The Plaid Pladd

Yesterday was Thursday, which I detest. However, this Thursday I can hardly remember any of the bad parts because I was so engrossed in the book I started that morning and finished around midnight:

This cover has almost nothing to do with the plot

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore. I have made a check list for comparison.

1. Main character: Sylvie Davis v. Bella Swan

Sylvie Davis

Imagine a tutu instead of a cheerleading outfit and snarkiness instead of 80s hair

Backstory: 17-Year-Old international ballet sensation until the tragic accident that broke her leg. She’s better now, but with mom remarried she is forced to go spend the summer at her dead father’s family’s plantation mansion in Middle of Nowhere, Alabama.

Hobbies: Wishing she could still dance, talking to her adorable dog, solving mysteries, gardening, fighting the undead, historical research, being a reincarnation of an Ancient Welsh princess

Secret abilities: MAGIC, seeing dead people, and being from an Old Southern family

Growth throughout the book: She changes from a depressed, slightly snobby New Yorker into a ghost-fighting, mystery-solving True Daughter of the South.

When the going gets tough, she: runs headlong into the haunted woods totally ignoring her limp or personal safety.

Bella Swan

If I crease my forehead, it will look like I have emotions, which is more acting than you're doing, Robert

Backstory: When her mother remarries, she moves in with her father in Middle of Nowhere, Washington. That’s about it.

Hobbies: fulfilling the traditional woman’s role, falling down, EDWARD EDWARD EDWARD

Secret abilities: fainting, construing abuse as love

Growth throughout the book: She changes from a vapid, personalityless shell to a vapid, personalityless shell with a defining characteristic! Unfortunately, that’s dependence on a sparklepire.

When the going gets tough, she: swoons and then patiently waits for a big strong man to save her

2. Setting: Alabama v. Washington
Creepy Alabama

Take Disney's Haunted Mansion ride and add a sassy cook

Settings include Creepy Haunted Mansion with adjoining haunted forest, nearby small town of Mayberry Maddox Falls which apparently has good pie, creepy Civil War Era ghost town complete with creepy prison and grad student archeologists.

Product of: Actual research

Forks, Washington

I included this google image of it since that's all Stephenie Meyer knows either

Settings include rainy forest, rainy beaches, rainy Bella’s house, rainy school, rainy glass vampire house. Guess which is the only one described in any detail.

Product of: A fever dream and stereotypes

3. Villain: Every other character plus some ghosts v. the second dumbest vampire ever
Ghost Confederate soldiers/oddly charismatic student body president guy/hot Welsh guy/industry/the Self

One of the great things about The Splendor Falls is that it’s a mystery with suspense (words italicized so SMeyers will realize they are vocab words she needs to look up and use in a sentence or a novel). Therefore, until the last few chapters, it’s impossible to know who the bad guy is. But practically every other character is a suspect including Sylvie herself, since for awhile she thinks she’s going crazy (you know, a rational response to seeing the undead). Other possible suspects include: her ancestor the mean Southern colonel’s malevolent ghost, a shrieking ghost girl who turns out to be his disgraced daughter, a sad ghost baby (you can probs see where that subplot is going), the unquiet Union prisoner dead, Shawn Maddox the oddly charismatic leader of the Teen Town Council who, despite their idiotic name, are clearly UP TO SOMETHING NO GOOD/voodoo, and Rhys, a secretive Welsh hottie staying at the mansion/hotel and “doing research” that involves sneaking off into the woods and telling Sylvie she’s in grave danger but never elaborating.

When men get pushy, secretive, and generally act like asshats, Sylvie: tells them to stop being a dick, stops talking to them, walks away, avoids them

Some vampire

I know he has a name, but I doubt SMeyers even remembers it he was such a minor character

I mean, I’m sure this guy tried to be menacing, but when you’re introduced on page 400 there’s not much you can do besides take your shirt off, foil the main characters’ idiotic plans with your own only slightly less stupid ones, and hope for the best.

When men get pushy, stalkity, and completely abusive, Bella: falls even deeper in LOVE

4. Love Interest: Rhys v. Edward

Rhys

I typed "Hot Welsh Guy" into Google images and Christian Bale came up

Despite saving Sylvie from plummeting off a cliff this one time and being really considerate about her still hurt leg, Rhys may also be the bad guy considering how he’s 1) way too snarky, 2) sneaks off all the time to do something, 3) will not share what it is and gets way cryptic when you try to ask, and 4) may or may not have dropped a mine shaft on his BFF back in Wales. Also he may be a voodoo wizard?

His hotness: is no excuse for his jerkiness. Good job, Sylvie. Way to have priorities.

Edward

I tried to find one where his hair looks the most ridic, but it was too hard to choose

Edward’s main attraction is that he is the hottest male ever in any species (above picture apparently notwithstanding). He’s also way good at every possible skill, including entomology. But he may also be a villain considering that he’s a vampire and may rip Bella apart at any time and feast upon her flesh. I personally consider him to be a villain because he never does this. All the other reasons that he is a “love interest” revolve around being domineering and abusive, so I count it towards evidence for his impending trial rather than reasons why he is a mysterious and exciting male lead.

His hotness: is a license to stalk. And can blind unwitting motorists. Apparently.

5. The Plot: Constant Confusion vs. Constant Boredom

The Splendor Falls
I feel like I need some kind of complex flow chart to explain this plot. But when I tried it I got this:

And that is ignoring some of the subplots

I seriously still did not know what was going on till the last chapter.

Twilight
Happily (or sadly), Twilight’s was so easy to draw, that I even took time to add labels:

I thought about writing out more of the characters' names, but then realized I don't remember them for a reason

6. Authors: Rosemary Clement-Moore v. Stephenie Meyer

Rosemary Clement-Moore
Although her website is way less syrupy and self-indulgent than SMeyer’s, Rosemary seems to be pretty bitchin’. She lists Arsenic and Old Lace, Firefly, Guitar Hero, and Jasper Fforde as some of her favorites, which means that we could sit next to each other on a bus and become instant BFFs. However, she doesn’t seem crazy, which is something I like in my authors.

Stephenie Meyer
And crazy is one area where SMeyer doesn’t disappoint. I don’t even know what to say here because there are TOO MANY options. First, she wrote Twilight. Second, it came to her in a dream. Third, she claims to be in love with the main characters. Fourth, she went to the trouble to explain how Edward can deal with being around Bella when she’s menstruating (and her explanation is ridic). There’s more, but I’m sick of thinking about Twilight. Oddly, I think this round goes to SMeyer, simply because she enriches my life with her crazy. And by that I mean, I like laughing at her.

Splendor Falls: 5 Twilight: -8,999
I took off points for how long it took me to slog through.