Ten years have passed since the release of the greatest literary classic America has ever seen. Okay, who am I kidding. Ten years have passed since the worst book I was ever forced to read was released. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm talking about "Twilight." Yes, "Twilight." Everyone's favorite book about sparkling vampires, intense werewolves, and horrible romances. Once the final movie was released in 2012, we all pretty much felt like this:

However, three years later, it turns out Stephanie Meyer had other plans. Yes, if you haven't heard yet, Stephanie Meyer has released another "Twilight" book. But this time, things are a little different. You see, Stephanie Meyer has decided to do something interesting, she has decided to tell the story from a guy's perspective. However, it's not "Midnight Sun," the book from Edward's perspective that is apparently very popular in the fandom. No, this book is told from the perspective of Beau, an ordinary teenage boy, who falls in love with a vampire girl named Edythe. Sound familiar?

It should. The new "Twilight" book, "Life and Death," is being advertised as a gender-bent version of "Twilight." According to Meyer, this was mostly in hopes of putting to rest the constant criticisms over the fact that many perceived the main character Bella to be a "damsel in distress" trope. In order to get a better understanding of the book, I decided to read some of "Life and Death," and what I saw was surprising.

The book wasn't actually half bad, which, in my opinion, was the most surprising twist of all. However, this was mostly due to the fact that my standards were very low. That being said, the switch of genders actually is a major improvement, which I feel was best captured in a review by The Guardian, "The idea of a moody teenage boy going gooey over a centuries-old, mysterious, super-strong woman who can fly feels revolutionary. Add in... pages of moping about whether or not this powerful older woman actually likes him, and a pack of lady werewolves, and this is sounding like the book I’ve been waiting to read all my life." Another thing that makes the new book a slight improvement is the fact that in the 10 years since writing the first book, Stephanie Meyer has apparently learned how to write teenagers. For example, when the main character Beau says this:

I mean, what teenage boy wouldn't want to channel the awesomeness that is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? However, the book is still "Twilight," and despite the changes in some of the characters (for example, a man-bun sporting vampire), it still reads like a bad romance novel. On the bright side, it's not as bad as it was before. So if you need a good laugh, or are just curious, I recommend reading it.