Twilight

Title: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer

ISBN: 9780316015844

Publisher: Little, Brown

Copyright: 2005

Genre: Horror Romance

Age Range: 14 - 18

Reader’s Annotation: Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington with her dad and is drawn to the viciously beautiful Edward Cullen.

Plot Summary: Bella Swan moved from sunny Phoenix to raininf Forks, Washington so her mother can travel with her new husband as he follows the minor league baseball circuit. Being the rare new girl, Bella attacts lots of attention and quickly joins a new group of friends. Many boys unsuccessfully compete for her affection. In biology class, Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen, who seems like he can’t stand the smell of her. She even catches him switching classes in the office. He is gone for a sunny few days. Upon his return, he is more friendly toward Bella. While in the school parking lot, Bella is nearly crushed by Tyler's van. Edward saves her when he was across the lot and with only his hands. Perplexed with what she saw, Bella annoys Edward with countless questions. She is obsessed with finding out how he could have saved her life.

            Hearing stories about the local tribal legend of “The Cold Ones” from her dad’s best friend’s son Jacob Black, Bella believes that Edward and his family are vampires that drink animal blood rather than human. On a shopping trip to Port Angeles, Bella is almost attacked. The attackers are stopped by Edward and his shiny silver Volvo. He takes her out for dinner and offers her a ride home. On the drive home, she admits her theory about him being a vampire. Edward admits to being a vampire and tells her that her scent is like heroine and he was afraid he couldn’t handle the temptation. After this, they fall in love.

            Bella meets his family. On a family outing playing baseball, a nomadic vampire coven comes across their game. They try and hide Bella but James, a tracker vampire, discovers her scent. James decides a better game will be to hunt the Cullen’s pet. They send Bella and Edward in opposite directions. She ends up back in Phoenix. She receives a call from James that sounds like he has captured her mom and will let her go if Bella comes in her place. Will Bella exchange herself for her mom?

Critical Evaluation: Twilight was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2005 and one of School Library Journal's Best Books of 2005. The American Library Association listed Twilight on their Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009 and 2010 for violence, sexuality, inappropriateness for the age group, and having a religious viewpoint. Upon its release, it received mixed reviews. There were some that thought it was the perfect high school drama with the perfect occult twist that made it interesting enough to draw in a variety of readers. Other reviewers offer a more critical eye pointing out the character of Edward as overly Byronic. Bella’s character was pegged as being shallow and naive as she does not know much about Edward or his past before falling love with him. Regardless of these reviews, Twilight debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list at number five and quickly rose to number one for many weeks. The book was the highest selling book of 2008 and the second biggest seller for 2009. It is the book that started a pop culture phenomenon of selecting “teams” for the boys seeking Bella’s affection and the creation of the teen occult romance genre. Because it is a book that started this teen phenomenon, it could be seen as an important book to include in a teen collection.

Author Information: Stephenie Meyer, born on December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut, is the best-selling author of the Twilight book series. Inspired by a dream, she wrote the first book and attracted the attention of agent Jodi Reamer, who secured her a three-book publishing deal. The books have sold more than 250 million copies, been translated into 37 languages, and adapted for a hit film series that includes five installments. Source - http://www.biography.com/people/stephenie-meyer-456668#synopsis&awesm=~oDIltiW9LsltSg

Curriculum Ties: Mythology

Challenge Issues: Occult Content; Violence

Booktalk Ideas: Relationships – One could start out talking about teenaged relationships and how complicated they are. The example can transition into a human and vampire complicated relationship.