Twilight (book)

Hundreds and thousands of fans couldn't possibly be wrong, could they? I figured with so much hype surrounding Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, there had to be something to it. So I took the plunge and dug in.

Now, please ... before hordes of young female fans climb all over me and shower my review with negative comments, I hope that they'll understand this review is being written by a fifty-something male for a similar audience. In summary, it just wasn't my cup of tea and I don't think it will be for any other male reader that's much past the age of twenty.

Bella is the seventeen year old daughter of a family split by a typical amicably negotiated divorce. Mom lives in Phoenix, Arizona, while her father, Charlie, is the police chief in Forks, Washington, a foggy, perpetually cloudy, rain-soaked stereotypical piece of small town America. The story is simplicity itself - Bella meets and falls in love with Edward Cullen, a boy in her class who coincidentally turns out to be a 100 year old vampire!

No less than the entire first half of the book is filled with endless breathless expressions of Bella's infatuation with Edward. Her adulation knows no bounds and while it was forgivable in the sense that it was probably a realistic portrayal of teenage first love, the mind-numbing repetitive nature of her hormonal utterings definitely started to grate on my nerves.

On the other hand, when Meyer FINALLY got around to telling the Cullen family story and outlining her somewhat modern mythology of the origin of vampires, the transmission of vampirism and their interaction with daylight and the regular world of the human species, things got genuinely interesting. But, too little too late, and even that bit of enjoyable quality was mitigated by the fact that the stars in Bella's eyes continued to shine unabated through the second half of the story.

Edward's perfection and Bella's hero-worship was simply too much for me. One star for the tedious repetition, four stars for the quality of Meyer's version of the vampire myth - that's two and a half stars on average. But I'll call it two stars because I also couldn't figure out why a 100 year old male vampire - a "man" by any standards even if he's housed in an eternally youthful boy's body - would be interested in a 17 year old girl. That was more than questionable to me. It actually started to push the needle on my moral meter into the red zone!

If you're a teenage girl, go for it with all the gusto you can manage. I'm sure you'll love it! If you're a male over the age of twenty-five, consider yourself warned. You'll probably have as much difficulty seeing the fascination as I did.

Paul Weiss

There has been a lot of smack written about Twilight, mostly because the book’s primary audience is not articulate enough to adequately voice their opinions of the book beyond: “Edward is so dreamy,” “I want someone to love me that much,” “Vampires are sexy.”  What Meyer has done is taken every romantic cliché from a book or movie and compiled it into one book that doesn’t move beyond its primary archetypes.  Without plot dynamics or the growth of characters, the book falls apart.
 
Bella is an author-fulfilling character with no personality beyond her love interest and her archetypal teenage angst.  Edward is a creepy stalker who can’t see the forest for the trees.  The entire book is nothing but them spouting trite and cliché lines at each other.  Any book whose memorable lines include: “I can’t live without you,” “I’ll always protect you,” or “I’m only afraid of losing you,” is only memorable for the people who are reading the lines for the first time.
 
The reason why Twilight has become so popular is because its primary audience had no concept of romantic clichés in literature or the tradition of vampirism in horror stories.  It’s all new to them, and that makes the story engaging for them.  For the rest of us who have read at least three other books, have moved beyond a fifth grade reading level, and actually think about what we’re reading, we see the break of literary tradition, the stagnation of narration, and the downfall of good writing.
 

My older sister is a librarian, and for Christmas and my birthday she often gives me a stack of "good books" - the ones she's heard good things about, or would recommend. A couple years ago, Twilight was part of the stack. She was insistent that I should give it a try, even if I am not a fan of vampire stories. I am a middle- and high school teacher, so I figured I really ought to know what my students are squealing about. I read it over three days, and determined that it is definitely a junk food novel - it tastes good while you're scarfing it up, but isn't satisfying for long, and often leaves you with a sick feeling.

The story is more than a little trite. The characters are very flat - I always imagined Bella speaking in a monotone (which, amazingly, is not far from Kristen Stewart's monotone in the movie). The writing is decent - there are some moments where Meyer really shines in her descriptive writing, but then she falls right back into triteness. There are lots of questions left unanswered, particularly regarding Bella's relationship with her parents, and her father's history. More remarkably (and what drove me the most crazy), Meyer does not once touch on in any meaningful way what I see as the overriding theme of the novel - why Bella and Edward are so drawn towards one another, and the phenomenon of wanting something that is very bad for you. Instead, we get chapter long descriptions of Edward playing the piano, and Bella mooning over him. It always panders.

Add onto all that the fact that it romanticizes a very twisted relationship.  If Meyer had dealt with the squicky factor more sensibly, I probably would have accepted the book. If she would have opened up a dialogue about the difference between love and obsession, and the unhealthiness of the relationship between Bella and Edward, I would have like this book a whole lot more. Instead, Edward is presented as the knight in shining armor, come to rescue Bella. The flatness of the themes make it trite at best, and disturbing at worst.

