Amazon.com Review "Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. 'Be very still,' he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat."
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.
Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Stephenie Meyer
Q: Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Angel? What are you watching now that those shows are off the air? A: I have never seen an entire episode of Buffy or Angel. While I was writing Twilight, I let my older sister read along chapter by chapter. She's a huge Buffy fan and she kept trying to get me to watch, but I was afraid it would mess up my vision of the vampire world so I never did.
I don't have a ton of time for TV, and my kids get rowdy when I have on "mommy shows," but I do have a secret fondness for reality shows (the good ones, at least in my opinion). I always TiVo Survivor, The Amazing Race, and America's Next Top Model.
Q: What inspired you to write Twilight? Is this the beginning of a series? Why write for teens? A:Twilight was inspired by a very vivid dream, which is fairly faithfully transcribed as chapter thirteen of the book. There are sequels on the way--I'm hard at work editing book two (tentatively titled New Moon) right now, and book three is waiting in line for its turn. I didn't mean to write for teens--I didn't mean to write for anyone but myself, so I had an audience of one twenty-nine year old (and later one thirty-one year old when my sister started reading). I think the reason that I ended up with a book for teens is because high school is such a compelling time period--it gives you some of your worst scars and some of your most exhilarating memories. It's a fascinating place: old enough to feel truly adult, old enough to make decisions that affect the rest of your life, old enough to fall in love, yet, at the same time too young (in most cases) to be free to make a lot of those decisions without someone else's approval. There's a lot of scope for a novel in that.
Q: What is your favorite vampire story? Fave vampire movie? A: I guess my favorite vampire story would be The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice, simply because it's one of the only ones I've ever read. I keep meaning to pick up Bram Stoker's Dracula, because I get asked this question so often and I should probably start with the classics, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Again, I'm afraid to read other vampire books now, for fear of finding things either too similar, or too different from my own vampire world.
Ack! I can't even answer the movie question. I can't remember ever seeing a single vampire movie, outside of clips from Bela Lugosi movies on TV. I don't like true horror movies--my favorite scary movies are all Hitchcock's.
Q: What other young adult authors do you read? A: My favorite young adult author is L.M. Montgomery I also enjoy J.K. Rowling (but who doesn't?), and Ann Brashares. As a teen, I skipped straight to adult books (lots of sci-fi and Jane Austen), so I'm rediscovering the world of teen literature now.
Stephenie Meyer's List of Books You Should Read
Anne of Green Gables
Romeo and Juliet
Dragonflight
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Princess Bride
See more recommendations from Stephenie Meyer
Q&A with Stephanie Meyer
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life? A: The book with the most significant impact on my life is The Book of Mormon. The book with the most significant impact on my life as a writer is probably Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card, with Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier coming in as a close second.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they? A: The CD is easy: Absolution by Muse, hands down. It's harder to give myself just one movie, but the one I watch most frequently is Sense and Sensibility--the one with the screenplay by Emma Thompson. One book is impossible. I'd have to have Pride and Prejudice, but I couldn't live without something by Orson Scott Card and a nice, thick Maeve Binchy, too.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told? A: My lies are all very, very boring: "No, you really look great in hot pink!" "My children only watch one hour of TV a day." "I didn't eat the last Swiss Cake Roll--it must have been one of the kids." That's the best I've got.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment. A: It's late at night and the house is silent, but I'm still (miraculously) full of energy. I have my headphones in and I'm listened to a mix of Muse, Coldplay, Travis, My Chemical Romance, and The All-American Rejects. Beside me is a fabulous, and yet mysteriously low in calorie, cheesecake....
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? A: I'd like it to say that I really tried at the important things. I was never perfect at any of them, but I honestly tried to be a great mom, a loving wife, a good daughter, and a true friend. Under that, I'd want a list of my favorite Simpsons quotes.
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with? A: I'd love to have a chance to talk to Orson Scott Card--I have a million questions for him. Mostly things like, "How do you come up with this stuff?!" But, if he wasn't available, I'd settle for Matthew Bellamy (lead singer of Muse).
Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be? A: I'd want something offensive, rather than defensive. Like shooting fireballs from my hands. That way, you're really open to going either way--hero or villain. I like to have choices.
Product Description Deeply sensuous and extraordinarily suspenseful, TWILIGHT captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.Isabella Swan+s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella+s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.
A Strange AffairDecember 1, 2008 My affair with the Twilight Saga began precisly two days ago when I went to see the recently released movie. Then, being sick the next day, I downloaded the audio book, and, today, on a cold medicine run, I purchased the novel itself and finished it in 1 sitting aprox. 5 min ago.
That being said, this book has its pros and cons. For instance, the exsposition, when it at last came, left few other questions to be remaining, other than "Why Bella?" There are syntax-issues that I'm sure could be cleaned, a hail to Josh Weadon's Buffiverse with the nearby town of Port Angeles that I found more sad then anything else, and a slight problem with the perfection of Edward and the other Cullens in the first half of the novel. Pros, however, are many. It is an intruging novel, with many, many unquie possibilites in the love affair of a "Vegitarian" vampire with an utterly normal teenage girl. While defintatly a teenage girl novel, the story itself is a classic one of forbidden love, a la Adam and Eve more than Romeo and Juliet, with a unique twist that grows more engrossing with each step into the Cullen's world. Nonetheless, I do not foresee this book becoming a classic, although it is a great read, and give it only 3 of 5.
Awesome!!!December 1, 2008 I began reading the novel(s) shortly after I saw the film. I have since seen the film twice now and I'm deeply fascinated with the overly excited novels. Now this is coming from a person who would rather see movies instead of read. Stephanie's "Twilight" kept me turning page after page. I have since moved on to the next "New Moon" and practically regretting that I'm getting closer to the end of the book. The story between Edward, Bella, and Jacob keeps my heart jumping around and by stomach twirling for the next paragraph. I have found myself staying up later and later becoming sadden because I will have to put the book away and return to it the following night. I have gotten my husband (who also doesn't read) to read the novel and he himself cannot escape the excitement that continues throughout the novel. For all you "bad" raters, this book is not a bad read at all but maybe this just wasn't for you. For the rest of you who want to feel your body reacting to the novel, you'll be wishing you were one of Stephanie's "Twilight" characters yourself. I have since researched the author Stephanie to see what other novels she may write. Please, this novel is worth the read!!!
TwilightDecember 1, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book and also the rest of the series. I am re-reading it now. The characters are very well written and are mostly endearing.
So-SoDecember 1, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's not what I expected. I am a true vampire book reader and I found this book quite boring and hard to get through. After reading Christine Feehan, LA Banks, Laurel Hamilton and Anne Rice this book cannot even compare. Add to the fact that they are teenagers and there is no vampire erotica to look forward to because they are kids. I am struggling to get through this book andI don't see what all the hype is about. I can't see myself buying the next books in the series because this one is not holding my interest.
Loved it!December 1, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is such a fun and exciting tale. You will be hooked, so you better buy all 4 of them. The story is enticing. The characters are exciting. This is a great book and definatly worth the read.
Q: Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Angel? What are you watching now that those shows are off the air?
