Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Book Review: If you're still on the fence, get down and read this book.
Summary: 5 Stars
My original encounter with the undead was many moons ago, courtesy of Bram Stoker, with Polidori, Dark Shadows and Anne Rice added to the mix over the years; so after hearing my niece's summary of the plot of the four Twilight books I was quite frankly afraid that they were going to contain a "Dawson's Creek" level of over-vocabularized teen angst, completely glossing over the fact that the male love interest is a member of the walking dead. My concern was unnecessary.
To anyone who waited even longer than I did to give this book a try, I encourage you to make the move. I don't think you'll be sorry. You will not find a classic vampire tale, gore and horror, or complex plot twists in these pages. Ms. Meyer has borrowed and fleshed out the "vegetarian" concept and blatantly rewritten some of the most long-standing bits of vampire lore to suit her own needs. What you will find is three very likeable characters, from different and conflicting backgrounds, who care for each other more than they care about the biases and conventions imposed upon them.
Twilight is perhaps the tamest volume of the four, and up to the halfway point I was certainly engaged but still puzzled as to quite what all the fuss was about. Even more confounding was the fact that I couldn't put the darn book down. By the end of it I was completely charmed into picking up the second book and from that point on, I was glued during every waking spare moment. Twilight is simply the story of two young people from different lifestyles meeting in school, becoming intrigued enough to get to know each other, and then falling for each other in spite of some inconvenient obstacles. And then all Hades breaks loose near the end and the real fun begins.
The realization of the characters is, for me, one of the most appealing factors of this book. Nobody is nauseatingly perfect; they are pretty straightforward and speak in real sentences (and to her credit, Meyer has not "dumbed" down her narrative to suit the intended YA audience). I find Bella Swan to be the most refreshing female to hit paper since Demelza Poldark. She is a strong introvert, almost to the point of being antisocial sometimes, with a very small circle of people who she cares about intensely. She isn't tall or unrealistically attractive, and she's accident prone - but she picks herself up and dusts off and moves on without any fuss. She's practical, is no dummy, has common sense, doesn't give a flip about the type of girlie tribulations that distract her high school friends, and finds unkind and untrustworthy people less attractive than unconventional ones. She is prone to realistic bursts of temper rather than drama.
On the male side, Jacob Black is as likeable as they come from the moment you meet him, and has his well-deserved place in the spotlight in the second book. Edward is just plain delectable. There's no other way to put it. Somehow his quiet old-fashioned manners, been-around-the-block wisdom, strength and occasional flashes of temper prevent any sap from sticking to him.
So, click that "add to my cart" button. The one good think about having waited so long to read Twilight is that you won't have to wait for the sequels. Dive in headfirst and enjoy.
Book Review: Twilight Book Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Twilight Book Review
Vampires and werewolves seemed so make believe and bizarre before I read the book Twilight.Stephenie Meyer, the author of Twilight, makes the characters come alive and makes you truly believe in these mythical creatures.
Bella, the main character, is a nobody before she moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her dad. In this new cold and dark environment she becomes someone, someone who everyone wants to know. Everyone except one. The mysterious Edward Cullen and his family seem to want to have nothing to do with Bella.
Bella is very cautious about Edward but for some reason he fascinates her. Edward seems interested in her but is afraid to get too close. Once Bella finds out the deep dark secret of Edward being a vampire her whole life changes completely. She knows that she will never have a normal life again. When this secret is uncovered, Bella has to be afraid of everything because being involved with a vampire is just as dangerous as it sounds. Even though Edward is a vampire, he and his family don't hurt humans only animals. When she comes face to face with a dangerous vampire will she be able to depend on Edward to protect her?
With so much suspense, including near death experiences of Bella, Twilight is a teeth gritting book. This romantic and adventurous book keeps you on the edge of your seat and is a real page-turner.
Since the main characters come across as so realistic it felt like I was there witnessing each and every scene of this book. The way the author creates such compassionate and compelling characters makes you feel as though you actually know them. It is almost impossible not to fall in love with the perplexing, adorable Edward.As Bella falls head over heels Edward it is hard not to be jealous when Edward confesses that he has the same feelings for her.
While this book teaches you that being yourself gets you much further than being something you're not, you get to follow Bella and Edward through the adventures and moments they share together. Bella shows you that being yourself is a lot better than being someone you are not. Edward liked her for who she was and by being herself Edward fell in love with her and was able to trust her with his life threating secret.
Stephenie Meyer writes as the mind of Bella.By doing this you know her thoughts and plans throughout the book. The author writes in such specific detail, you feel as though you are Bella, seeing and hearing everything she does. She also keeps the plot full of suspense and by doing this you never get tired of reading and you are truly sad once you finish the book.
This book really showed me that passion and love for something or someone can get you a long way. This book inspired me to be myself and really made me think what was important in my life. I loved this book and anyone who loves romance, suspense, and maybe even a little blood, will also appreciate and enjoy this book as much as I have. This book keeps you wondering what will happen next, enticing you to read the whole series to reveal the rest of Bella and Edward's story.
Book Review: A Response
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd like to post a reveiw about one of the above reveiws bashing this book. First of all, the book was written in favor of the authors veiws and morals. It wasnt intended to be published in the first place, but things happen. And now it's on book shelves for the enjoyment of those who may very well share the same morals and veiws as the characters and the author. The book, to me, screams "Love Conquers All," and follows in the beautiful aspects of Wuthering Heights. It inspires the notion that although both characters have their flaws, they can still love, and be loved. I think it's a beautiful aspect, and I think it inspires hope in the hearts of young readers who maybe have lost faith in love. Secondly, every character has flaws. And every character has parts of them that are to be admired. The book never once implies that neither Bella or Edward have their flaws. but it does imply that they have their admerable aspects as well. It's truthful, and it's realistic. It's also a key aspect,that Edward is beautiful, as are ALL vampires. It is how their lure prey to them, it is part of their nature. It is understandable that Bella was drawn in by Edward's beauty and it does not make their love any less pure, and it does not make Bella any less fabulous. Bella is a caring person, if she wasn't she would have never given her mother space with Phil. She is shy, and not all the attension she is getting is neccisarily good attension, and it's also understandable that she be a little wary of it. At the point where she meets Jacob, she is desperate to understand the mystery that is Edward Cullen, and although it might be a bit mean to lead Jacob on,she WAS deserpate, and she ADMITS that it wasn't the proper thing to do. Again, every character has flaws, she is HUMAN. As the book continuously reminds us. As for Bella's want to be a vampire, I beleive it's PERFECTLY normal to want to be with the one you love. If you loved someone as deeply, and completely as you love Edward, wouldn't you be willing to sacrifice one form of life, for another? Remember, Edward is what kept her sane in Forks, he saved her life, and she is in love with him. She would do anything for him, as would I for the one I love. And their are alturnatives to killing humans, thats another KEY point and moral in the book. Choices.She does not have to be a murderer, she can be with the one she loves and still be a kind caring compationate vampire. Just like Carlisle has succeeded in doing. It is possible. As for Edward being boring, I dont beleive it's that he's boring. The story is in FIRST PERSON, in BELLA'S point of veiw. The story is about Bella, and SECONDLY about Edward. About their love. You get peices of Edwards veiw, but mainly it's Bella's veiw that we see. Edward would go to ANY length for Bella,and I would say that that is FAR from boring. It's messages are about choice, about love, about BEING there for the person you care about. I learned that love conquers all, and if that's wrong, than I've been living my life full of sin. I admire this book for it's compasion, and most of all because I relate to the characters, and it proves that even with the flaws that they have, they still deserve and can obtain love.
Book Review: Beware of Book 4
Summary: 5 Stars
As an auntie of a niece that is just growing way too fast (and I also work closely with high schoolers), I read the entire Twilight series to see what all the hoopla was about. For the most part, it is innocent (except for Book 4, "Breaking the Dawn"--do NOT let your teenager read that one!). Although, I do not condone feeding into the whole "vampires are real...let's feel sorry for them" mantra, I think the average teenager will NOT pick up or focus on the deeper social, spiritual, and psychological themes (which I feel are unhealthy, once grasped) throughtout the books. As I was reading, I could see most tween- and teenage girls 1) being able to relate to Bella's feeling disconnected from her "world" and 2) being strongly drawn to the undeniably romantic and tangible relationship between Edward & Bella. Girls will be girls; even I am a sucker for a good "star-crossed lovers" tale! Meyer does this very well; the hundreds of pages in each of her books seem to fly by because the character & plot development is so natural. So, for the most part, the saga is harmless.