All that being said, it's an entertaining enough read, and definitely sucks you in. I wouldn't waste much time on it though - save it for reading on the beach this summer, and then pass it along to your girlfriends.

Listen, I'm not a Twilight-hater, nor am I a hard core fan. I read the books a few years ago and was swept up by the love story between Bella and Edward. I certainly give this book props for how captivating it can be. However, in order to analyze this book critically, and fairly, I'm going to look at how healthy the Edward/Bella relationship really is for teens to be digesting as they read Twilight. This is more of a response to the ideas portrayed in Twilight vs. an outright review of the entire novel. I find examining these questions to be more rewarding than a quick summary of the book. Hopefully you'll agree.

With its extreme popularity, it’s important to look at the message presented in Twilight, the content of the novel, and especially, the characters of Bella and Edward. Is the relationship between Bella and Edward a healthy one? Will impressionable teens model their own expectations for relationships after this fabricated one? These are questions I find the most important to discuss since millions of young girls read these novels and are influenced by the characters in Twilight.
            One of the essential aspects of Edward and Bella’s relationship is that Edward fills a void in Bella’s life. She left her mother in Phoenix to live with her father, a man she’s only seen the last three years for two weeks out of the year. You can hardly call Charlie a presence in her life since she spends so little time interacting with him. Their father-daughter relationship is lacking, which illustrates why Edward and his many fatherly traits, fills this role in Bella’s life. He is overprotective, authoritative, and somewhat controlling. Edward gets angry when Bella doesn’t tell Charlie that she’s with him, asking, “Are you so depressed by Forks that it’s made you suicidal?” Edward exhibits these overprotective qualities almost in the same manner that a father figure would. Bella seems to thrive off of his constant attention but this relationship sets a bad example for young girls since a boyfriend is not a replacement for a father.
            Another troubling aspect of Bella and Edward’s relationship is Bella’s complete dependence on Edward. She doesn’t have any interests outside of Edward, nor does she interact with her friends or even mention friends from Phoenix whom she may keep in contact with. Since she has nothing to occupy her time, Edward becomes the focus when they begin their courtship. She becomes emotionally reliant on him, even noting that his influence over her “was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.” She obsesses over his looks as well, which is detrimental to her own self-esteem. Meyer writes, “I tried to keep my eyes away from his perfection as much as possible…each time, his beauty pierced me through with sadness.” Bella puts far too much emphasis on Edward’s perfection, which only irritates her own imperfections. To make matters worse, Meyer has written Bella as perhaps the clumsiest person alive, almost to the point of satire. Even a short hike through the forest renders her helpless and in need of Edward’s “savior-like” qualities. With Edward always at her rescue, the message that Bella is weak comes in loud and clear. This is not the type of message young adult novels should be sending to girls. With their already fragile self-images, teenage girls may actually begin to believe that they are powerless and that they need a man to validate their existence.
            After reading Twilight it’s apparent that the relationship between Edward and Bella is far from healthy. His overbearing nature and her passive temperament coalesce and create a sickening relationship that somehow reads as a whirlwind romance. Girls should not strive to be fragile dolls, nor should they set their expectations for mates so high as to belittle themselves in the process. Girls need strong, independent female role models in their literature who choose healthy relationships over toxic ones. 

I read the book because I am a middle school teacher and thought I should be familiar with the novel because of its popularity with my students.  The book is honestly poorly written and incredibly predictable, but despite this obvious reason to dislike the novel, I could not put it down and soon found myself reading the other books in the series.  The Twilight series has become my guilty pleasure.  Here are my thoughts as a teacher on the appropriateness of the text for your adults:
            As in many pieces of young adult fiction, this novel places the adolescent protagonist in a position of independence, allowing her to take all of the credit for her actions and accomplishments.  Unlike most juniors in high school, Bella has many of the responsibilities and freedoms of an adult.  Within the first pages of the book, readers learn that Bella and her mother do not have a typical parent-child relationship.  This moment reveals that Bella has lived for most of her life as the caregiver, clearly illustrating her as an independent individual.  Bella gains an even greater amount of freedom after moving in with her father.  By removing her parents and other authority figures from the scenario, Meyer allows Bella to be the ruler of her own domain, having the space and agency to make independent decisions.  This absence also gives weight and legitimacy to her choices, allowing young readers to relate more comfortably to an individual who has the power they long for.  Her freedom and choices are ultimately validated in the book’s denouement, when Bella’s parents allow her to choose where she will live.  Not only does this illustrate her fundamental independence, but it also vindicates her life-threatening choices, appealing to young adult readers who want to view her as ultimately responsible for her own success and happiness.           
            Like most pieces in the fantasy genre, Twilight fulfills a number of crucial characteristics that will draw seventh and eighth grade readers to the story, most importantly, the quest archetype.  The quest is a scenario that appeals to readers of all ages, but is particularly timely and meaningful to young adults.  In other words, the quest in this case is the literary representation of the journey from adolescence into adulthood.  Young adult readers use fantasy as a means of exploring and tackling real problems.  Bella’s journey is an emotional one, coming to terms with her identity and entering into a mature relationship.  Bella is clearly lacking self-confidence and is unhappy about her physical and social identity in the opening of the book.  In contrast, once she completes her “love quest” she is transformed into a self-assured, optimistic, and fulfilled woman.  This is particularly evident in her attitude about love and relationships.  This transformation indicates a meaningful internal change, demonstrating Bella’s successful completion of the emotional quest and lending the text for use with seventh and eighth grade readers. 
            Yet another reason Twilightis appropriate for this age group is because it deals with subject matter that is psychologically important to young adults.  Through the course of the story, Bella enters into her first romantic relationship, which is an important milestone of adolescence.  She also gains confidence about her body. Most importantly, she develops a personal ideology when she chooses to become intimately involved with a vampire despite personal risk, social marginalization, and a life of secrecy.  Each of these is an important developmental task that helps young adults in their journey toward achieving an identity.  Therefore, Twilight appeals to seventh and eighth grade students because it explores and reflects emotions and situations that are significant in the lives of young adults, specifically the search for personal identity and acceptance in personal relationships and society. 
            This text is relatively uncontroversial, with conservative language and only small amounts of modest sexual intimacy.  While typical objections about sexual content are not relevant to the text, the central role of vampires in the text may be objectionable to conservative religious families and could be said to be “irreligious."   In order to overcome this barrier, it seems important to securely ground this text in the fantasy genre, reminding students and parents alike that the text will be treated as mere fiction.  Furthermore, explaining the symbolic representations of Edward as the unlikely hero may help them understand his character as a literary tool that leads their children to think more critically about good and evil.  In truth, my greatest hesitation in recommending this novel revolves around Meyer’s ability as an author.  In many ways the book is predictable, following conventions of formula literature, and her repetitive use of descriptive words and phrases feels tedious and amateur.  Despite these hesitations, the book’s popularity among both young men and women would encourage me to recommend the text for independent reading.  
 

I read a book several years ago, that I've read many times since then, also in the young adult category, called Demon In My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, that was published when she was 16. The book is less than half the size of Twilight, with far more plot and character development then Twilight could ever achieve. It has it's faults, but was a quick, and amusing read. Then, I read Twilight, written by a woman, with supposed writing ability, with the same plot, similar characters, and far too much obsessive, ridiculous musings by Bella about Edward. Truthfully, I might have almost enjoyed Twilight, if Bella wasn't a Mary-Sue, who everyone loves and adores, with no good conflicts to get the plot moving, and less stupid mistakes. Bella is too hard to relate to and Stephenie Meyer often left huge gaps in the story that were never explained or were written off with excuses like she fell down two flights of stairs, out a window, and was bit by a dog. It may have been an attempt at humor, but it was just unrealistic and silly. Also, why did her previously over protective mother care so little?

I liked some of the side characters however, like Alice and Jasper. Jacob was also a bit more human than just a handful of lame cliches thrown together.

I will never understand the huge following the the book Twilight has earned. In my opinion, this 'book' is more along the lines of a teenage girls fanfiction about some other vampire romance novel they picked up at an airport book store. Here are the reasons I shall never pick up these books again:

1. The characters are painfully underdeveloped.

2. While there may be one or two well written passages, they are ruined by the horrible ones that follow.

3. There is zero originallity in the naming of places and people (Forks? come now, you can do better than that).

4. The plot line is completely unoriginal. It has been done countless times already.

5. The  book's pace is slower than a crawl until the fourth book where everything finally happens but if the first three books aren't worth reading, then how are ever going to get to the fourth book?

6. Not only are the characters under developed, they are cliches of the genre. Let us explore this a little more.

Bella: The Perfect Belle (The name is cliche right off the bat) - Your average popular girl that everybody wants but she refuses them all because she's so much better than they are/she already has her sights set on 'the perfect man'. She is meek and helpless and to her, beuaty is only skin deep. She is niave in that she thinks if she has the perfect man nothing else matters.

Edward: The Aloof Hottie (Name is also bad. Ever heard of King Edward? All of them?) - Edward is the kind of guy that all the girls fall for and is the type that is so overused that it's almost sickening. He stays away from everyone because he doesn't want to hurt them and when Bella falls for him he tries to scare her away so she doesn't get hurt (wimper and whine. Old news people. Can we have something new please?).  He then proceedes by dictating her every move and what's more, Bella seems to like it. (Hey hold up there! Is this really for preteens? We're getting into some heavy stuff here.)

