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Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) | 
| Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
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Rating:  2958 reviews
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Reading Level: Young Adult
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Pages: 544
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Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.6
ISBN: 0316015849
EAN: 9780316015844
ASIN: 0316015849
Publication Date: September 6, 2006
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2953 more reviews...
Twilight December 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was for my daughter and she said that is was great and had me order the other 3 in the series.
 A compelling Romance with Sci-Fi Flavor December 1, 2008
I'm not part of the Teenage crowd (31year old mother of triplets), but to be fair Sci-Fi is my genre of choice, and that being said, this book fits in nicely with my tastes. I'm a sucker for a bit of the unusual mixed in with a nice Romance, and this book delivers.
Twilight is the compelling tale told from the perspective of an unlikely heroine, Isabella Swan, who moves to the rainy town of Fork in the Pacific Northwest to live with her father. Bella was never something special, she's akward, clumsy, always getting herself into 'sticky' situations. She can't see in herself what all of the boys were so interested in about her. (Like the majority of us, her self-esteem isn't fantastic).
But her sharp wit and biting sarcasm make her a character I can identify with. There's alot of humor in the book. Unlike most teenagers, she has no interest in the school dance, is annoyed by boys asking her out, and hates presents, parties and being the center of attention.
As the first book is set mostly at a highschool, and obviously the lead character thinks much as a highschoooler does (though her brain is wired a little differently), this story would be pegged as a teen book, but I know people from 16-55 who thoroughly enjoyed the ENTIRE series.
The writing could be a bit better, but the plot line is engaging, and I couldn't put the book down. The font is large, and the book though thick was an easy read and I was able to finish it in about 16 hours all together.
Stephanie Meyer's approach to vampire mythology is different, but *shrug* who are we to say what myths about vampires are true and which aren't. I was glad that we weren't burdened with the traditional definitions of vampirism, and that they're not very much at all as they're painted to be.
What's very entertaining is the story of an intense budding romance between a vampire, and what should be by all accounts 'prey'.
Here's a taste of some of what you can expect from Twilight
[I could feel his cool breath on my neck, feel his nose sliding along my jaw, inhaling.
'I thought you were desensitized.'
"Just because I'm resisting the wine doesn't mean i can't appreciate the bouquet," he whispered. "you have a very floral smell like lavendar... or freesia," he noted "it's mouth watering"
'yeah it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell'.
He chuckled and then sighed.]
The story of Twilight drew me in and always held my interest. Every time Bella's heart raced, mine did too. By the end of the first book, Stephenie Meyer had me eating out of her hand, and the 'peak' at the next book had me lining up to buy the next as soon as i was through with the first.
 Good Read if You're a 13 yo Girl. December 1, 2008
Very easy read. The story moves along at a fairly good pace. I only read this book because I wanted to see what all the "hype" was about for myself, but was a bit disappointed. Readers of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice will find this (for the lack of a better word) "weak".
A great read! Who cares what's "appropriate" for teens, really? December 1, 2008
I read Twilight just after seeing the movie. Being 30 years old, I hadn't heard of it earlier. I didn't think I would add my own to review to the already long list of them for this book until I began to glance through others' reviews which I found frustrating. Many reviewers have focused on the book's relative "appropriateness" for teens and problems in the author's characterization of her protagonists. I won't add another plot summary, but I have included some spoilers.
Twilight is definitely a page-turner. I was pleasantly surprised at the author's ability to flesh out fascinating, believable characters and an intriging plot with reasonable dialogue. The chemistry between the protagonists, Bella the human and Edward the vampire, was palpable. Bella obsesses over her vampire boyfriend, analyzing every detail of their interactions, ruminating on her hopes and fears for their relationship, and mulling over her own adequacy or lack thereof. I found myself transported back to my first love, and recognized immediately the emotional truth of the author's portrayal of her young heroine. Her insecurities and uncertainty about how to go about communicating with her partner reflect real-life experiences of everyone in early relationships.
Many reviewers commented that Bella's desire to become a vampire herself was problematic both in terms of continuity with her character and in terms of influence on the book's young adult readers. On the contrary, Bella's interest in becoming a vampire struck me as an authentic expression of her oft-cited desire to avoid falling into a conventional life that, while safer and more acceptable, might be dull and not right for her. Every young person struggles to find a balance between creating a life that fits into their cultural context and also expresses their individuality. Bella clearly demonstrates a preference for life outside the mainstream. Her choices are not driven solely by her vampire boyfriend, but are in evidence even before she meets him. She shows her independence by initiating her move to Forks, for example. She repeats again and again that she doesn't fit into conventional ways of being and doesn't especially care to. Perhaps becoming a vampire would be a rash decision for her to make, but it does not seem to be a decision that would either clash with her own core values. Teen readers, like all readers, should be trusted to read honest accounts of difficult dilemmas, fantastical or otherwise, and reach their own conclusions.