*Parents, Educators, Aunties, etc: for the more "sensitive" tween & teenage girls, I would recommend having a talk about: making the clear distinction between reality and fiction (vampires), discussing healthy perspectives on boys (rejection: Edward rejects Bella), inner beauty & self-esteem (Bella finds her worth in Edward), discussing rebellion (the vampires have only 1 rule that they live by), keeping secrets (Bella hides everything from her father to "protect" him), the lifelong effects of choices (it's Bella's choice to become a vampire), stressing it's okay to be different but setting clear boundaries on acting on those differences (Bella would DIE to be a vampire), and about sex & intimacy (Bella & Edward don't have sex until marriage only because it's not physically possible--so we think)------all before they even pick up the book. All of this makes for a great, entertaining read but be not fooled, Bella is a disturbed child; a textbook case of martyrdom and low self-esteem--she even goes as far to state that she's "better at being a vampire than a human". Which is why I also strongly recommend to NOT allow your child to read Book 4. Book 4 takes this harmless fictional writing to sacrilege fantasticalness. Not only is the pregnancy scene ridiculously gruesome but Meyer vehemently strips the pure sanctity out of the entire reproduction process. It's intentional, I'm sure, which leads me to believe that Meyer wants to suck you in by reading the first 3 books to get young girls to buy into some gothic agenda of hers in the 4th book--the contrast between the first 3 books & the the 4th is that different. I felt like I was no longer reading about the characters in the first 3 books, but more like I was reading about sick superheroes and villains--it's like reading a more modern "Romeo & Juliet" and then pairing it with "The Hills have Eyes" (which I'm ashamed to say, I have seen) and saying it's the same saga. Book 4 is unnecessary.
In ending, like any book for our youth: read it first. I hope this helped parents make a decision before purchasing for their excited young one. :)
Book Review: I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to like it... but I love it.
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're even bothering reading this you probably already know what Twilight is. How could you not. Amazon alone has, at this point, thousands of user reviews. There is hype due to the movie set to hit theater this winter. And I, myself, am quite late to this bandwagon. But in case you don't know, in a nutshell it's the story of Bella and Edward and the trials they face while falling in love -- she being human, he being a vampire. Yes, that's really all you need to know. Ok, maybe that isn't all you need to know...
What I didn't like: it is written from Bella's perspective. Bella, who almost instantly falls in love with a vampire, the way that only a teenage girl can. Disgustingly obsessively in love. Edward has no flaws, of course. You'll hear how perfect he is -- a lot. In the beginning, I had worried I couldn't read the book due to this. Edward is so perfect, his skin, his teeth, his eyes, did I mention his skin? I did? How about his eyes? His skin? etc. And then it hit me -- I was this stupid about guys once upon a time, as were most of my friends. I sort of trained myself to try to see past his striking beauty and instead just read into his actions. I was then able to enjoy the book so thoroughly that Edward became my favorite character despite the fact that I was being beaten over the head with his perfection so often that I might have wanted to slap him (or Bella) otherwise. If you can keep in mind that what you are reading about the other characters and their actions is really supposed to be how Bella perceives them, then it's an enjoyable read. If you're not able to put yourself into that emotional silly girl mindset long enough to read it, then you won't enjoy it. It's a book version of a chick flick in that sense.
What I loved that you may not -- Vampires are... well... they're not really the vampires you know. If by some chance you've avoided spoilers, I'll leave this spoiler free in that regard but Stephenie Meyer has, basically written her vampires how SHE wanted. Even if you do away with the teenage love story aspect, this is NOT a traditional vampire story by any stretch of the imagination. I thought it worked. Others hate it.
Even with the book's imperfections I've given it 5 stars. Why? Because nothing is perfect. But it is so seldom that I find a book or a movie that totally sucks me in and leaves me wanting more and this did, despite its faults, and despite the fact that I'm not a part of the target audience. It won't be for everyone. Still, I thought it was fun and different from most vampire stories (which I love in concept but which tend to bore me in actuality). I don't usually like chick flicks, I don't read romance novels. And yet this book made me love the love story, even if it was a bit over the top, rushed into, bad for them both, etc. Overall the book did its job -- it entertained me. And then, it cost me more money as I had to run off to order the other 3 books, shh don't tell anyone though as I'm the first to admit this is a cheesy series, one that I am sure I am supposed to feel guilty about loving, and love it I do.