I've never been one for the sappy vampire romance. Under normal circumstances I would not pay any mind to a book such as this. It would just be another book that I wouldn't pick up on my next book store outing.

However, the huge following this book has earned baffles me and frustrates me because I cannot understand what they see in this book. I have read books that are twenty times better written and original to boot, but you don't see them with die-hard fans apparent at every turn.

As I said, I shall bever understand what is so great about these books. And frankly, I'm not sure that I want to.

What a wonderful plot for a young adult book. What could be more heart wrenching? A tragic battle between love and death. Boy meets girl. Boy wants to eat girl, yet boy is madly in love with girl. The series I should mention is not only for teens. I've known a few adults to have gotten off on the vampire romance. Though some cynics may throw the word beastiality around, the sexual tension is what keeps the pages a turnin' and the sales a rollin.' With that in mind, the novel should be recommended with discretion to the early advanced readers.

While the writing composition isn't by any means impressive Stephenie Meyer sure knows how to captivate her audience. As Bella puts her life in the hands of Edward Cullen, his superhuman prowess is in return weakened by his attraction to her. It seems Meyer sure has a knack for character creation and development. She creates a beautiful character foil between Bella's best friend Jacob, the athletic type and her boyfriend Edward, the sensitive type. In doing so, she strategically creates this sort of fan dichotomy, which in turn makes for a widespread and interactive fan community.

It is also worth mentioning, the book is far better than the movie. In fact, the movies almost delegitamize that which is the Twilight saga. The film's portrayal of the vampires makes them appear entirely fictional and thus removes the audience from the catharsis of the drama. Not to mention, Kristin Stewart is too powty to capture the role of the main character Bella. If teen love dramas are your thing this is the book for you. Yet, if you are at all a vampire fanatic, I wouldn't go down this path. 

 

Okay, I'll admit it. I first read this book because of the hype. Also, because the trailer of the movie looked interesting. Lastly, I've been going through Harry Potter withdrawal and I'm trying to find a fantasy series to put all of my pent-up energy in. So, now, what I have to say is this: WHAT THE HELL?!!

This book's premise sounded interesting. Bella moves in with her dad to a remote town in Arizona and falls in love with a vampire. But I foolishly thought that the book had more plot than that. It didn't. No, seriously, where was the plot in this story? Okay, Bella falls in love with a vampire, then what? I don't know. Do you know why? It never got past that. I've read both Twilight and New Moon and all I learned is that Bella is in love with Edward (the vampire). Bella is being mopey, obsessively in love with Edward for the first like 400 pages, the last like 50 or so, Bella is being chased by a vampire. But I am of the firm opinion that the whole being chased by a vampire thing was there just so Meyer could say that she had a plot. But she didn't. Or at least not much.

Now, what was up with the relationship between Edward and Bella? Was it supposed to immensely creepy? Because that's what I got. I'm supposed to believe that people fall that quickly in love within a week, without knowing each other, just because they can't figure each other out? Ooookay. I'm not that thick. And I guess I'm supposed to believe that Bella loves Edward for more reasons than because he's hot? I'm not supposed to believe she's shallow? Oookay. Another thing, does tru wuv actually excuse stalking? Because Bella seemed so ecstatic and flattered that Edward was following her, yet she did not scream "FELONY!" like any other sane person would have done.

If I read a story with a teenage heroine, I want her to be strong, independent, but most importantly, interesting. Bella was none of these things. She was mopey, pathetic, shallow, and selfish. Edward was all of these things, but prettier. Do yourself a favor and skip this book. I'll summarize the story for you:

Girl finds boy. Girl likes boy. Boy ignores Girl. Girl likes Boy even more. Girl and Boy end up going out. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl loves Boy. Girl gets chased by vampires. Boy saves her. Girl loves Boy. There you go. I just saved you from reading 400+ pages.

When i first heard about this book i was completely 100% against it. iv'e been an avid Anne Rice fan for many many years, and i will stick to my theory even now, real vampires don't sparkle! sparkley-ness aside, i will say that Stephanie Meyer has dislodged Mr. Shakespeare as the  author of the most memorable love story known to the world. There is just something about the way Edward walks off the pages and into your heart that makes it impossible for you to put down the book and walk away. The way Meyer created Edward puts every mortal man to shame. He is the most perfect being that any woman could ever dream of meeting. After having read Twilight i was totally in love with Edward, and jealous of Bella. Iv'e never been more involved in a story as i was when i read this book. I would actually have to purposely leave it at home when i was going to school because it was nearly impossible to leave it in my backpack. I tore through this book in less than two days and was first in line at the bookstore when the next one came out. Now i will say as far as vampire books go, this one is very nontraditional with the vegetarian lifestyles, the changing eye colors, all the special abilities and of course the ever controversial sparkling. But even people who are vampire enthusiasts as i am can start to fall into believing in Meyers vampires by the end. As characters the vampires are interesting and easily loveable. One can see how the whole undead thing wouldn't deter Bella from loving them. All i can say to anyone who has'nt read Twilight is put your first impressions aside and give it a try, more likely than not you will like me, fall in love with a fictional character!

I've read all the Twilight books and I think they are great stories. They're entertaining and don't take long to read. The first book is a little slower than Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. It is by no means "important piece of literature" stylistically. But I think it's something that people should pay attention to because it's become such a phenomenal franchise. A lot of people bash Stephanie Meyer and say she's a bad writer, but her writing does improve as the stories continue. And I think people just forget that she's not going out and saying that her books are amazingly well-written, she doesn't compare herself to Fitzgerald or anyone. Twilight does exactly what it was set out to do, provide entertainment for it's readers.

Sadly, I would not recommend this book to anyone, not that it needs it with all of its media publicity now. A book set around a mortal girl who meets and falls in love with a vampire, the main idea is by far over done but at this point, a classic. However, with the way the book was written, it sounds as if Stephanie Meyer was attempting to write to second or third graders just getting into "chapter books." As an avid reader, I was insulted by its form and vocabulary. Considering this, the drama that is brought into the books is similar to that of a soap opera written for teenagers. Full of angst and just idiotic plot lines.
     While I generally don't mind books about vampires or werewolves, this one was just ridiculous. The facts about the vampires are so different than the majority of other vampire stories it is just confusing. Also, the main character, Bella Swan is insulting to teenage girls. She is annoying and came off so static. Also, the character of Edward Cullen is so stereotypical, it is sad. The hype that surrounds the series and its movie counterparts mystifies me. The world has become obessed with books that don't really qualify as great writing. 

 

 

Get ready to to tear up, want to throw your book, and be in readers bliss with this book. If you haven't caught on to the twilight craze yet, there is a reason behind this phenomenon of Harry Potter status.  Recommended for mainly women, you will want to become Bella the more and more you read. You never would think you would want to be caught up in a world of vampires until you meet the Cullen Clan.  The Bella and Edward's love story almost has Wuthering Heights components as their forbidden love is untangled.  Even though the setting is dreary and unexciting, there is more action and passion packed into the state of Washington than you could have ever expected.   Stephanie Meyer sets up a powerful series with this first one to capture her readers and make them want to just keep reading to find out what else is in store for Bella, her family, and the other non-human counterparts in her life.

 

 

I remember when, as a kid, people would look at the Stephen King novel in my hand and say something along the lines of "You know that's junk fiction, right? No merit at all, and poorly written." And I agreed with them, to an extent. However, since this book came out, I've started to look at King's "Paranoia" as if it was the best book in the world, because this series is terrible.

First of all, the writing style reminds me of the fan fiction of a middle school emo girl. "He was perfect, and she was ugly but he loved her anyway for who she was even though she wasn't anyone really" basically sums up every description made about any character in the book. I mean, honestly, the only good way to read this thing is to take a shot each time Meyer refers to Edward as perfect.

Moving on from the lack of consideration to the mindless repetition of the same description words, Meyer goes on to totally disregard grammar. The number of run-on sentences is impossibly too large to count, as are the hanging fragments. "His perfect body." Yeah, that's a sentence in the book. Talk about good writing, eh?

Finally, Meyer totally discards any intention to have a discernable plot. For almost the entire book, the plot doesn't exist- it's just a girl meeting a vampire. At the end, there kind of develops a plot of sorts, but it's resolved within a chapter, and the plotlessness quickly comes back.

In these books, it seems that any "problematic situations" are resolved instantly, and don't really hold any value. Honestly, I don't even understand hw this book was published. It's a fan fiction (and a lemon at that) in book form. Do not read this if you care for literature or don't have a drinking game ready to go with it.

This book was 'ok', I didn't go out of my way to read it, nor did I see the reason behind all the hype.

It was well written if not well thought out. Too many characters to be introduced to, and confusing conflicts of interest to the younger audience set.

I think this was meant to be a romance for the ages, that falls AGES short. To me, this is written to attract the exact demographic the writer intended- tweens. While not a tween myself I had to laugh at the obvious attraction set up with a vampire and a pale faced girl from the desert- which didn't make sense to me either. Edward is obviously every girls dream and Bella well, she is annoying with her lack of emotions towards everything but Edward.
Is that really the case? Would a girl REALLY choose her dysfunctional separated family over the "love" of her life, who has it all to offer? Would a vampire really care to take care of a 'human' in such a way that degrades who he is and has been for hundreds of years?

