Stephanie Meyer struck gold with the first book in the Twilight saga, Twilight – and continued to have great success with the subsequent books in the series: New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and Midnight Sun, a companion book to Twilight. First published in 2005, Twilight swept the nation’s young adult readers away with the mysterious Edward Cullen and the shy beauty Isabella “Bella” Swan.
Plot
Bella Swan is the typical daughter of a divorced couple trying to live their own lives – and she has decided her time living with her mom is finally up and it is time to live with her dad. Meteorologically, this was not a good move – moving from the warm and sunny Phoenix, Arizona to the usually rainy and dreary Forks, Washington.
Bella also finds Forks different socially. In her old school, she was shy, reserved, and had very few friends. However after her first few days at this new school, Bella seems to have attracted the attention of a number of students – most of them male. There was one exception: her table partner in Biology, Edward Cullen. He seemed not only disinterested but almost rude those first few days. Curious about his strange demeanor, Bella discovers the truth about Edward from another student at the school: he is a vampire.
Initially Bella is fearful of Edward, until she learns that his particular type of vampires only eat animal blood, not humans. Over time, Edward warms up to Bella and vice versa, to the point where they find themselves quite in love with one another – but with one big obstacle: Bella has a strange and particularly alluring scent to her that Edward must try his best to avoid. However his fidelity is put to the test when Bella finds herself in grave danger.
Characters
- Isabella “Bella” Swan - the protagonist of the book, Bella is not your typical teen princess protagonist. She is awkward and prone to finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Edward Cullen – a member of a “family” of vampires who only suck animal blood, he also has the ability to read the minds of those around him.
- Jacob Black – a member of the Quilieut tribe, he befriends Bella, and is an enemy of Edward’s
Film Adaptation
Much to the delight of many Twilight fans, the movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s book is set to release in the U.S. December 12, 2008. Isabella Swan will be played by Kristen Stewart, Edward Cullen will be played by Robert Pattinson, and Jacob Black will be played by Taylor Lautner.
Laura L. Johnson - Welcome! I am a secondary English teacher who also does freelance writing on the side. I currently teach at a small private school in the ...
