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Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $10.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1523 reviews
Sales Rank: 9
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.5
ISBN: 0316015849
EAN: 9780316015844
ASIN: 0316015849
Publication Date: September 6, 2006
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Condition: BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED
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Amazon.com
"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
Amazon.com's Significant Seven
Stephenie Meyer graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.
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
"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)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1518 more reviews...
 Best Ever May 22, 2008
I am generally NOT a vampire book kind of reader, but I fell in love with this book and characters. I am a teacher and the students recommended it to me before Thanksgiving and it has spread like wildfire throughout my school. It is a wonderful book and series. The characters are well defined and I found myself feeling the way the main character was feeling. If Bella was anxious, so was I.... I haven't had a book take total control of me and my emotions in a very long time. This is a must read for all. I recommended it to some of my students and they recommended it to others, and so on... All have loved it!
 Deeply Disappointing May 22, 2008
After so much hype, I decided to pick up Twilight, the first book in Stephanie Meyer's wildly popular young adult series. I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy fluffy books. After 4 years of analyzing literature in college, I was craving something that I could just enjoy. Sadly, Twilight was not it.
Meyer's writing is very basic and unsophisticated. I don't know if this is deliberate because of her target audience or she's simply not that great of an author. Her style is predictable and slow. I knew in the first 60 or so pages exactly how the whole story was going to progress. I can forgive bad writing if the plot and characters are engaging.
Wrong again. Bella was hands down on of the most annoying characters I've seen in print in recent memory. It's one thing to make a character this way on purpose, but I feel Meyer was actually trying to make her a sympathetic character. She's whiny, pathetic, and downright immature. I was also offended by her "I'm nothing without my man" mentality. What message is this sending to the pre teens that read it? It's okay to feel sorry for yourself constantly? I don't consider myself a feminist by any means, but a strong female character is something that I connect with as a female reader.
The one bright spot, and why I gave the book 2 stars as opposed to one, was the Cullens. All her creative juices seem to have spilled out on this group. Each had an interesting personality and something to offer the reader. I admit, I have no clue why Edward would put up with Bella for more than 5 minutes. I was hoping he'd let James have her just to shut her up. No matter his motivation and obvious shortcoming of finding Bella anything but a royal pain, I still found him to be a fairly solid character. I also enjoyed the rest of the Cullen clan, though they had largely lesser roles.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I'm sure if I were 13, I'd think this book was the greatest book ever. Alas, I am not and the bad far outweighed the good.
Really decent May 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've never been fond of mythical, unrealistic story plots, but when I heard everybody raving about how incredible this book is, I had to give it a read. I didn't even find myself giving second thought to how unreal all of it was, because the way Stephenie writes makes it feel so real and normal. Even real enough that thousands of young girls are in love with a fictional vampire and/or warewolf.
I tend to shy away from the Y/A section, because they always seem cookie cutter and ammature to me, but I was pleasently surprised with how nicely this story flowed. A little cookie cutter with things like "he swore under his breath", but I couldn't really find any boring or slow parts in Twilight. I ended up reading it in 2 days and could not for the life of me put it down.
For people wondering if this book is all hype, it is not. There is deffinatly a reason this book is as popular as it is. Even if you think the story plot SOUNDS stupid, because I sure as hell did. It isn't. It is deffinatly worth a read.
And every decent author has one word they use repeatedly. Look at Mary Shelly, the author of Frankenstein and her repeated use of the word 'endeavor' 13 times a page. Give Stephenie a break. It deffinatly gets better throughout the trilogy.
WOW May 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I can't even remember how it ended up that I bought this book, but I am so glad that I did. Amazing! I can't believe it is written for teens, because I am in my late 20's and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to be Bella and have a boy like Edward love me. I have recommended this book to a few people and I keep getting the same response from them that I had for the book. They rush out to get the rest of the books too. I am waiting very patiently for the 4th book in this series.
 Teenage Vampiric Romance/Drama/Angst/Fluff Crap. May 21, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
[...]
Unfortunately, I have a soft spot for romantic fluff and find myself reading bits and pieces. And I want to know what happens. Of course, since the meaningful plot really consists of perhaps three sentences through the whole book, I can just skip ahead - "Got it, kay, ::toss::". I'm an addictive reader and will read trash because... I HAVE to finish it! It's compulsive! But I just couldn't get through the second and third books. I couldn't. It was so BORING. I got two minutes of fluff and was done. That's all I wanted in terms of fluff - now for the content! ...Content! ...Content? ...Curses.
