Stephenie Meyer - Twilight

To be honest, I love a good story. Especially one that isn't about "real life" - I get too much of that outside of a book already. And I am past my teenage years, though I never really liked "teen fiction" when I was a teenager either. The only reason I picked up Twilight was due to the fact that 3/4 of my students were reading it and two in particular were begging me to read it, even bringing in their own copies to loan me. I'm so glad they're pushy.

While some of the dialogue can be a bit trite and the overall prose somewhat pedantic, it's really a book one can sink their teeth into...forgive the pun. It's, really, an age old story but one that twists and turns in a new way. A "vegetarian" vampire? Not exactly new, but definitely underwritten. Romance with a vampire? Certainly not a recent theme what with almost all the vampire novels and films of the last century involve some kind of love or lust with the undead. A human in love with a vampire who wants to marry her without making her immortal? Now, that's a new one.

This tale follows Bella Swan (an absolutely atrocious and overly romantic name - think Elizabth Swan from Pirates of the Carribbean and "bella" meaning "beautiful" in both Italian and Spanish) who leaves sunny Arizona and her mother behind and heads to Forks, Washington, to live with her father and finish her last two years of high school. Whilst at school she discovers that, not only is she suddenly pretty and attractive to boys, she's also attracted to Edward Cullen - a distinctly different boy. Edward - and his four other "siblings" - are beautiful. Achingly so. They stand out from the rest of the school crowd and are virtually left alone. When Bella suddenly finds herself Edward's lab partner in Science class, her panic is nothing compared to the apparent aversion Edward shows towards her.

At any rate, Bella and Edward's destined love affair might seem doomed from the begining. Despite the slightly idyllically romantic affair, the journey that their love takes Bella and Edward on is absolutely intriguing and oftentimes on-the-edge-of-your-seat exciting. The emotions (and subsequent points of view) of both parties is very relateable and their tribulations fantastically gripping. The addition of Jacob, the Native American who has an inadvertant knowledge of the "cold ones" (vampires) is not only a source of "grounding" but also an interesting twist.

Twilight, Stephanie Meyer's first novel in the series, focuses on Bella and Edward's beginning together and his attempt to protect her from the vampire race...and himself.

In all, it's a very easy read and worth the rolling of the eyes parts. A definite recommendation from me!