Twilight

Bibliographic Information: Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York: Little, Brown.  ISBN: 9780316015844

Plot Summary: Isabella Swan decides to move from her mom’s place in Phoenix, Arizona to her dad’s in Forks, Washington—the rainiest place in the U.S. The constant cloud cover is a stark contrast to what Bella is used to, and she has trouble adjusting, even though she’s spent her summers here her whole life. But allowing her mom some freedom with her new husband seems like the right choice, so she accepts her life with an open heart.

            Before long, Bella meets her lab partner, Edward Cullen, who seems completely repelled by her and disappears for days. When he returns, she can’t help but notice his eyes have changed color, and he seems much friendlier. Then he saves her from being crushed by a van in the school parking lot—with nothing but his super human strength.

            When she learns of a local Native American legend about the rivalry between werewolves and vampires, she is convinced Edward is the latter. He eventually comes clean, confessing that he and his family only prey on animals, never humans. Bella’s scent was so enticing on that first day of school, that Edward really struggled to be near her. As if falling in love with a vampire isn’t dangerous enough, another vampire coven has enter the Cullen territory, threatening to kill Bella, and Edward saves her.

Critical Evaluation: Bella Swan is the wallflower type of character—a boring and pail looking brunette with no self-confidence, and so naturally, a gorgeous and immortal vampire falls in love with her (there’s just something about her scent!) Despite the cheesiness of this story, there is still something very romantic about it, and sappy bits are interspersed with enough action sequences to keep the story at a reasonable pace.

Reader’s Annotation: Bella falls in love with a vampire, which turns out to be pretty dangerous and romantic.

Author Information: From the author’s offical website, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bio.html: “Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English. She lives with her husband and three young sons in Phoenix, Arizona. After the publication of her first novel, Twilight, booksellers chose Stephenie Meyer as one of the "most promising new authors of 2005" (Publishers Weekly).

Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother […] woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head.

"Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering."

Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, and wrote it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. With encouragement from her older sister (the only other person who knew she had written a book), Meyer submitted her manuscript to various literary agencies. Twilight was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to the publishing company Little, Brown where everyone fell immediately in love with the gripping, star-crossed lovers.”

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Subjects: moving, high school, love, vampires

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Often, Edward tries to communicate to Bella the suffering that comes with being immortal. Would you want to live forever? Why or why not?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 13 +

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to depictions of supernatural beings and violence, this book may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     Book selection rationale.

6.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: Though this book is becoming a bit dated, it is still on several best YA lists, and appeals to the romantically inclined, which includes a lot of teenagers.