Bella, a 17 year old high school girl, moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father. She meets the odd and handsome Edward Cullen at school and can not decide if he enjoys her presence or not. Soon, Edward miraculously saves Bella from a van in the school parking lot. Bella soon learns that Edward and subsequently his entire family are vampires. Bella and Edward fall madly in love before Bella is faced head on with a dangerous vampire named James, who nearly sucks her blood, before Edward saves Bella. The two later go to Bella's prom where she ponders becoming a vampire to spend an eternal life with Cullen.
Impact on Me
I, of course, had heard of the Twilight novels and have seen the movies that have come out in theatres, so I was excited to read the first novel. Oddly enough, I found that I enjoyed the movie more than the book. I found the writing to be bland and far too repetitive. I enjoyed the steemy romance that Meyer created between Bella and Edward and found their love believable. The entire fantastical world created in the books was appealing and entertaining, but the overused phrases really took away any chance of me recommending this book to others. Though, I am pretty sure most young adults have already read this book :)
Reviews
She’s most fascinated by Edward— the youngest of the five — and it turns out he feels the same, though to protect her from his own vampiric urges, as well as those of his family, there’s a great deal of pushing away and keeping his distance before his own passion can’t be denied. Ah, but the passion is all chaste kisses and long romantic conversations. It’s rather fascinating that these two teens (or at least Bella—Edward’s a few hundred years old) seem like characters from a Victorian novel, even though everything else in the book is very contemporary. This comes, no doubt, from Meyer’s own Mormon upbringing. Growing up as an avowed “good girl” herself, Meyer writes teens who don’t smoke or drink or have sex — mirroring the lives of Meyer’s friends and her own teenage years. But that isn’t necessarily unrealistic. A lot of contemporary YA fiction features outsiders, but I’d say that most kids don’t live on the edge. They might like to read about the outsiders, they might even dream about their lives, but that doesn’t mean they want to live them.
De Lint, C. (2008). Twilight. Fantasy & Science Fiction, 114(4), 38.
Bella knows that there is something dashing and daring about handsome Edward, but little does she dream that she has fallen in love with a vampire. Learning that his clan feeds only on wildlife, she feels safe–until a rival clan that preys on humans comes after her. A nail-biting tale of terror, suspense, and romance.
Fleishhacker. (2005). Best Books 2005. School Library Journal, 51(12), 42.
In a Library
Whether I enjoyed the book or not, this book has gotten many reluctant readers to read! A great way to continue the reading motivation is advertising for the final movie that is coming out in November. Movie posters would create interest for the entire Twilight saga that will be on display in the library. A fun idea for the advent of the movie would be to have a vampire/werewolf fantasty writing contest for students to write a short story. In preparation for writing these short stories, the librarian can select similar genre books to also have on display in the library for students to read and generate ideas from. After students submit stories, students can judge the stories to choose a winner, or three winners. Students can also create mythological characters inspired by Twilight characters to put on display in the library complete with character traits written beside a drawing or other type of creation.
Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York : Little, Brown and Co.
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