Meyer, Stephenie: Twilight

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When 17-year-old Isabella Swan moves from Phoenix to Forks, Washington to live with her father, she has a lot to get used to: life in a small town, the near-constant drizzle of the Pacific Northwest, and the malevolent snarling of her lab partner in biology. It's the last of these that most troubles Bella, because despite his hostility Bella can't help but be attracted to the enigmatic Edward Cullen. He and his four high-school-aged siblings--all of them adopted--are preternaturally attractive. Heart-stoppingly perfect in appearance, in fact. They glide across surfaces with inhuman grace. Their skin is flawless. One looks at them and forgets to breathe, so attractive are they. Bella falls for Edward despite herself, and when he inexplicably turns from snarling loner to chivalrous beau, we have the makings of the hottest teenage romance to come along since Buffy met Angel.

Twilight, published in 2005, is the first in a four-book series that has become a huge favorite with tween and teen readers. As it turns out, they're on to something: the book is compulsively readable, a quick jaunt even at almost 500 pages. The book is part teen romance, part monster story, akin to the aforementioned Buffy saga in that respect. But--at least judging from the first book in the series--the world Meyer creates is nowhere near as complex as the Buffyverse (or as the Harry Potter universe, for that matter). Bella is a very likable and strong character--she's responsible and intelligent and interesting. She's the sort of teenager any parent would be delighted to have, the one problem being that she's drawn to a guy she should be smart enough to stay clear of. Bella's predicament is unusual, of course, because Edward brings supernatural charms to bear in their courtship--all those vampy good looks and smoldering glances and his tendency to be in the right place at the right time. But otherwise Bella's situation isn't unlike that experienced by a lot of teenaged girls who get themselves in trouble mooning after the wrong kind of guy.

If you were dragged to the recently released movie version of Twilight by some squealing teen of your acquaintance, you may have wondered what all the fuss is about: but the movie, as so often, doesn't do the book justice. Give it a try. Twilight won't become one of my favorite all-time books, but it goes down easy and it's enjoyable. Plus, it gets points for getting teenagers excited about books. I'll certainly be reading the next three novels in the series. Once I wrest them from my daughter, that is.

Comments

[TexasRed]

1.

I thought this whole series was great fun -- although I was disappointed by the pacing and character development in the movie.

[Debra Hamel]

2.

Yes, I would advise anyone who's halfway interested in the books to read at least the first one before you see the movie.

(I did something stupid earlier and had to repost this review, so I lost the earlier version and a couple of comments that were on it. My apologies to the commenters.)