With the honor bound Edward, I would have believed it a bit more if more modesty were set in place throughout his language, however he seemed to modernized to be the ancient man his character was intended.

Not to be overly judgmental, but truly this was no Interview with a Vampire and not much deeper than a rain puddle in Forks, itself.

I wrote up this review previously for my blog, and decided to tweak it a little to share with everyone. I'm going to try to be as objective as possible. I don't like to say mean things about anyone or their work, but I am honest. That being said, I'm sure some of the things I say aren't going to thrill everyone, but honestly, I am not trying to be mean or offend anyone. Feel free to comment me and post your own thoughts about the book. I've talked to several people about their view on this book, or more or less Stephenie Meyer's writing, which I will get into in just a second, but first, let me just start with the concept of the book in general.

First of all, I am not and never have been into the whole vampire scene. I have nothing against it, but it never tickled my fancy, so to speak. I really hadn't heard of Twilight to be honest until the movie came out. I didn't realize that there was this whole phenomena out there just waiting for me to explore it. Still though, it didn't spark my interest. The movie trailers, posters, and propaganda were pushed in my face everywhere I turned. Hot Topic, the internet, television, theaters, just everywhere. I began to wonder what the fascination was with this whole Twilight thing, and after hearing that, when you go to see the movie, you don't feel like you're watching a vampire movie, I decided to check it out. Lies, I tell you. It's quite obvious that you're watching a vampire movie, but I still really enjoyed it and decided that I wanted to venture into the books.

I think what made Twilight unique and made me enjoy it was that the vampires are very human, for all intents and purposes. They aren't savages that go out and are constantly sucking the blood of those around them. It's obvious they're vampires, but they're extremely civilized, which left many unexplored dynamics that intertwined with the plot. These vampires don't even suck the blood of their worst enemies. Also, the addition of the Indians, friends of the Swan family, and their legends made the story ten times better and gave it a hefty backbone. This concept gave Stephenie Meyer a lot to work with. The dynamic simply worked.

The beginning of the book, just as in the movie, is slow moving. The movie and the book fall together pretty verbatim for the prologue and first half of the first chapter, so much so that it's scary. I know this review is more on the book, but it's kind of bilateral in a way, as I wanted to throw in the comments on how it compared to the movie so that I covered everything full circle. In all honesty, had I not seen the movie and was reading the book out of pure curiosity, I'm unsure of how far I would have actually gotten through the book. This is true for several reasons.

The first reason is that, as I said, it's slow moving at the beginning. I understood why the book was formatted and written in the way that it was, but I felt like I wanted just a bit more action. Comparing the book to the movie, I actually liked the element of having the other three vampires in the movie through out stages in the beginning a little better, however, I can see how that would have been difficult to write into a book that is told in one characters point of view. One thing the book had going for it though was that no one died from the wrath of the other vampires like they did in the movie. This just made things better for whatever reason. (Sorry if I'm giving stuff away. Insert your kicking of me here.)

The second and most prominent reason that I had issues with the book was the writing and editing. I honestly have not met anyone who hasn't had an issue with this aspect of the book. As my one friends said, her writing is good for children and illiterate people. This is true in a way, however, I don't really know if I blame Stephenie Meyer or her editor, but I'm more apt to blame the editor. There are so many problems in the book esthetically that it is unbelievable. The grammar is bad, the use of punctuation is worse, there are spelling errors, and several places where two different tense are used in the same sentence. Also, there are several places where someone will say one thing in one paragraph, and contradict it in the paragraph directly below it, almost as if a train of thought was lost between the two, having some parts make no sense, so you have to take it for what it is. In all honesty, if it wasn't for seeing the movie first, I'm unsure of how much sense some things would have made due to this. These are things that the editor should have caught. If I was a publisher, I could not have warranted publishing a book with this many mistakes. It almost seemed as if the rough, non proofread draft of the book got published. I know I'm not the only one thinking this.

It was a rough read, but overall a good book. I'm glad that I did stick with it because I immensely enjoyed the story as a whole. I am slightly reluctant to see how the second book is going to go. Hopefully there will be less errors, making it an easier read. I'm already seeing where the movies are going to veer away from the books, so I would like to get the books read before the movies come out, which shouldn't be too hard. Famous.last.words. So how did the movie compare to the book?

I actually liked the movie better, but I know there's a very strong split line between people's opinions when it comes to that. The book had a lot more romance, whereas the movie didn't really showcase Edward and Bella kissing, cuddling, and doing other such romantic but not sexual things as much. Their relationship seems very deep on a spiritual and emotional level, but the physical part seems almost absent in the movie. In the book, it's apparent that every time Edward kisses Bella, she has some sort of weird reaction as it's such a sensory overload for her. This was not shown in the movie, and I'm still unsure of which I liked better. Because the character of Edward is so very different, it was slightly uncomfortable to watch the romance develop between he and Bella in the movie, but beautiful at the same time. It's something I don't think I can really explain.

