Twilight -- A Book Review
An Evaluation of the Highly Acclaimed Novel by Stephenie Meyer
Feb 15, 2009
Twilight, the first in a series of critically acclaimed novels by Stephenie Meyer, is a fast-paced, coming-of-age story about a young girl named Bella Swan. After spending most of her life living with her eccentric mother in warm, sunny Phoenix, Arizona, Bella moves to the dismal, depressing town of Forks, Washington to live with her father. Little does Bella know that moving to this incredibly small, dull town will be the best (and worst) thing that has ever happened to her.
Edward Cullen
On her very first day of school in her new town, Bella comes across Edward Cullen, an intellectual introvert who apparently wants nothing to do with her. Although he continues to give her the cold shoulder, by the end of the week Bella is sure she is in love with him. Over time, he begins to feel the same about her, and together they tiptoe into the murky waters of teenage love. Unfortunately, their love is seemingly an impossible one, for Bella finds out a horrifying secret about Edward that shakes her to her very core.
Edward Cullen is a vampire.
This is just the first of many, many secrets that Bella stumbles across in her time in Forks. Some of these secrets are terrifying, others beautiful. But not everything in Forks is a secret. Some things are as clear as day, such as the blood-red gleam in Edward’s eyes that lets her know that, although he might think that Bella is a charming, attractive young woman, he is probably more interested in what lies beneath that attractive exterior and within her fast-beating heart. No matter how much he longs to hold her, Edward cannot deny his true, bloodthirsty nature. Will he let his vampiric urges control him? Or will true love prevail against nearly impossible odds?
Romance With a Twist
Twilight is a gripping novel with everything from adventure and suspense to comedy and tragedy. The most important element of this story, however, is romance. The love that Bella feels for Edward is so intense, so palpable, that it is almost painful to read the novel for fear that that love will go unrequited. It is ridiculous how fast Bella falls for the tall, pale stranger, and even more ridiculous how she clings to her feelings even after she finds out that the man she loves has the potential to kill her and everyone she loves. In anyone else’s hands (except maybe J.K. Rowling’s), this story would have been too ludicrous to stand, but Meyer somehow makes it so believable, so heartfelt, that readers breeze through the entire five-hundred page book in mere days or hours, hoping and praying that the couple will survive to live happily ever after.
Not Your Mother’s Love Story
Twilight is one of the most unconventional romances in print today, and readers love this fact. Although the plot is filled with mythical creatures of long-forgotten lore, readers are convinced from page one that these creatures could really exist. Meyer makes her characters so relatable, so real, that one forgets about reality for a while, and almost begins to believe (and hope) that they themselves could come across a soft-hearted vampire in their daily life. It is not hard to see why the Twilight book series has turned into a world-wide phenomenon, and why Stephenie Meyer will not be going away anytime soon.
Twilight was published in 2005 by Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group USA.
ISBN: 978-0-36-16017-9
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