The two main characters have painfully flawed personalities, with the hypocritical ("Don't come near me as I embrace you! I am deadly and the safest option for you is to never talk to me, yet I involved myself with you of my own volition!") and controlling and condescending Edward and the clumsy and cripplingly insecure (yet somehow disdainful of her fellow students and "human activities?" How on EARTH does the author justify that? That level of contempt usually signifies that the individual feels he or she is above others and therefore thinks fairly highly of him or herself. Of course, she is comparing herself to a vampire, which she describes as "Godlike". Still.) and passive and disturbingly dependent. It's a relationship based completely on looks and physical attraction disguised under pretty words as "fate" and "destiny" and "we're meant to be together" and "you complete me". That's nice. Do you share any common interests? Do you have similar senses of humor? Do your personalities work well together? Do you complement each other and motivate each other to be a better person? Do you share the same ideals, values, goals, anything?
Well, since Stephenie Meyer focuses on the romantic lines rather than on actual dialogue unrelated to how much they love each other (or conversations revolving around Jacob, vampires in general, werewolves in general, or arguments about Bella's wish to become a vampire), we aren't shown any development of the infatuation. It doesn't grow. There's no change or closeness that comes from learning more about each other. The plot is dull, focusing on love dramas that are rendered meaningless by the fact that the relationship has no depth. The issues never change - Bella ALWAYS wants to be a vampire, Edward ALWAYS believes that vampires are damned and doesn't want Bella to suffer his fate, Edward ALWAYS wants to get married, Edward ALWAYS worries for Bella's safety in the company of vampires (especially himself), and there are ALWAYS issues about Bella and Jacob's friendship. Three books revolving around those, with vampire attacks and "tiny human dramas" involving the rest of the characters (which, in addition to the lack of emphasis given by the author, are further undermined by Bella's failure to really care about most of said characters. It's not about the damaged relationship with her father so much as the fact that she's grounded and can't see Edward or Jacob.) serving as the rest of the plot, makes for a repetitive, dull series with the same issues explained over - and over - and over. And then they have a happy ending with only a semblance of a transition.
Of course, the issues preventing them from reaching their happy ending are so inconsequential that there isn't much to be done to create an expanded and MEANINGFUL period of the two main characters changing and compromising and adjusting in order to reach harmony. It's just that they say, "Ok, fine, I'll make you a vampire, I'll marry you, and I want to see you happy so I won't make you not see Jacob." There is no evidence of any personal growth or struggle that would help them reach these decisions, and in that sense, it's reduced to a decision as easily (though not quickly, since the entire thing is painfully drawn out over three books) as whether or not you want to get your ears pierced. Even though Edward is experiencing his own internal struggle in regards to Bella's wish to become what he believes is a damned creature without a soul, and tells her such, that struggle has very little effect on their relationship.
There is also no doubt in their relationship, which cripples most of the romantic drama. We already know that they will never stop loving each other, so there's very little suspense there, and romantic drama is largely driven by that sort of suspense: Will the couple survive their differences? Or will they be unfaithful, emotionally distant, abusive, physically distant (i.e. deployed overseas)? Do they still want to be together? Do they still love each other? Romantic drama relies on our emotions to be interesting, and therefore, it's the emotions that drive it. Granted, a great amount of time in the second book shows Bella ruined by Edward's self-removal from her life. This may seem to be an actual impact on the relationship caused by Edward's unwillingness to turn Bella into a vampire; however, it's simply driven by his certainty that Bella is in constant danger around him and his family - that one of the vampires could lose control and accidentally kill her. This is him trying to avoid killing her, not him leaving because of mixed feelings about what she wants for her future. At any rate, Bella definitely believes Edward doesn't want her anymore, and there is doubt in the relationship.
Unfortunately, the characters and their motives are so transparent that the average reader isn't fooled for a second. Of course he loves her. Gone is any tension created by the reader's doubt of the future of the characters' relationship (I'm ignoring the fact that many books have happy endings and it's therefore easy to predict a happy couple, but when the reader is convinced that the doubt in the relationship is currently real at any given point in the book, the reader wants to know HOW it's resolved. But in terms of their feelings for each other and compatibility (as they perceive it and aside from the fact Bella isn't completely safe with Edward), there really is no point at which we, the audience, truly believe that they are having problems. This a relationship without real depth (and infatuation and constant talk of love and wonder and adoration is not a deep relationship. That's the "We just met and are head over heels and everything's new and exciting" phase, which never lasts forever. Rather, in a meaningful and healthy relationship, it develops into a deeper love, one grounded in the knowledge that they are happy with each other for the long run, they suit each other, they are content with each other, and don't need that honeymoon excitement to be in love.
