Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Is An Instant Addiction

I rarely buy books, but when I saw this book, I was wondering if this was the book I had heard so much about. Indeed, it turns out it is a book that I have heard so many rave reviews of, and is part of a series of books (currently there are 4 books).

"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." (Powell's books website).


The Book

I bought this book at TJ Maxx on a whim for $6.99. It is a thick paperback, running over 500 pages. It was published in 2006 and is her first novel. As soon as I started reading the book, I went on the internet and visited the author's website. Meyer talks about how this book was inspired by a dream she had. She had not written for many years, and as a busy mom, she had to make time to contribute to the book on a daily basis. I enjoyed reading the author's bio, in which she also writes about how she listened to a lot of music while creating the book. She has posted everything from a playlist ("soundtrack") on her website, to photos of cars she references in the book.


My Thoughts

As soon as I began reading this book, it had me interested. We follow Bella from her home in Phoenix to live with her father in a small town called Folks, located in Washington state. It is dreary town, literally for being cold and wet much of the time, but she prefers to get away from her mother. I felt connected to the main character from the beginning, because it was easy to relate to Bella. She has insecurities about leaving Phoenix, starting at a new high school, being the new girl, and even living with her father, because of a sort of awkward relationship between the two. I was able to connect and relate to her even though it takes a while to fully understand why she is doing this to herself, even though she predicts that she will hate Folks.

Bella is a likable character, even though she more or less keeps to herself. She is a nice person, and the reader discovers that her reasons for going to live with her father are selfless. She is surprised to find that she attracts a number of friends, both guys and girls. She is intrigued by a group of brothers and sisters that always hang out at school together, especially Edward.

I think it is easy to connect with not just Bella, but also Edward. Although their situation isn't exactly something the reader goes through, most people can relate to being an outsider at some point, or having some kind of insecurity. Aside from being able to relate to the characters, it made them such a good fit and you really wanted to root for them as likable people.

Much of this book has a lot to uncover about Bella and Edward. I had so many questions throughout at least the first half of the book, which made it suspenseful and had me wanting to not stop reading. Obviously most of the suspense has to do with Edward, and Meyer did a fantastic job of dragging out the little details.

Twilight also has it's share of drama and action, especially towards the end. I was riveted to the book whether or not there was a lot of action. I also think whether you are into vampire stories or not, you could easily enjoy this book.

This book is for grades 9 and up, so it is an easy read. In other words, it definitely didn't pose any type of complexity in terms of vocabulary or trying to understand any parts of the book. This is a very entertaining book, even though it might not be challenging.

I liked the length of the book - it is a long novel, but it was just the right length. I felt like I got my "money's worth" out of this book - the writing was very complete and it had enough substance to it. I somehow managed to read this book in a 24-hour period while watching a 1-1/2 year old (through her 3 hour nap and staying up against my better judgment). I had to know what would happen and even when I went to bed, I fell asleep wondering what would happen next and thinking about the events that had transpired in the book.

This book is slated to be released as a movie this November. I think this is the perfect kind of book to be made into a movie, because it has many diverse elements that make it so interesting (mystery, action, romance, etc).


Overall

I loved this book, and I will most definitely be recommending it to others and will also continue with the rest of the series.



Stephenie Meyer: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/