Norah vs. Bella - Face Off

Norah Silverberg
1. Hangs out with a "dark element." Punks, drunks and drag queens.
2. She's no virgin.
3. Stays out all night long
4. Frequent use of the F-word
5. Loves stale Oreos

Bella
1. Hangs with the "dark element" of bloodsuckers, werewolves and an Italian Vampire mafia.
2. Hopelessly accident Prone
3. Brings about chaos wherever she goes
4. Mourns her dumping for six months before jumping off a cliff
5. Sacrifices herself for her unborn child.

I think what bugs me the most, is that this little list of character imperfections still makes Bella look like the on the surface better choice for a young girl to look up to. I have my problems with the Twilight books because I feel like Bella is a horrible role model for young girls. She is supposedly so smart, but all she does is dream and moon over her boyfriend Edward. And the only future she sees for herself is becoming a vampire because he's a vampire.
I wanted to show a literary contrast of a female character I did admire, and immediately I thought about Norah, the punky protagonist of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Unfortunately, to the mainstream public eye, Bella still comes off as a saint.

There are 100 ways that Norah is a better role model than Bella, but here are just a few.
1. She know what she wants to be when she grows up.
2. She's firm in her beliefs, which are strait edge, so she's not the kind of girl who spends the whole book on drugs or drinking.
3. She can take care of herself. This Jersey Girl spends an entire night in New York City and finds a way to keep herself fed, entertained and alive without the help of a boy.

I would much rather have a daughter who told a guy to fuck off because she was busy scouting bands than jumping off a cliff because she was dumped.
Sorry Bella. You might have the cars and the money and the immortality, but Norah's got the soul- and a kick ass soundtrack.