After all the hype when "Breaking Dawn," the last book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, was released last month, I immediately bought a copy of the first book for my 12-year-old son.

He could tell by just looking at the cover that it wasn't the book for him. Good thing, because it's definitely not a book for a 12-year-old and might not appeal to older boys, either.

Since the series' popularity has been compared to that of the Harry Potter books and women my age admitted they were buying the books for themselves, not their daughters, I figured I might as well take a peek. About 48 hours later, I had devoured the entire series and even looked at the leaked draft that Stephenie Meyer posted on her Web site — with the unfortunate note that the leak might mean she won't complete it.

You might as well add my name to the list of women whose prom days are well behind them, yet still can't resist being sucked in by a supernatural high school romance.

But back to where I started. I bought this book for my 12-year-old because it was the best-selling book in Amazon Kindle's "children's chapter book" section. Perhaps the problem is that the Kindle section doesn't differentiate between children and young adults, because this is definitely not a kids' book.

It's young adult, with an emphasis on adult.

Despite the genre, it's not much in the way of a "horror" story, but it could be a horror story for parents of teenage girls.

The main character, Bella Swan, is shy, clumsy, socially inept and utterly endearing for all her flaws. I couldn't help but love her. I'm sure if I was a teenage girl, I would want to be her.

And therein lies the problem. Shove all the supernatural stuff aside and you have a hopelessly romantic teenager who would risk everything for love. You adore Bella regardless, but you'd totally ground your daughter if she did some of the things Bella does.

That said, read the books because they're fun, but also preview the books if you have a young girl asking to read them. Bella is a junior in high school when her story begins and the series stretches across a couple years — leading into some mature territory.

It might not be meant for a 36-year-old mom, but it also shouldn't be included in the children's section.

When she's not being a reporter, Treena Shapiro is busy with her real job, raising a son and daughter. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs