Twilight: A Novel

Bibliographic Information: Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 0316160172

Plot Summary: Twilight is the first of a young adult fantasy/romance series involving Vampires. The story starts when Bella moves from her mother's house in sunny Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, in rainy Forks, Washington. Bella is quiet but she attracts a lot of attention at her new high school. On her first day of school Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen who acts as if he's repulsed by her. Then Edward is gone for a few days and when he comes back he is a little more friendly towards Bella. Bella is almost run over in the school parking lot and Edward instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hand.

Bella is fascinated and perplexed by Edward. Bella is friends with Jacob Black. Jacob fills Bella in on the local tribal legends and Bella figures out that Edward is a vampire. Bella and Edward end up falling in love and Edward admits that he avoided Bella because he was too attracted to the scent of her blood. Later on in the novel a tracker vampire, James, shows up in town and wants to hunt Bella for sport. Edward's family, the Cullens, attempt to fool the tracker by physically splitting up Bella and Edward. Bella is sent away to Phoenix to hide in a hotel. At the hotel Bella receives a phone call from James who says he is holding her mother hostage. Bella surrenders to save her mother and James attacks her. Edward sucks the venom from Bella's bloodstream from James' biting. She is saved and does not become a vampire.

Critical Evaluation: For lovers of fantasy, romance and vampires, Twilight is addicting. Twilight has won numerous awards for good reason, some of which include: New York Times Editor's Choice, one of School Library Journal's "Best Books of 2005", Amazon.com's "BestBook of the Decade...So Far." Teens have embraced the Twilight saga because it is a fantastic read full of angst yet very romantic.

Annotation: Bella, a seventeen year old girl, moves from Arizona to live with her father in rainy Forks, Washington. She falls in love with Edward, a vampire, and danger ensues.

About the Author: Stephanie Meyer created Twilight from a dream she had in 2003. She had dreamt about a human girl falling in love with a vampire but he desired her blood. Meyer is the mother of three and managed to write late at night when the house was quiet. Twilight became one of the most talked about young adult novels, ever. It was named one of "ALA Top Ten Books for Young Adults" and received many other honors. Meyer went on to write the Twilight saga: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008). Twilight and Breaking Dawn were made into major motion pictures. In 2008 The Host was released. The Host is an adult novel which was #1 on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

Retrieved April 7, 2010 at: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Vampires

Curriculum: For reading pleasure.

Talking Points: What happens when a quiet, beautiful teen falls in love with a vampire? After Bella is bitten by a tracker vampire, does she become a vampire? Can a human and a vampire experience real love?

Reading Level and Interest Age: 13 and older

Challenge Issues: Allusion to sex and desire.

Reason for Inclusion: Pure escapism and for reading pleasure.