Twilight

Book: Twilight
By: Stephanie Meyers

Twilight is the first of four books that follow the relationship of a human and a vampire as they overcome personal and external struggles that threaten their relationship.

I honestly didn't have an interest in the Twilight series until it came out to theaters because I'm a Kristen Stewart fan, but liked it and read all of the subsequent novels.


Plot/Summary: Isabella Swan is a self reliant seventeen year old who decides to move from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father when her mother remarries. On her first day of class, she meets Edward Cullen who seems repulsed by her, and who she later learns is a vampire. Bella and Edward---after a great deal of hesitation on Edward's part, become close friends and eventually a couple. The novel ends with Bella and Edward going to prom after a nomadic vampire, James has already attempted to kill Bella; also, where James' mate, Victoria is plotting her revenge on Edward which continues into the second novel.

Review: Twilight can be seen from the perspective that Edward and Bella have an awkward relationship because Edward seems verbally abusive and has obsessive tendencies, and I would agree, but being that he's a lonely vampire, but I think it's easily overlooked because of the context in how he views Bella as physically weak and enduring because he's able to have someone to care for. I thought Twilight was definitely interesting and clever in the use of having vegan vampires and in how Edward's coven was able to interact with humans so easily, but the convenience of his family's life style is highly lacking in believability.

Bella's character came across as whiny and stubborn a lot, but strong because she demanded what she believed in. Edward's character was also a bit hostile, but given the context that he is hundred year old vampire virgin, it's hard to blame him for his occasional outbursts and overprotective tendencies in the novel. A lot of the characteristics of Edward's character are stalker-ish and creepy (he watches Bella sleep and follows her around town in the beginning of their relationship), but it's kind of legitimized when his perspective is seen that he's a mind reading vampire who's finally confounded by not being able to read Bella's thoughts; his character is also based quite a bit on Edward Rochester of Jane Eyre, so it's easier to see the personality traits from that view as well.

I'm not into the idea of sparkling vampires, but Stephanie Myers legitimizes it by using it as part of a vampire's allure into attracting humans, which explains why Edward is self loathing because he attracts what he should be killing.  (Any die hard Twilight fan would argue that vampires can sparkle since they're mythical beings anyways).

The entirety of the novel can be taken into a religious context due to Edward's self loathing because of his existence as a vampire, and I though the questioning of whether non-humans have souls was valid in the novel; I also liked how Bella's character constantly grounded Edward's self destructive nature. The ending was bittersweet, but definitely transitions into the sequel well.

Author's Writing Technique: Stephanie Myers based her character off of a dream she'd had and wrote down notes of what happened in her dream. From there, she came up with base characters that she didn't name until far into the Twilight novel because she was more concerned with the character development until names were necessary. She used a foundation of vampire and werewolf myth and blended it into an appealing base for teenagers.

Writer's Tip: Always keep a notebook nearby and jot down ideas and dreams when something memorable comes up. Also, don't be afraid revolve a story about faith or folklore because improvising is allowed to make one's own version of what is monstrous or appealing.

Overall, Twilight is a decent read, but being that it mostly revolves around the relationship of Edward and Bella, I don't think it has anything challenging to offer readers in how easily major problems are easily solved in the novel.