Bella is annoying, selfish and not a good role model for girls. I'm not sure why she is so helpless and needy, but she is... and unnecessarily so! I like the NA theme and read 3 of the 4 books as a screening process for my kids, but I will have to discuss what a strong and healthy lead character should look like and why the sudden infatuation with a boy without much thought is common among teenagers, but in the long run it is not healthy.I wish Stephenie Meyer would have wrote a strong lead female character, but I'm not sure if it's the strong patriarchy stressed in the LDS religion that influenced her character development of a helpless needy girl that needs the strength of men to protect her or what. But it isn't the best book I've ever read, but I enjoy the NA theme and the discussions about selfishness, independence, and healthy relationships that I can have with my kids.