Review: TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer

TITLE: Twilight

AUTHOR: Stephenie Meyer

AUTHOR WEBSITE: stepheniemeyer.com

GENRE: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

PARANORMAL ELEMENT: Vampires

PUBLISHED: Little, Brown and Company (October 5, 2005)

MY RATING: 4

FIND ON: Amazon

SYNOPSIS:

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, Bella'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 Bella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife—between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires.

REVIEW:

Why do a review of a book that EVERYONE has read and reviewed? Well, because I feel like it. And it’s on my favorite list. And I haven’t reviewed yet! Woohoo! (This is my 2nd time reading it, by the way.)

This story sucked me right in, the first time I read it. There was intrigue, danger, undying love, a sense of morality, and an average girl falling for a guy out of her league. The way the story was told was intriguing because she knew there was danger and that she should be running in the opposite direction but she couldn’t help how she felt. (I had originally believed it was the “prey attraction” for most of the story.

But Edward is worthy of love. He is smart, sexy and has a sense of morality. That is what kept this story going for me. I wouldn’t have liked it if Edward occasionally ate people. There would have been no guarantee that Bella wouldn’t be dead by chapter twelve.

Issues I had the first read through were, “What really attracts Edward to Bella?” (After all, she is beneath him. Let’s just be honest.) I could find none except she smells really, really good. But after I’ve seen the (horrific) movie and read the book a second time, I see more of what he likes in her. She is a mystery. He can’t read her thoughts and everything he expects her to do, she does the opposite. He loves that quirk about her. And the guy is waaaay into the whole damsel in distress thing. Hot stuff!

The writing is kinda subpar though. Her tone is subdued, which is why the movie is so serious too. But after having read a hundred or so books between my first read of this book and the second, her prose is kind of chatty, which confuses me about Kristin Stuart’s interpretation of Bella. We hear a book full of Bella’s chatty thoughts, and then in the movie she’s mute and twitchy. It’s weird and kind of annoying.

RATING:

For my first read through of Twilight, I would have rated it at a 5: Excellent. The movie was rather annoyingly creepy and idiotic and I would rate that at a 2: Fair. The second read through it’s still on my favorites list and sitting at a 4: Very Good. The book is faaaar better than the movie, obviously.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you haven't read this book yet, seriously, come out of  your cave! Read it. Love it. Don’t watch the movie, it’s ridiculous. I kind of wish they would redo it!

SERIES REVIEWS:

Book 1: Twilight
Book 2: New Moon
Book 3: Eclipse
   Novella: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Book 4: Breaking Dawn