Book Log: "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer

Part A: Book Summary

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Supernatural Book
Little Brown and Company, 2005, 498p, $19.99
ISBN 0-316-16017-2

Isabella “Bella” Swan is the new girl at school. She moves to the drab and dreary Forks, Washington from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, so that her mother can travel with her new baseball-playing husband. While Bella blended into the background in sunny Phoenix, she becomes a hot topic in rainy Forks, and the boys line up to win her affection. But once Edward Cullen catches Bella's eye, she's not interested in any other fellow.

Bella meets Edward her first day at Forks High School. She's enthralled by his striking beauty and pitch black eyes. But while Bella can't take her eyes off Edward, he seems to be repulsed by her. He even tries, unsuccessfully, to change his schedule so that he can avoid sitting beside her in class. Bella is perplexed by Edward, and her days at FHS revolve around whether he is present or not. One day, Bella is nearly hit by another student's vehicle in the icy school parking lot, and Edward swoops in to her rescue. He exhibits inhuman strength and speed by placing himself between Bella and the oncoming automobile, and Bella decides she must find out what makes him so different from all the others. She convinces Jacob Black, the son of an old family friend, to bestow upon her some local lore suggesting that Edward's family are vampires. Bella is relieved when she finds out that the Cullen coven hunts animals to refrain from drinking human blood.

Bella and Edward soon fall deeply in love. This is challenging for Edward because he is most attracted to Bella's scent, which also agitates his thirst for her blood. However, he manages to control his hunger while focusing on protecting the accident-prone Bella. In fact, Edward seems to thrive on protecting her. Meyer weaves an enchanting love story between this couple, with beautifully intimate moments shared by the two characters.

One day, while the Cullen family plays baseball in the forest, another coven of vampires arrive in town. One vampire, James, is a hunter who entertains himself by tracking humans for sport. One whiff of Bella's human scent, and he decides she is his next target. Edward's family splits up to protect Bella and her family, attempting to throw James off Bella's trail. James eventually catches up with Bella, but she is soon rescued by Edward and his family. Edward realizes that Bella has been bitten by James, and he faces the toughest challenge to date: he sucks the poison out of Bella's blood. The story ends as Edward takes Bella to her prom, where she expresses her desire to become a vampire.

Three quotes:

“...Girls can revel in all the satisfactions of being an ordinary girl who is suddenly courted and adored and yet does not have “to go all the way.” (Pg. 213) Twilight works well as a love story for teenagers, because, at this age, teens are dealing with raging hormones and their desire for sexual interaction. This book offers an alternative view on abstinence, one that is enchanting and sweet. Edward and Bella cannot have sexual relations as Bella's life depends on it. Many vampire stories are sexual, but Meyer's metaphor for “forbidden fruit” (the reason an apple is pictured on the cover) keeps this story relatively innocent.

“...We claim that reading about adventures makes us more interesting people, sports books teach us the game of life, mysteries are psychologically helpful to our inner well-being, and horror stories are a substitute for aggression.” (Pg. 183) This quote made me think of why we enjoy supernatural stories, particularly stories about vampires, which are so popular right now. Vampires represent a hunger for another being's body, to taste another person, so feel their blood pumping under their skin. Sex and violence are inextricably linked through vampires, and these are two things our culture begs for. The male vampire is the ultimate bad boy and the female vampire is a desirable seductress. Men and women alike can lust over a powerful, dominating character without putting themselves in the way of any actual harm.

“The horror stories make the point that “the human organism is a frail thing of flesh subject to an infinity of abuse, and that it is painful and undignified for the human spirit to have to dwell in it.” (Pg. 210) Twilight plays to this point well, as Edward is constantly driven by the need to protect Bella, whom he continues to remind is fragile. After James gets his hands on Bella, she has many broken bones, bruises and a bite, justifying Edward's fears.


Stephanie Meyer is the author of the author of the Twilight series, which includes New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.



Part B: Creative Response
Character Comparisons: A Look at Today's Leading Vampires


EDWARD CULLEN

Where you know him from: Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

Age: Posing as a 17-year-old high schooler, but was actually born in 1901.

Drink of choice: Lion's blood, but most large game will do.

Enemies: Other vampires, particularly hunters and trackers.

Special abilities: Can run like the wind, appear and disappear at will.

Why it “sucks” to be a vampire: Can't get too intimate with a girl without eventually killing her.


ANGEL

Where you know him from: Joss Whedon's hit television shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.”

Age: Born in 1727 but trapped in a 26-year-old body.

Drink of choice: Pig's blood.

Enemies: Other vampires, demons, supernatural evil-doers, sunlight, and a stake through the heart.

