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.
