I prefer contemporary teen fiction and television to paranormal and fantasy (I know, don’t hate me), which is probably one reason I liked “Twilight” so much. “Vampire Diaries” claims to be “darker” and more “edgier” than “Twilight,” but at this point I’m not seeing how that is (the bad vampires bite and kill people, the high school scene is much the same, etc…).

I like the characters, especially the tension between the two brothers (good vampire vs. bad vampire). I also like the high school drama as it’s portrayed (the main character deals with her parent’s death and her brother has drug problems).

There are still a lot of unknowns (who is “Katherine,” and why is Stefan obsessed with Elena? It’s a little creepy that he keeps showing up, catching her off guard, and that his parents are gone too and that he lives with his uncle—Elena’s parents are gone and she lives with her aunt). This tension is good; it keeps us glued to the TV. I have to hand it to the CW…they know how to reach their audience.

 It’s worth tuning into, at least to give it a shot (or bite, ha ha ).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m7Sk81PIk]

And, one of the best parts, there will be a preview of “New Moon.” Yippee!

A couple of weeks ago Jimmy Fallon had Mark-Paul Gosselaar on and they were talking about doing a reunion, which Fallon was so giddy and excited about (made me feel less bad about myself that the idea filled me with glee too!).

Then yesterday I was in line at the grocery store and low and behold on the front of “People” magazine is a “Saved by the Bell” current cast photo along with a “REUNION!” headline.

I swear I NEVER buy magazines off of the rack in a store. I don’t think I’ve ever bought one in my life (would not want to be one of those suckers). But they were the heroes of my teen years and it cost four bucks so I thought what the heck. (Plus, the guy behind me was buying a “National Enquirer” so I felt much better about myself…this was “People,” not some tabloid, right?).

The article said it was the first official “reunion” in 20 years since the show ended. They did updates on the cast—what they have been doing since then and all. I was a little disappointed by the article, mainly because the headline on the front of the magazine said it was about “the hookups” and the “meltdowns” and “what was really going on,” but the article was all a bunch of, “We really loved each other,” comments, and that was it—two short pages worth. (Although, Screech, who apparently had a falling out with the rest of the cast, is going to be producing some juicy tell-all book).

It was ironic (in my mind, of course) because just last week I was frustrated with my lack of time to do anything, and I immediately thought of the episode where Jessie starts screaming, “There’s never enough time!” followed by her singing rendition of, “I’m so excited . . . I’m so . . . scared.” And so, in the middle of my frustration, this made me laugh….I love remembering that episode. I was pleasantly surprised when, in the column, she said that was her best memory of an episode too.

So there you have it…the “Saved by the Bell” reunion. Save your four bucks and just read about it online. And don’t ever forget what you loved as a teen, because it will carry through with you to your own YA books

PS I couldn’t get the Jimmy Fallon video to post here, so if you want to view it see this link.