susan & her mother

After reading the first two chapters of the book it doesn’t seem to be about vampires at all. Ben and Susan are introduced as integral characters. A romance between them is more than likely and the central conflict of the novel appears to be potential pitfalls surrounding Ben and Susan’s relationship. I thought the dialogue between Susan and her mother was interesting. There are a lot of small town clichés that follow Susan’s announcement to her mother about her new friend, Ben. Mrs. Norton quickly decides she doesn’t approve of Ben. I think this is because he’s an outsider and small town people like to keep their lives small by not incorporating and new people into their lives. She criticizes his book and chides Susan about her relationship with Floyd. I have to admit that when Susan’s mother called Mable Werts I went from feeling annoyed with her character to outright disliking her. Personally, I can’t stand people who gossip. At the end of the part with Mrs. Norton I realized she is over protective of Susan when she thinks, “Oh Susan. I only want what’s best for you. Can’t you see that?” Perhaps this is another example of small town American mentality, but Susan is a college graduate, her mother needs to stop treating her like a child!