I just finished reading the 4th book. I let my daughter read the series against my better judgment. If I had it to do over again, I would stand my ground.
Yes, there are some teachable moments in the books. That Bella and Edward abstain from sex until marriage is a good thing. However, Bella didn’t want to wait and would have had sex with Edward if he had decided to do so. Additionally, Bella makes it clear that she really doesn’t want to get married. Edward uses marriage as a way to prevent Bella from becoming a vampire right after high school graduation. Bella caves and marries him not because she believes in the sanctity of marriage but because that is Edward’s condition to turn her into a vampire. So while there is a good lesson about abstinence, marriage is treated as a roadblock to Bella’s desire rather than as a sacred institution entered into before God.
The other thing that troubles me about this series is that Bella’s entire life revolves around Edward. It’s more than just a simple, sweet love story. Bella practically worships Edward. I think it’s a bad lesson for teenage girls to show Bella being so wrapped up in Edward and seriously self-hating at times that she believes being with Edward makes her complete. I don’t want my daughter to think that a boy or a husband will make her complete. Only a personal relationship with Christ can fill the holes in one’s life. The book leads us to believe that Bella’s clumsy, sad life was preparing her for eternal life as a vampire - that she was born to be one.
Take vampirism out of the book and you have the same, lame story with the same bad decisions and bad lessons.
Just with worse marketing.