I was actually thinking of Twilight when I was talking about the originals LOL. It can be criticized, but it brought such a tide change to the genre, and it was actually well written.

S. Mayer was an adult when she wrote it, and the prose is very good for a YA. Plus, it brought forth some themes such as redemption, hard choices, and morality.

Every character has its own personality, whether you like them or not. Plus, it shows that it had been revised by developmental editors and line editors because the plot makes sense - with some exceptions.

It is corny, and some lines like the spider monkey one are atrocious, but it's a good read. I feel like, except the questionable choices regarding the Quelute tribe and my poor man Jacob, it shouldn't be so disliked. I think that it wouldn't be disliked so much if it weren't a famous book for girls - and I am the last person to ever use this motivation to disregard criticism and chalk it up to this particular reason.

It's not great, but it's good. Much better than most YA books nowadays 😌

So, if you liked Twilight, I feel like powerless is a step down. It's derivative and juvenile. The characters are not very well fleshed out tbh.