it is not thought through and rarely comes up in the story.