TWILIGHT by Stephanie Meyer

Guest Reviewer: Melissa Estlow

I began this book with trepidation. What, after all, could a 24 year-old woman get out of a young adult book about another forbidden romance between a vampire and a human besides a lot of eye-rolling? (Shakespeare already did the star-crossed lovers theme in “Romeo & Juliet” just fine, thank you. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer took care of the rest.) But I thought I would see what all the fuss was about, since the final book in the series will be released at midnight on August 2nd.

What I found is that Stephanie Meyer’s first book, Twilight, is compelling and descriptions of the inhabitants of the rainy town of Forks, Washington feel so real that the story pulls you in. I was afraid to read this book in the evening for fear I’d never go to bed.

The story begins with 17 year-old Isabella Swan (Bella to everyone) exiling herself to the tiny town of Forks, Washington after her mother’s remarriage. Forks is the kind of place where it rains about 90% of the time and the most interesting thing that happens is a sunny day without raincoats; and Bella is fully prepared to wait out the year and a half of high school left to her and escape to college.

And then she notices the Cullens, particularly the youngest boy, Edward Cullen. The other students give them a wide berth: they’re not Forks natives and they keep to themselves instead of mixing with the others. When Bella is assigned to be Edward’s lab partner, she assumes it will be an opportunity to get to know him. She is surprised to learn that Edward has no intention of even sitting with her in class, let alone talking to her.

Their non-relationship changes on the day when a classmate’s van skids out of control and barrels toward her. Bella can’t move out of the way and is shocked to be alive and relatively unhurt 10 seconds later, thanks to Edward Cullen. Who had been halfway across the school parking lot. When she starts to piece together her observations about Edward and his siblings, suspicions begin to take shape. They stay out of school on sunny days; their skin is white, no matter how much time they spend outdoors; no one ever sees them eat; and Edward is stronger and faster than any 17 year-old boy should be. They aren’t normal by anyone’s standards. Could they actually be vampires?

And so, Bella and Edward dance around each other: neither is completely willing to let the other get close enough to learn who (or what) they really are. Edward is first afraid of Bella finding out that he actually isn’t human, and then he fears that the thirst for blood will be too much for him. Bella is afraid of losing the only thing that makes life in Forks bearable instead of boring and ordinary: Edward and his strange attraction to her.

The book’s relationship-theme changes to suspense and action when a sadistic vampire focuses his hunt on Bella due to her relationship with Edward and his family. I won’t go into detail for fear of spoiling the ending, but remember that there are three more books in the series. While I would not call this book “great literature,” I will say that the characters and story are fun and riveting. This is a great book to read if you’re a fan of young adult novels, fantasy, or just looking for something lighter with a bit of fantasy mixed with reality.

Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2006