I personally liked the way that the movie was formatted a little better than the book. The same events happen, just in a different way or in a different place in both. The way things happened in certain places in the book seemed a little more unrealistic than how they did in the movie. The book is much more fairy tale like in a dark way, whereas the movie tries to make this fictionally intriguing story more realistic, or as realistic as it can be. That being said, I'm a fan of fairy tales and romance, so had I read the book first, I would have probably liked it better, if I could have gotten through it. However, after seeing the movie, I was thinking more logically and realistically than romantically and didn't let myself get caught up in the story as mush as I should have. I'll be interested to read New Moon before the movie comes out, and then compare and see which I liked better. I think that will really be a good test.

As suspected, the movie and the book ended the same, but differently. There was one additional scene added onto the end of the movie that was not in the book. I suspect this is for two reasons. One, I don't know if the book was ever meant to turn into a saga, so she ended it infinitely instead of leaving it hanging. Does anyone else know if the book was supposed to be a lone one, or a saga from the start? Two, they had to add some movie magic to keep you wanting to come back for me, and so you knew there would be a sequel. (As long as someone agreed to actually produce it and add the necessary financial backing.) The movie foreshadows, which is good, but in a way it almost ruins part of the next movie by giving something away, however I think you about figured what it gave away already. I'm interested to see though, if, in the books, Victoria does pop up again in New Moon, or if this is just going to be a movie thing. I'm assuming she would, but I don't really know as the book doesn't touch on it at all. It is what it is in the book, the focus being more on James, so I want to see where this goes.

All in all, if you're looking for a book that holds an age old concept with a new, fresh, wonderful twist, Twilight is that book. Just be prepared for the errors and a little bit of a tough read. If you focus on the story though, you will really enjoy the book. It's easy to get lost in and a good way to get rid of some stress at the end of the day.

Granted, I'm not a tween or a teenage girl but this book does not stand up the wonderful books, past and present available to the younger set.I highly suggest the Harry Potter series over the vampire teen drama. At least the Harry Potter books allow for one to use their imagination and explore another world. The book had no ump and was written in such a basic form and language that it did not arouse imagination. The reader is never given the chance to interpret what's going on in the characters' heads. There is no intrigue, no mystery, no suspense. I really wanted to cheer for Bella, the main character but I found her character development to be weak .She was pouter, pathetic, shallow, and selfish. Edward was all of these things, but much more experienced at it.  - I wished for a strong heroine but was stuck with a cast off from Dawson's Creek.

The popularity of this book is a proven result of a strong marketing plan. The sad element is there are probably ten unpublished books in closets across the country that have developed characters, strong plot lines and would be loved by teens if only given a chance

 This is a rare example of a movie being so much better than the book.  

 

I held of when I reading Twilight because I knew I would fall in love. The first 100 pages were a bit slow and it pretty much set the foundation for the saga. I must admit I loved every word. I stood up all night just to finish it. You should definitely read it when you have time. The books look long but is such an easy read. Myer leaves you wanting more. Bella is the main character. She moves from sunny Arizona to Washington withe her dad. The city in which she moves is always raining. She meets Edward, her current boyfriend, during biology class. They hate each other at first for reasons you will figure out when you read. As you may know Edward is a vampire who lives among society and does not kill humans just do not tempt him. Jacob is not really in the story he comes in from time to time but not a main character. The climax occurs when the vampire family decides to go play baseball with Bella. James and Victoria are vampires who kill humans, they are a bit less civil. James feels offended due to Edward’s defensive reaction. Bella is in danger. Read to see what happens.

Ok so after hearing so much hype and witnessing so many crazy fans going nuts on TV, the internet, everywhere over this book, movie, phenomenon, whatever you want to call it, I finally caved in and decided to give this series a try. I downloaded the audiobooks to listen to during a cross country road trip and had it playing while I drove. After getting through this first book, I still don't see really quite seewhat the fuss is all about. I mean I totally get that it's a good book about true love and devotion, but is this a literary classic? I think not. The story doesn't have much depth, here we have a girl who is so blinded by "love" that she does pretty much anything the vampire makes her do. And as for the reasons why she is so special to him? Maybe I dozed off or something during that part, but Bella pretty much is just a plain girl that has no outstanding characteristics, so it's easy for any girl to picture themself in Bella's position. I guess that's what's so appealing about it. Edward is alright, but it just seems so strange to me that he's drawn to such a bland, dull girl. It's a pretty good love story, but the writing quality is sub par and the story lacks real depth. I'd recommend this to kids and teens, but it's not really for adults in my opinion.

