Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Basics
Book Info: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This is the first in the Twilight series (now 4 books, with a movie coming in a few months).

Genre: Young Adult, Vampire Lit

Plot Overview: Twilight has long been lauded as the vampire story for people who don’t like vampire stories.  Bella Swan travels to Forks, WA to live with her father in a small, rainy town. Once there, she meets Edward Cullen, and can’t seem to get him out of her head- he’s beautiful, smart, graceful, and completely intriguing.  This is their love story.

Jumping In:

Importance of the Title:  In interviews, Meyer has said that Twilight was hard for her to title.  She experimented with different variations and finally decided on Twilight for its “atmospheric” style.  She still seems to think it’s not the best title for the book.  However, we do see the meaning behind the title when Edward says toward the end that twilight is the best and safest time of the day for vampires.  In reading, we find out exactly why vampires don’t go out in the sun (no, they don’t burn up, at least in this story), and why it’s easier for them to be visible during this time of day.

Point-of-View/ Style: Told in 1^st person from Bella’s point of view, we’re able to see exactly what she is thinking and feeling and how her mind works. This makes the read interesting and enjoyable, and her mind flows well, so it’s a quick read too.  The limitations of this perspective are that we only know as much as Bella knows, and we often don’t see what other characters are really thinking or feeling.  Because of this, we’re clouded by Bella’s judgment or her lack of self-confidence.

Themes: A couple of themes stand out in Twilight.  The book certainly includes the classic “love conquers all” theme, but what I would rather focus on is the theme of “sacrifice”, which is a lot more interesting to write about.  Different characters in the book knowingly sacrifice parts of their lives for the people they love.  Bella sacrifices her normal teenage experience, and would almost certainly sacrifice her human life to be with Edward.  Edward repeatedly sacrifices Bella’s safety to be with her- a decision he wrestles with because he knows he shouldn’t act selfishly, and should really let her go.  Jakob and his Dad Billy sacrifice time-honored secrecy and tradition through their heritage in trying to warn Bella away from Edward.  With each character, one can debate what’s being sacrificed- however, one can also argue that life is about making choices and sacrifice, and also living with the consequences of ones actions.  I think the general theme of “sacrifice” encompasses each of these things.

My Notes:

Likes & Dislikes: The writing in this book flowed so well that I read it in an afternoon and evening.  I don’t know how it happened since I’m the Mom to a 19 month old, but there you go.  From the first sentence I was hooked in (as you know, 1^st person always does that to me).  The dialogue was well written and not stilted, and Bella’s thoughts, feelings, and actions seemed appropriate for a teenage girl. 

What questions I’m left with: The one question that remains for me (and keep in mind I’m not finished with the series yet, so I don’t even know if this is a big question), is why Bella came to Forks in the first place.  I felt like this was a bit rushed.  I understand that she didn’t want to get in the way of her Mom and new husband, and that they might not be able to provide a completely stable life for her, but it doesn’t seem like Bella to make that kind of a decision.  She does do things rashly, but she doesn’t seem like the type to just up and leave her Mom, especially when she claims they were so close. Perhaps she got tired of being the grownup. Perhaps I am making too much of this.  I’ll have to keep reading the series to find out!

What this book makes me think about: I have a friend who also read this book, and said she didn’t think that two people that young could love so passionately.  I thought back to my own high school experience, and I disagree. I think that as teenagers we do everything more passionately- live, love, hate, learn.  I just think teens are wired that way.  Countless they’ll make a decision with their hearts instead of their heads and end up in trouble.  I think it’s just a part of life.

Now I’m all grown up, think with my head, and people close to me know that I do feel a little bit, but nothing like I did when I was younger. I laugh when something’s funny. I don’t cry though.  Sometimes (and I only admit this to myself sometimes), I wonder if I really feel at all.  There are a couple of people on this planet that my heart aches along with, but I mostly mask that with the stoic nature of genetics built from a long line of Protestant workers that covered up their own personal stories through each day’s repetitiveness.  Scary when I think about it.