Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

 

Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 2008,

ISBN: 0316038377.

Reader’s Annotation

Bella and Edward are in love, but there's a problem--he's a vampire, and her blood smells delicious.

Plot Summary

There’s something strange, really strange about Edward Cullen.  Or so thinks Bella Swan when she moves to rainy Forks, Washington.  When Bella, and shy, pretty teenager moves there from Phoenix to live with her father, other students take notice—especially the boys.  However, when Bella is seated next to Edward on her first day of school, she’s stunned by his reaction to her.  He seems furious and repulsed by Bella—then he disappears for a few days.  When he returns, Edward acts completely differently—friendly and more talkative.  The plot thickens when Bella is almost hit by a speeding van in the school parking lot.  Suddenly, Edward appears at her side and stops the van with his bare hands.  Bella’s curiosity goes into overdrive.  When the subject of the Cullens comes up with family friend Jacob, he tells her the Native American legend that leads Bella to believe that Edward, and his family are all vampires.  After that, Bella wears down Edward into admitting it.  He confesses that the reason he had a hard time around her is that her blood smells to tempting for him.  He and his family are vampires, but they drink the blood of animals, not humans.  Bella and Edward fall in love, and Bella get to know Edward’s family.  When another group of vampires comes to the area, including a tracker vampire named James, there’s big trouble.  James likes the smell of Bella’s blood too, and unlike the Cullens, he prefers human blood.

Critical Evaluation

Stephanie Meyer developed an intriguing concept in the Twilight series.  The idea of vampires has held a fascination for people for centuries.  The idea of a genuine romance between a human and a “vegetarian” vampire makes for a unique angle.  A bit of literary controversy has arisen over the merits of the Twilight saga, but the bottom line is that Twilight is a romance that readers can sigh over.  Some of the characters were especially compelling.  Carlisle, Edward’s “father”, is the inspiration and guiding force behind the non-human-killing vampires.  His compassion for others, including humans makes him especially appealing.  Alice, Edward’s sister, has personality plus—vivacious and funny.  Charlie, Bella’s dad is suitably gruff and awkward in his love for Bella.  The main characters, Bella and Edward lacked the same originality.  As a protagonist, Bella often seemed to be weak, and in need of rescuing.  But on the other hand, the chemistry they shared was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.  Overall the book was a fun romance.

Information about the Author

It was a dream that changed Stephanie Meyer’s life.  When she awoke on June 2, 2003, she had vivid characters in her mind that she couldn’t stop thinking about.  This stay-at-home mother of three boys found time her and there in her busy schedule to write the story, and three months later, she finish Twilight.  With only her sister aware that she had written a book, Meyer sent it off to the publisher where it went into a slush.  It was eventually discovered, published and became one of the most talked about books. For more information, go to: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html

Genre

Romance

Horror

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk  Ideas

1. What do you think of Bella’s character?  Do you think she should become a vampire?
2. How would you say the process of becoming a vampire parallels real life?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Violence

• Be ready with a copy of the library’s selection policy.
• Understand the history of challenges for this particular work.
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection.
• Refer to YALSA cite: 2006 Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults.

Why I included this work

It was so talked about that I had to know what the buzz was.

Awards and honors for Twilight include:

• One of the ALA's "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults"
• New York Times Editor's Choice
• One of Publishers Weekly "Best Children's Books of 2005"
• Publishers Weekly "Best Book of the Year"
• One of School Library Journal's "Best Books of 2005"
• Amazon.com's "Best Book of the Decade...So Far"

Great Quote from the Book:

“Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.”