Special abilities: Possesses outstanding strength and speed, regenerative healing powers.

Why it “sucks” to be a vampire: Angel is a vampire with a soul. While he still thirsts for blood, he doesn't have the conscience to kill human beings. Like Edward Cullen, Angels also cannot give in to sexual desires with a female. One moment of true bliss, and Angel will lose his soul, returning him to the evil Angelus he was once known as.


SPIKE
Where you know him from: Joss Whedon's hit television shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.”

Age: Barely 200.

Drink of choice: Human blood, until a chip is implanted into Spike's head that prevents him from harming human beings. Like Angel, he then turns to blood from the butcher's shop to survive.

Enemies: Spike is one of the few redeeming vampires in pop culture. He starts out as a “Big Bad” in the Buffyverse, but becomes a hero following the transformation the chip causes him to go through. His early enemies are mortals, but he eventually begins killing other vampires, demons and the like alongside Buffy and fellow vampire Angel. Spike can also be killed by direct sunlight or a stake through the heart.

Special abilities: Outstanding speed, strength and regenerative healing powers.

Why it “sucks” to be a vampire: Being a vampire is all fun and games until you – unwillingly – have a chip implanted in your brain.


BILL COMPTON

Where you know him from: The all-new HBO television series “True Blood.”

Age: 173 years young.

Drink of choice: Synthetic blood that allows vampires to lead lives like normal citizens. The consumption of human blood is not required thanks to this discovery.

Enemies: Local religious and government officials who are speculative about the effectiveness of the synthetic blood on a vampire.

Special abilities: Bill's mind can't be read, which is a bonus for him since he's falling in love with a telepathic southern girl.

Why it “sucks” to be a vampire: Hey, it's not easy being teethy. Even though Bill wants to be your average Joe, he's still a blood-sucker, after all.



Part C: Critical Response
1.Does your supernatural book follow the “ground rules” on page 210 in regards to the setting, darkness (inside and out), rituals/ceremonies, curses/pacts.

Twilight definitely follows the ground rules for a supernatural novel. Meyer creates a dark, dreary setting by placing the action in Forks, where sunlight rarely breaks through the ever-present rain clouds. This seems to fit Bella's less-than-sunny personality, and creates an atmosphere that lets the reader know something dark is lurking below the surface. The rituals/ceremonies/curses/pacts element is covered by the Cullen family's contribution to the tale. Bella learns about their history from Jacob Black, who explains the pact the Cullens have with his family – to stay off of their property and hunt in other areas of Forks. More of this information is divulged when Bella meets Edward's family in Chapter 15, “The Cullens,” and Chapter 16, “Carlisle.”

2.Does your novel effectively “tug at emotional” parts of your brain? How?

Twilight is essentially a beautiful love story. While the vampire lore is interesting, it's the relationship between Bella and Edward that keeps the reader enthralled. When Edward brushes his long, white fingers across Bella's jaw, or when he swoops her up in his arms effortlessly, my heart goes pitter-patter. This story could appeal to male readers, but it takes place inside a girl's head, and I think female readers, most of all, will enjoy the love story that unfolds between the characters.

3.Were you “into” the characters, i.e. did you care greatly about their fates…were the characters fully realized or depicted in a more shallow, superficial manner?

I must say one of the biggest downfalls of Twilight is Bella, the main character. She's a cynical, sarcastic girl who isn't your typical, well, girl. However, this gloomy attitude comes across very “emo,” to use a pop culture term. She is self-loathing and self-deprecating, and she's the epitome of a pessimist. I got tired, quickly, of how she consistently thinks Edward is too good for her. Sure, we all feel that way when we find the love of our lives, but being inside Bella's head is a little stifling. I care about Bella's fate, but I'd also like to see someone slap her upside the head from time to time. The reader's emotional investment is in Edward. His character is the richest, the most well-developed, and the most interesting. Somehow, Edward the vampire is easier to believe than Bella the whiner.

4.How would you rate your novel on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is “get this book and start reading today” and 1 is “read the dictionary—it’s more fascinating than this book can ever be…”

The dictionary would certainly have a more diverse vocabulary than Twilight, but since it's Meyer's first attempt at a novel, I'll cut her some slack. The books is littered with to-be verbs and a bland word choice, but since she's writing on a young adult level, that might be okay. I also can't judge this book on a scale of 1-10 since I haven't yet read the other three books in the series. Twilight offers a beautiful love story, for which I'd rate an 8. If we're talking level of intellectual challenge, however, I'd give it a 5. Most readers will be enticed to read the second book in the series, at least, after finishing this novel.