Twilight

Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York City: Little, Brown, 2005.

Bella Swan is new in town. After her mother’s minor league baseball player is traded, Bella has to move in with her sheriff father, who she does not know very well, all the way in Forks, Washington. Forks is quite a change from her old town, Phoenix, but Bella tries her hardest to get used to her new school and life. Some teenagers from family called the Cullens, catch Bella’s interest, especially Edward Cullen. The only problem is that Edward acts like Bella is the most repulsive thing he has even come across. After a little investigating and some inquisitions, Bella and Edward become friendly and their mutual attraction becomes prominent. Being that close to Edward and his family, Bella begins to take notice of some distinct eccentricities and after some research comes to the conclusion that Edward and his family are vampires. Questioning Edward, he confirms Bella’s theory, noting that his family is “vegetarian”, because they do not consume human blood. After she meets his family and begins to get comfortable, they are confronted by a group of nomadic vampires, who have been killing people in the area in and around Forks. James, the lead vampire wants to kill Bella, but Edward and the Cullen’s do their best to protect her. After a flight from Forks to Phoenix to keep Bella safe, she is captured by James and nearly murdered, but Edward and a few other Cullens come in at the right moment and save her from certain death.

Bella is the type of heroine with which modern fantasy readers can identify. She is flawed, awkward and suffers from an unrequited crush on what could be considered an unattainable, uninterested male figure. However, Bella eventually discovers that as interesting as she finds Edward, she has special points intriguing to him in the same way. Edward has the ability to read everyone’s thoughts, but is completely unable to read Bella’s. With this addition, Meyer gives Bella a characteristic that makes her special, like any good fantasy main character. Meyer also cuts in to some of the heavier parts of the story to giving Bella some humor, lightening up her desperately in love, almost too serious protagonist. In regard to finding an appropriate outfit to meet Edward’s family, Bella notes, “I doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your vampire sweetheart takes you home to meet his vampire family.”

Meyer’s writing is simplistic and modern, with an easy to follow story arc. This writing style affords the reader the ability to get involved with the story, without having to decipher too many plot turns and overreaching vocabulary. The School Library Journal not only said that “the pacing is appropriate for teens who want to learn all the details in this suspenseful tale”, but also that the writing was “realistic, subtle, succinct and easy to follow.” Meyer also gives great focus to the surroundings in the story, detailing the landscape as if it were another character in the story. Meyer’s imagery illustrating the often gloomy, rainy Washington days, fits in with the darkness of the tale, adding to the mystique of the setting.

Reluctant readers or those indifferent to the genre may have be grabbed by the flow of the wording and substantial romantic interludes; the tying together of love, the unreal and danger makes for a story that appeals to a wide variety of readers. The sheer popularity of the novel goes to further accentuate the fact that the work can be enjoyed by reader with different interests. Though the work is easy to read, it can be said that first-time writer Meyer’s inexperience shows in pieces of the work. Particular adverbs and descriptions are used ad nauseam (Bella’s reference to Edward being “beautiful” and “striking” occurs quite often, nearly every time she sees him), to the detriment of the story. By varying phrases and tightening story elements, Meyer’s fantastical world of good and bad vampires, future werewolves and regular humans would shine a bit brighter.

Book jacket cover found on: http://www.nassaulibrary.org/SyoTeensBlog/2009/05/-3-apples-book.html