Twilight (novel)
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| Twilight | |
 Cover of Twilight |
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| Author | Stephenie Meyer |
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| Cover artist | Gail Doobinin (design) Roger Hagadone (photograph) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Twilight series |
| Genre(s) | Young adult, Fantasy, Romance |
| Publisher | Megan Tingley |
| Publication date | October 5, 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 617 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-316-16017-2 |
| Followed by | New Moon |
Twilight is a young adult vampire novel written by author Stephenie Meyer, originally published in hardcover in 2005. It is the genesis of the Twilight saga, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen.
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[edit] Plot summary
Isabella "Bella" Swan, moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, while Bella's mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, who is a minor league baseball player. Even though Bella never had many friends in Phoenix, she attracts much curiosity at her new school in Forks and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys in the school compete for shy Bella's attention.
When Bella sits next to Edward Cullen in Biology class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed, even attempting to change his schedule to avoid her. Although Bella feels Edward must hate her, his actions soon indicate otherwise. He displays supernatural abilities while saving Bella from being killed by an out-of-control van. After seeing an impression of Edward's hands in the side of the van, she realizes that Edward cared at least enough to save her life and that he has power beyond that of a normal human. Bella confronts him afterward about the strangeness of the situation, but he refuses to discuss it. As time passes, Bella and Edward are repeatedly drawn to one another, even though Edward desperately tries to avoid her.
After tricking a family friend, Jacob Black of the Quileute (pronounced Quil-yoot) tribe, into telling her the local tribal legends (flirting with him to do so), Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires. Although she was inexplicably attracted to him when she thought Edward drank human blood, she is much relieved to learn that the Cullens choose to abstain from drinking human blood, and drink animal blood instead. Over time, Edward and Bella fall very deeply in love. Their foremost problem is Bella's "alluring scent", making Edward struggle to resist his desire to kill her. However, despite this and Bella's strange knack for constantly landing herself in dangerous situations, they manage to stay together safely for a time.
The seemingly perfect state of their relationship is thrown into chaos when another vampire coven sweeps into Forks and James, a tracker, sets his sights on Bella. Under the assumption that James has kidnapped her mother, Bella is lured to her former dance studio, where James attempts to kill her. Edward, along with the rest of the Cullen family, rescues Bella before James can do so.
Bella asks Edward to end her life as a human and transform her into a vampire so she can be with him for all of eternity, but he refuses.
[edit] Cover
Stephenie Meyer has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit from the book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella's knowledge of good and evil.[1]
[edit] Critical reception
Twilight was received warmly by critics. Patty Campbell of Amazon.com noted that "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."[2] Publishers Weekly's starred review described Bella's "infatuation with outsider Edward", their risky relationship, and "Edward's inner struggle" as a metaphor for sexual frustration accompanying adolescence.[2] BusinessWorld Weekender reporter Johanna Pohlete noted the "mass hysteria" over Twilight and the series as a whole. [3]
[edit] Film adaptation
Twilight is being adapted into a film by Summit Entertainment. The film is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke and stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as protagonists Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen. It is set to be released domestically on December 12, 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ What's with the apple?. StephenieMeyer.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ a b Stephenie Meyer's official website - Twilight reviews. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ BusinessWorld Weekender 'Gothic romance'.
[edit] External links
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