To make it even worse, it's an extraordinarily unhealthy relationship. They are so dependent on each other than Bella pretty much dies inside for a great amount of time when Edward temporarily leaves her at an attempt to keep her safe. Edward nearly commits suicide when he believes Bella is dead. At first glance, it might seem romantic to love somebody so much you can't live without them... but it's unrealistic, it's unhealthy, it's dangerous, and it lends to an unfulfilling existence, without other elements giving your life meaning. Bella and Edward have others they care about, but it's clear their friends and family mean nothing unless they have each other. Edward is unacceptably controlling of Bella's actions, and the fact that it's "for her own safety" will NEVER justify the fact that he removes her freedom to choose her own actions. He treats her like a child, not like an equal. He dictates what she can and cannot do and withholds vital information because he believes she is incapable of dealing with it, which is not only disrespectful of her right and need to know, but is also robbing her of the opportunity to grow and develop the emotional capability to handle that kind of information. Even worse, for the most part, Bella just accepts her subordinate status and keeps her objections to a minimum. She doesn't truly put her foot down and take a stand - she instead sneaks off to see Jacob, as if it's wrong to do so and not just the desires of her boyfriend. Even though Edward is physically capable of stopping her, she experiences no true anger at him for controlling her life against her will. It's disgusting.
As a romantic drama and as a portrayal of a seemingly wonderful couple, these books don't succeed in the slightest, and rely on attractive, flowery descriptions, declarations of love and physical beauty, and hyperbolic plot points imbued with unearned import to attract an audience that doesn't have to think to understand anything. There is nothing to be learned except for new adjectives and a misconception that Bella and Edward's relationship is desirable or healthy. There is nothing that provokes thought, there is no controversial content that would challenge traditional conceptions and incite reflection and reassessment of personal beliefs. There may be attempts at themes and deeper meanings, such as Bella's innocence represented by an apple and the questionable morality of a vampire, but the writing is so poor and the content so meaningless that in the end, they serve no purpose. Just because there are themes of risk in love and trying to fit in at a new school does not mean that this series is anything more than empty entertainment. When discussing the books and the writing process, the author goes on in great detail about physical descriptions of characters, what CDs Bella is listening to in a book, clothing, personality traits of the main characters, and so on. There is no mention of any message or meaning, and it seems to be more the case that this is all the book means to the author - a story - rather than deliberately focusing on what her intended audience wants to know.
As just a young adult novel (which as a genre, I grew out of by age 14 or 15), for the sole purpose of entertainment, it's fine - though there are far better ones out there that don't glorify unhealthy relationships to that extent (NOTE: I am against censorship and book banning, so don't think for a second that's where it's going. I just think that this portrayal of love is the last thing a very impressionable girl needs to influence how she sees love and life.) and have more to offer than entertainment. Even just a portrayal of healthy relationships, between friends, significant others, parents, and other people, can teach a young boy or girl something more about how to relate to people. I don't see Twilight doing anything of the sort and would never recommend it to any person of any age.
I would recommend instead Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and even if you don't agree with the author's views and have heard about overzealous protesters of the recent movie adaptation of The Golden Compass, half of a story is the reader's interpretation and you can choose to take what you want from it. I read it when I was young, I'm a very impressionable person, and while I read some things that made me think and that I liked, it certainly did not teach me that religion is bad. I read it as a fantasy story and simply agreed to disagree with the idea that God is a lie. This did not prevent me at all in the slightest from learning from other elements and messages in the trilogy and simply enjoying the engaging, well-written story that's easy enough for a 10 year old to read yet has much to offer for adults who are mature and experienced enough to pick up on the more subtle aspects.
Some other books I would highly recommend for young adults are the Redwall series, The Hobbit (and The Lord of the Rings when slightly older - the language is more complex, but it's beautiful writing that should not take an exceptional attention span to enjoy - unless the reader has been raised on video games and other electronic entertainment, which trains people - including me - to desire easier entertainment with less requirements for focus than reading), The Giver, Judy Blume's books, Anne McCaffery's books, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Among The Hidden, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Roald Dahl's books, Ella Enchanted, The Face on the Milk Carton, Gathering Blue, the Narnia books (Harry Potter is fun, but this is both engaging for children and superior writing with various layers of meaning, making these enjoyable for all ages), Hatchet, Foxman, The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner, Where The Red Fern Grows, the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Misty of Chincoteague, Figgs and Phantoms, The Burning Time, the Ramona Quimby books, Juniper, Wise Child, Julie of the Wolves, A Time of Angels, The Golden Goblet.
More than entertainment.
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