Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Date of Publication: 2005 ISBN: 9781551251264 Number of Pages: 498

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Intermediate: High
GENRES: Fantasy/Romance
THEMES : Good versus Evil - Life versus Death - Sacrifice and Redemption - Family Loyalty - Appearance versus Reality - Coming of Age - Survival - Isolation

SUMMARY:
Seventeen-year-old Bella decides to move to Forks, Washington to live with her father, after her mother remarries. Bella hates Forks. It is the rainiest place in the U.S. and is a dull, dreary place to live.

Her first day of school is interesting, to say the least! She encounters a strange, but incredibly beautiful family at lunch in the cafeteria. The five Cullen siblings isolate themselves from their peers and are quite mysterious figures in the community.

Bella, unable to deny her curiousity, asks her few new friends about the unusual group, but gleans little information. When she ends up sitting beside the most attractive family member, Edward Cullen, in her lab class, she hopes to get more information. Bizarrely though, Edward appears to find her repulsive and can barely contain his loathing of her. Bella leaves school very upset and returns nervously the next day, only to find out that Edward is not at school. What is the secret the family is hiding and why is Bella so fiercely attracted to someone who obviously loathes her?

Edward returns a few days later determined to be friendly but still seems distant and aloof. Bella can't help but be hurt and then shocked when he begins to talk to her.

A friendship develops, from which Bella learns the family secret. It slowly becomes a secret romance. As their relationship develops, Edward guides Bella through a series of adventures that sometimes put her life at risk. Can she continue to stay with Edward...and will he be able to save her when a former enemy arrives to make her his?

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...
- likes strong female protagonists.
- enjoys books about vampires and the fantasy world.
- likes a good love story.
- enjoys suspense and mysteries
- enjoys stories told in first person narrative
- likes Romeo and Juliet

This book is recommended for students in grades 7 and 8 only (Young Adult).

WHAT ELSE?
This book is a New York Times Bestseller, and has a sequel entitled New Moon (with a third book, Eclipse, due out in 2007). Despite the size and darkness of its themes, it is a surprisingly chaste story with nothing shocking particularly.
The question of whether Bella can sustain a quality relationship with someone who is not really human, and what she is willing to risk to keep him, will keep readers captivated.

RELATED LINK:
For more information, go to the website, www.twilightnovel.com .