Twilight (series)

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Twilight is a series of fantasy/romance/horror novels by Stephenie Meyer. It follows the adventures of Isabella Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington and finds her life turned upside down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse being told from the viewpoint of Jacob Black. Midnight Sun, a future companion book to the series, will be told from Edward's point of view. Stephenie Meyer has posted the first chapter of Midnight Sun on her website.

The book series has proven to be very popular with many young adults.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Twilight

Isabella (Bella) Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to allow her mother, Renée, to travel with her new husband, Phil. After moving to Forks, Bella finds herself drawn to a mysterious boy, Edward Cullen, who turns out to be a 'vegetarian' vampire, (a vampire who drinks animal blood, as opposed to human blood). They fall in love, and must fight off a rival clan of vile vampires who want to drink Bella's blood. Bella escapes to Phoenix, Arizona where she is tricked into confronting James, an enemy vampire of the Cullens. Bella is severely hurt, but Edward and his family save her. After Bella is healed, she returns to Forks.

[edit] New Moon

Edward and his family leave Forks, Washington, because he is afraid that he is putting Bella's life in danger. Bella falls into a deep depression for several months after he leaves, until she develops a strong friendship with werewolf Jacob Black. Jacob and the other werewolves in his village must protect her from Victoria, an evil vampire who intends to seek revenge on Edward for killing James (her mate) by killing Bella. A misunderstanding occurs, and Edward thinks that Bella is dead. Edward decides to commit suicide in Volterra, Italy, but Bella stops him. They meet with the Volturi before returning to Forks.

[edit] Eclipse

Bella is still being stalked by the vampire Victoria, who has amassed an army of "newborn" vampires. Meanwhile, Bella is forced to choose between her relationship with Edward and her friendship with Jacob, knowing that once her decision is made she can never go back. Edward's family of vampires and Jacob's pack of werewolves join forces to fight Victoria's army of vampires. Before the battle, Edward proposes to Bella and she accepts. The battle then begins and Victoria and the army of vampires are destroyed. During the fight Jacob is severely wounded, but he heals. In the end, Bella chooses Edward's love over Jacob's, and Jacob is devastated to hear of Bella's choice.

[edit] Main characters

Isabella Marie Swan - The protagonist of the series, Bella is perpetually clumsy and somewhat of a "danger magnet". Her life turns upside down when she falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen. Eventually, her feelings for werewolf Jacob Black grow beyond friendship, and she is forced to make a choice between her two loves. One important trait of Bella's is her immunity to supernatural abilities that involve the mind, such as Edward's mind reading.

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen - Edward is a reformed vampire who lives on animal blood instead of human blood. He lives with a clan of like-minded vampires known as the Cullen family. He loves Bella Swan, and feels great mutual dislike/revulsion towards Jacob Black due to both the love Jacob feels for Bella and the natural animosity between vampires and werewolves. Like some vampires, Edward has a supernatural ability; his gift is mind reading. He can read the thoughts of anyone within a few miles of himself; however, he can only read what the person is thinking at that moment. Bella is currently the only known individual who is immune to his power.

Jacob Black - A minor character in the first novel, Jacob resurfaces in New Moon with a much larger role. He is a member of the Quileute tribe, and a werewolf. Although he is attracted to Bella, she initially sees him as just her best friend.

Alice Cullen - One of Edward's adoptive sisters. She is described as "pixie-like". Her special ability is seeing the future as soon as someone makes the decision to head down that path. This ability is very useful, as it gives the family forewarning to any dangers. Her soul-mate is Jasper Hale.

Jasper Hale - One of Edward's adoptive brothers, and Alice's soul-mate. He can sense and influence the emotions of people around him. He has the most trouble with the Cullens' "vegetarian" lifestyle, since he is the newest member of the family. He became a vampire sometime during the American Civil War. He was initially involved in vampire wars, creating new vampires and forming them into armies, until he met Alice and became a part of the Cullens' family.

Rosalie Hale - Edward's adoptive sister, who is extremely vain and is described as being the most beautiful person in the world. At first, she appears to play an antagonistic role in the story. She became a vampire when Carlisle saved her life after several men, including her fiancé, beat her and left her to die. Her soul-mate is Emmett Cullen.

Emmett Cullen - Edward's adoptive brother and Rosalie's soul-mate. He is known for his muscularity and strength.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen - The adoptive father of the Cullen children and husband of Esme Cullen. He is around 400 years old and works as a doctor in Forks. After becoming a vampire, he spent hundreds of years resisting the smell of blood so that he could become a doctor.

Esme Cullen - Carlisle's wife and the mother figure of the Cullen family. She has a strong ability to love passionately.

Charlie Swan - Chief of Police in Forks, he is Bella's overprotective father. Though he is unaware that Edward is a vampire, he doesn't completely trust his daughter's boyfriend.

[edit] Setting

The story is set primarily in the town of Forks, Washington, where Bella Swan and her father, Charlie Swan, live. Other cities in Washington briefly appear in the series or are mentioned, such as Port Angeles, Olympia, Seattle and La Push. Some events in Twilight take place in Phoenix, Arizona, where Bella was raised. Volterra, Italy is featured in New Moon, when Edward travels there to commit suicide and Bella goes to save him. Jacksonville, Florida is mentioned in Eclipse when Edward and Bella visit her mother, who has moved there with her husband.

[edit] Future books

The fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, is scheduled to be released on August 2, 2008 at 12:01 AM.^[1] The cover art was revealed in the special edition of Eclipse as featuring a white queen chess piece on a black and white chess board, with a red pawn chess piece behind it in the background.^[2] This special edition also contains the first chapter of Breaking Dawn, entitled "Engaged".

On Stephenie Meyer's website, she has confirmed that there will be a companion book to Twilight called Midnight Sun. Midnight Sun will be the story of Twilight told from the point of view of Edward Cullen. The first chapter of Midnight Sun can be found on Meyer's website. ^[3]

[edit] Film adaptation

Main article: Twilight (2008 film)

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 on December 12, 2008.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stephenie Meyer's website
• The Twilight Series's official website
• Twilight Lexicon
• Twilight Saga Wiki