Another theme in the book that few reviewers have commented on is that of power exchange between Bella and Edward. Bella seems to show that she is exploring with Edward a newly developing interest in erotic power exchange that she finds both electrifying and puzzling. This complex issue is one many teens encounter as they become sexually active and was also treated in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Buffy's challenging relationship with the vampire Spike in Season 6. I found Meyer's show rather than tell approach to Bella's exploration of her own sexuality to be compelling.
Lastly, I find it worth mentioning that Bella's partner Edward, 100+ year old vampire that he is, is also possesed of peculiar similarities to Bella herself. He only "lived" for 17 years just as she did, and in some ways his identity seems to have fossilized at that point, making him more her equal than it would first appear. He has never had an opportunity to explore his own sexuality before, he does not know any more than Bella about how to create and maintain a romantic relationship, and he too is experiencing their love as a new and mysterious thing. This adds another level of complexity to their relationship that I found poignant.
I think this would be a great book for anyone to read. For parents who are game, it would be lovely to read this alongside your teen or pre-teen and let conversations about real-life relationships, identity issues, and sex to emerge.
 Are you guys serious? December 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I don't get it. I just don't get it. I thought young adult fiction had hit its low point with Eragon, but apparently I was wrong. Bella Swan (literally, "beautiful swan," which should be a red flag to any discerning reader) moves to the rainy town of Forks, and the whining begins on page 1. She goes to live with her father Charlie, and is quickly established to be a mopey, ungrateful, self-pitying little toerag. Bella then attends her new school, which turns out to be an all-out caricature of high school with about zero (rounding up) grounding in real life. Her classmates' reaction can be summed up thusly: "OMG. NEW STUDENT. OMG YOU GUYS, NEW STUDENT. STARE AT HER, FOR SHE IS CLEARLY SUPERIOR TO US." Bella Sue is promptly adored by everyone in the school, except the mysterious Cullens, who spend their time brooding, being pretty, smoldering, being perfect, and sparkling. No, seriously. NO, SERIOUSLY. Bella meets Edward, the Culleniest of the Cullens, (meaning he is more perfect and emo than the rest of them,) they fall in love within thirty pages, (much of this time is spent in Bella's head going back and forth between "Does he like me?" "Does he hate me?" "Do I like him?" "Why does he hate me?" and on and on and on AND ON. That is, when she's not being a horrible snobby twit to the boys at school who show affection in genuinely sweet ways, i.e., not breaking into her house and watching her while she sleeps. While she sleeps. Not knowing that he's there. IN HER HOUSE.) The plot shows up somewhere in the last fifty pages, which involves an EVIIIIIILL vampire named James who wants to eat Bella. James is the only character I like.
I generally try to find something redeeming about books, but I honestly have nothing good to say about this drivel. Meyer writes as if the reader is an absolute idiot who has to be told every sing tiny little thing; we are never given the chance to interpret what's going on in the characters' heads. There is no mystery, no intrigue, no suspense. The characters themselves are cut-and-dried, stereotypical, and maddeningly unoriginal. Bella's (supposedly) the clever, beautiful heroine, Edward's the dark, brooding bad boy, James is... uh, the guy that wants to eat Bella. Meyer clearly wants Bella to be a strong female character, but the horrible sad truth is that she's pathetic. Bella follows Edward's every word religiously, never sticks up for herself, has no spine to speak of, plays Suzie Housewife to her father, and has no existence outside of her "romance" with Edward. On that note, let it be said that Nathaniel Hawthorne got more romance into a few lines about a rosebush than Meyer managed to cram into 400 pages. Edward and Bella's relationship consists almost entirely of staring at each other dewey-eyed and arguing about who's prettier (NO I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.)
You know what? This could have been a great book if Meyer had focussed more on the relationship between the leads, (and treated it for what it is: unhealthy, creepy, pathetic, borderline psychopathic,) and less on how perfect Edward is (interesting note: the word "perfect" or related terms like "flawless" are used to describe Edward more than a hundred times. That's just bad writing, guys.) What burns me up most about this book is that Edward and Bella are obviously meant to portray the perfect couple. Yeah, I really want my hypothetical daughter to walk out on her family for a guy she barely knows, invite said guy to sleep in her bed, have absolutely no life outside of said guy, and turn into a sniveling wreck when this guy looks at her the wrong way. And I also really want my hypothetical son to break into his girlfriend's house and watch her sleep (SERIOUSLY, GUYS?) , abandon whatever life he has so he can stalk this girl, and be so possessive of her that he throws a fit whenever she so much as looks at someone other than him. And people think these two are good role models? WHAT. JUST WHAT.
This book really wouldn't bother me if it were being taken for what it is: a silly, sappy, shallow, juvenile, wish-fulfilling rag. The fact is, everyone is going on about how its literary merit rivals the frakking "Scarlet Letter" and how Bella Swan is the new Elizabeth Bennet (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?). "Twilight" should be rotting on some publisher's desk in a pile of rejection letters; not being lauded as the greatest novel since "Pride and Prejudice." I weep for literature.
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