Book Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Twilight is the first novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and the first in the Twilight Serie. The story is about seventeen-year-old protagonist Isabella Swan, also known as Bella, who falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire.
The plot tracks Bella’s move from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father while her mother travels with her new husband. Bella is a shy girl who soon becomes the center of attention at her new school, with several boys showing interest in her. On her first day of school, she sits next to Edward, who doesn’t seem to like her. But a few days later, her behavior seems to change and she even comes to her rescue when she almost gets hit by a van in the school parking lot. Intrigued by how Edward miraculously saved her life, Bella begins to dig into Edward and her family history. She then comes to the conclusion that Edward is from a family of vampires who like animal blood and not human blood. After confronting Edward, he confesses that he initially tried to stay away from her because he was really attracted to the smell of her blood.
Edward and Bella soon fall in love, but their relationship is shaken by the entrance of a new vampire coven that includes James, a tracker vampire. James decides to hunt down Bella just for fun, so the Cullens send Bella to hide out in a hotel in Phoenix, hoping to prevent James from trying to break up the couple. However, James manages to track down Bella in Phoenix and calls her to tell her that she is holding her mother captive. Bella then gives herself up to James, who attacks her and tries to kill her. But Edward manages to defeat James and rescues Bella, but not before James manages to bite off her hand. Edward then sucks the poison out of Bella’s blood and prevents her from becoming a vampire. Bella is then taken to the hospital where she can recover. Later, the pair return to Forks, going to the high school prom where Bella tells Edward that she wants to become a vampire, but he rejects her request.
The novel Twilight was adapted into a fantasy film of the same name in 2008, which was directed by Catherine Hardwicke. In the movie Twilight, the character of Bella is played by Kristen Stewart, while Robert Pattinson plays Edward Cullen. Having been turned into a vampire in 1918, Edward is one hundred and eight years old, has superhuman strength and speed, and the ability to read everyone’s mind except Bella’s. The film managed to remain largely faithful to the novel, with some minor modifications such as omissions of sections from the novel and additions of some new scenes not previously in the novel. The film ends with Victoria, James’s lover, plotting revenge for James’s murder at the hands of the Cullens, as she watches Bella and Edward dance at the school prom.