Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
by Stephenie Meyer
List Price:
Our Price: $4.70
You Save: $6.29 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.98 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephenie MeyerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-06
ISBN: 0316015849
Number of pages: 544
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Book Reviews of Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Book Review: Mediocre at best
Summary: 1 Stars
I went into Twilight a total skeptic, and boy, was I proven correct on all counts. First of all, I never heard of the series (which was apparently a "phenomenon") until Entertainment Weekly did a cover on it. I was shocked to read that people were daring to compare it to Harry Potter. The only similaries are that both series are written by women and both series are multiple books. That's it. J.K. Rowling can actually write. Stephenie Meyer cannot. So, after hearing about the series constantly for months on end, I finally decided to give in and read the first book.
As I recall, the book is over 500 pages long, when it could be condensced down to about 200 if Meyer had any clue how to write. The characters are completely two dimensional, and I didn't care about any of them. In fact, after reading Bella whine constantly for hundreds of pages, I found myself wishing Edward had let that van kill her in the beginning part of the book.
I don't care for vampire stories, but the way Meyer completley destroyed the entire concept of them made me mad. Apparently, nothing we thought about vampires is anything more than a myth, but of course Meyer doesn't bother explaining why this is.
I have a hunch that if you took every sentence in which Bella describes Edward's beauty and perfection, it would take up about 1/3 of the book. It is simply nauseating to read over and over again how perfect, glorious and magnificent he is.
My main concern over these books is the fact that the relationship between Edward and Bella, which is being presented to young girls as the perfect/ideal relationship, is abusive in nearly every way. Edward belittles Bella, who has absolutely no reason to exist other than to be with Edward. She has no talent, hobbies, or dreams of her own, and despite Meyer trying to convince us she's smart, she makes horribly stupid choices. There's a scene in which four men have her basically cornered in an alley, and once it's over, it's never mentioned again. You'd think that would be pretty traumatic for a real person, but nope, all Bella cares about is how perfect Edward is.
Edward is controlling, demeaning, and clearly couldn't respect Bella less, and this guy is supposed to be the ideal boyfriend? He has no redeeming qualities, and despite Bella mentioning his amazing personality, we never get to see it. There's a part where Edward is asking Bella endless questions about virtually every aspect of her life. This would have been the PERFECT time to actually make the characters realistic and give them a backstory and, you know, depth, but Meyer instead chooses to condense it to a few paragraphs (in which we learn nothing about Bella-we just hear the questions Edward asked her) and then ramble on about how fabulously hot Edward is.
The clear messages in this book are that looks are what is most important (after all, Bella didn't fall in love with Edward for his mind when she had talked to him maybe twice) and that women only exist to serve their men. Bella has to be constantly rescued by Edward and every second she's away from him all she does is whine about it. She is the most dependent, disgusting literary character I've read in a long time, and the fact that people seem to think she's perfect disturbs me in many ways. She treats her friends and father horribly and exists only to serve Edward. Mysogynistic much, Meyer?
Summary of Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
"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)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.
Spine-Chilling Horror Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Spine-Chilling Horror Books
Forbidden Game, Collector's Omnibus Editionby L.J. Smith
Archway; Published: 1997-12-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy)by Richelle Mead
Published: 2008-11-13; Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
Secret Circle Vol I: The Initiation (Secret Circle, Vol I) (No. 1)by L. J. Smith
Eos; Published: 1992-09-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $47.21
Secret Circle Vol III: The Power (The Secret Circle, Vol. 3)by L. J. Smith
Eos; Published: 1992-11-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Huntress Night World 7 (Night World)by L.J. Smith
Simon Pulse; Published: 1997-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $324.81
Night World: Daughters Of Darknessby L. J. Smith
Pocket Books; Published: 1996-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.00
Remember Meby Christopher Pike
Demco Media; Published: 1989-03; Turtleback; Book
Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Storyby Mary Downing Hahn
Sandpiper; Published: 2008-04-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.09
Price in other shops:
The Monster at the End of This Book (Big Bird's Favorites Board Books)by Jon Stone
Random House Books for Young Readers; Published: 2000-06-27; Board book; Book
Best price: $2.14
Price in other shops:
The Twilight Saga Collectionby Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.50
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Chosen (House of Night, Book 3)by P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-03-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.11
Price in other shops:
Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)by P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2007-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Twilight: Director's Notebook: The Story of How We Made the Movie Based on the Novel by Stephenie Meyerby Catherine Hardwicke
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2009-03-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Twilight SoundtrackRelease date: 2008-11-04; Music CD
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
Twilight: The ScoreRelease date: 2008-12-09; Music CD
Best price: $10.46
Price in other shops:
Marked (House of Night, Book 1)by P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Twilight Saga: The Official Guideby Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companionby Mark Cotta Vaz
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2007-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.23
Price in other shops:
New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-05-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.44
Price in other shops: