Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) - Harry Potter 6 Books

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)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.com Review
The book that started the phenomenon is now available in a deluxe collector's edition! Featuring a ribbon bookmark, cloth cover, ragged edges, new chapter opener designs, and a beautiful protective slipcase, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

Bella 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.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–When Bella Swan moves from sunny Phoenix to Forks, Washington, a damp and dreary town known for the most rainfall in the United States, to live with her dad, she isnt expecting to like it. But the level of hostility displayed by her standoffish high school biology lab partner, Edward Cullen, surprises her. After several strange interactions, his preternatural beauty, strength, and speed have her intrigued. Edward is just as fascinated with Bella, and their attraction to one another grows. As Bella discovers more about Edwards nature and his family, she is thrown headlong into a dangerous adventure that has her making a desperate sacrifice to save her one true love. One of the more original vampire constructs around, this recording of Stephenie Meyers debut novel (Megan Tingley Books, 2005) is narrated with great style by Ilyana Kadushin, who makes the infinitely romantic tale of star-crossed lovers resonate with a bittersweet edge. Although Edward and Bellas romance and subsequent danger develops slowly, the pacing is appropriate for teens who want learn all the details in this suspenseful tale. An excellent purchase for both school and public libraries.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 9-12. In the tradition of Anne Rice and YA titles such as Annette Curtis Klause's The Silver Kiss (1999) comes this heady romance that intertwines Bella Swan's life with that of Edward, an alluring and tormented vampire. Bella's life changes when she moves to perpetually rain-soaked Forks, Washington. She is instantly drawn to a fellow student, Edward Cullen, beautiful beyond belief and angrily aloof. Bella senses there is more behind Edward's hostility, and in a plot that slowly and frighteningly unfolds, she learns that Edward and his family are vampires--though they do not hunt humans. Yet Edward cannot promise that his powerful attraction to Bella won't put in her in danger, or worse. Recklessly in love, Bella wants only to be with Edward, but when a vicious, blood-lusting predator complicates her world, Bella's peril is brutally revealed. This is a book of the senses: Edward is first attracted by Bella's scent; ironically, Bella is repelled when she sees blood. Their love is palpable, heightened by their touches, and teens will respond viscerally. There are some flaws here--a plot that could have been tightened, an overreliance on adjectives and adverbs to bolster dialogue--but this dark romance seeps into the soul. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

O come all ye deceivers
Stephenie Meyer has more hits in the top ten than the Beatles and Stones combined, only in books. Her writings are hotter than brimstone. As in, fire and brimstone. Her topics make light of the works of evil in whom the soul of Satan is well pleased. Satan loves to tempt all men. He even tempted Christ with all the glory of the kingdoms of this world. Christ knew who he served. Thou shalt worshipped the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. He will bring all these things into judgment. Be wise and follow the Son of God who conquered death and the grave and rose from the dead. He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom shall have no end.

I am hooked!
I picked up this book on a whim because the last great vampire novel I had bought was "Interview with the Vampire" about 15 years ago. I am so glad I did!

I agree this book could have been better, and there are some ridiculous vampire "facts" that I had to laugh at. I mean, the hero does not need to have fangs or explode into a pile of dust in sunlight, but I think to sparkle was a bit of a reach. There are just some core "facts" that vampire novel fanatics have to agree are musts.

With that being said, Edward is a fascinating character. I absolutely loved his devotion to Bella, I think he is very well written and believable as a vampire with a soul as it is. Bella on the other hand, absolutely drove me NUTS throughout this book. Her character could have been so much better had she not come off as being so "whiny" or "needy" - a trait which stays with her throughout the series. However she is the heroine and in the end won my affections.

The story itself was fantastic, romance and suspense with just enough of the supernatural to give it that twist I love about these novels. I absolutely could not put the book down, neglecting dishes and dinners to curl up with the Cullens and forgetting at times they were not real. The characters are written so well, that it is so easy to get lost in their world. I read through all 700+ pages in only three days (quite a feat for a busy mom of three boys) and then literally rushed off to Borders for "New Moon" the minute the last page was turned.

All in all, I still cannot get enough of Twilight. I did see the movie and will recommend that you see that first before reading the book. I've read reviews that state the movie will satisfy fans but leave those who are unaware confused, but I disagree. I think that had I not read the book first I would have enjoyed the movie better because the story lines are fantastic, but of course changed a bit for the film. Although I did enjoy the movie, it disappointed me as a fan that the story did not follow the book better.

Not at all a vampire story
If you want to read a fairly good love story you can read this book. If you want to read a awfully good book about vampires read "Out of the Night" by Robin T. Popp.
Now that you know that this isn't a really vampire's story if you like mushy love stories you can read this one.