After watching the movie, I was curious about the book.  I knew it was for teenagers, but I still thought I would try it out.  It wasn't long before I couldn't put it down.  It took me a total of three days of reading to get through it.  Since then I have reread the book over four times and I got the series on Christmas.
The writing brings the reader into the story and you feel like you are living the life of Bella and her love for Edward and all the Cullens.  The character of Bella is one that most girls can recognize with.  She doesn't feel like she will fit into the new school and feels this way throughout the whole book.  When she first meets Edward, it is almost proof that she doesn't, and then he continues to enter her life.  At the end, you begin to understand just how much Bella doesn’t realize about how other people see her.

Reading the actual book compared to watching the movie is different.  For one, you get a lot more information about Bella and all the characters from the book. You feel for them more and get more interested in their lives.  Then, there are scenes in the book, such as the first time they enter the field and the sunlight, which the movie didn't compare to show to the viewers.

Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who has a love for vampires and even interested in a love story which seems to defy all odds.

This is the first book in the Twilight Saga, and it won't be the last book in the Saga you pick up. Almost everyone who i know who read this book got sucked in immediately. Vampires aside, it's one of the greatest love stories that has been written in a while. And then you add in the vampire factor, and it becomes one of the biggest book related phenomenons that has struck young readers since The Lord of the Rings. I love this book for several reasons, one being the love story, but also because it's the story that every girl wishes could be theirs. Edward Cullen had my heart from day one, he's nearly impossible not to fall for. Even though Meyer is a green author in this book she still manages to make Edward walk right off the pages and into your heart. It makes you wonder how she will progress as an author in post Twilight years to come. The characters in this book are slightly unbelievable, but once you get used to them, the story seems all normal. I thought that that lack of sex, and cussing in this book make a lot of people say its unbelievable, but i find it to be refreshing especially since this book is supposed to be marketed towards young adults. The only reason i find the characters to be unbelievable in this book is that they are just to perfect. Edward is nearly flawless (nothing wring with that though is there ladies?) and Bella, aside from her clumsy-ness dosn't really show any defining traits, and she tends to be slightly winy at times. I will say that the characters do progress and begin to show more of themselves as the Saga goes on, so don't be discouraged.

I was immediately engaged in this book and couldn't put it down. The writing is good, and the characters endear you when you first meet them. You won't be able to put it down after meeting Edward, Bella, Jacob and the rest of the families.


I recommeI recommend this book to everyone looking for a good story to follow. I've seen many people enjoy this book, from teen girls to teen boys, from adult women to grandmothers.

The plot, though involving werewolves and vampires, isn't as "sci-fi" as it seems. The intrigue does not lie with the supernatural beings, but with the emotions between the characters and the human instincts of love and longing that entrap the characters.


The character development may fall a bit flat, especially with the main character Bella, who tends to get...for lack of a better word...stereotypically annoying.
 

The themes revolving through this book are typical: good vs evil, though the lines are blurred quite a lot. You find yourself wondering exactly what the evil may be.

 

Stephanie Meyer is a great writer. The vocabulary is amazing, thought she had toned it down a bit from her original version. It does not, however, make the novel hard to read. It still flows easily off the page and into the reader's mind.

 

This book may be compared to Harry Potter books, though many Harry Potter fans aren't pleased with the comparison. The plot isn't as intricate and is based much more on romance; however, many readers appreciate this aspect and are just as entranced with this series as they were with the Harry Potter books.
 

If you have seen the movie, you must read the books. It offers a whole separate dimension to the plot and characters that the movie kills. The intensity of the relationship between Bella and Edward can only be realized when reading the book. The movie films as though expecting the viewers to have already read the book and understand the relationship.

 

 

 

 

Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL book! Who could not like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer?? This was great. This entire series is so addicting, and I can not even tell why! But I do know that everyone I have spoken with feels the same.
Stephenie Meyer gave a great start to her series. She really hit it out of the ballpark with this one. Who knew reading about vampires could be so enjoyable?
Meyer really nailed it with her character and setting development. She really created a setting that you can really picture yourself in with Forks, Washington. The same with the characters, although they are supernatural, you feel like you can really connect with them. Edward-the hunky male hero, Bella- the simple, klutzy girl, Alice-spunky and playful, Jasper-subdued and quiet, Emmett-the cocky punk, Rosalie-the stuck-up princess, Carlisle-the caring father, Esme-the care-all, do-all matriarch, and Jacob-the loyal friend, along with many others. No matter who you are, you can relate to at least one of these characters, but when you get down to it, all the characters, no matter what, are fiercely loyal, and that is something I love. Plus, it also helps that the book leaves you pining for your own "Edward". ;)
I would recommend this book to anyone. There are so many different facets of the story for everyone to enjoy, and so far, everyone I know has.
Twilight is an absolutely wonderful book. Stephenie Meyer really created a masterpiece.