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 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $10.99
Buy New: $4.43
You Save: $6.56 (60%)
New (74) Used (86) Collectible (1) from $4.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  2831 reviews
Sales Rank: 2
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.6
ISBN: 0316015849
EAN: 9780316015844
ASIN: 0316015849
Publication Date: September 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: SPECIAL PURCHASE limited time only "Brand New Factory Sealed" (WE DO NOT SHIP TO HI, AK, KS, KY, NY, ND, WA)
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| Customer Reviews:
 A new addiction November 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I buy a lot of books (mostly within the fantasy genre), and some of them end up on my book shelf for months or years before I feel inspired for that type of reading material. There are definite reasons for my method, so if the book ends up being terrible, I don't get too upset about wasting the money since I bought it so long ago. On the other hand if it's excellent (especially if it's a series), then there is a high probability that by that time the author released more books. Therefore, even though I purchased the Twilight by Stephanie Meyers quite a few months back, I only got to it a few days ago and am currently flying through book 3. Needless to say - I loved it and having the whole series there waiting for me is a happy bonus.
This book, and consequently the Twilight Saga Series, reminds me of the peaceful and utterly tranquil sensation I get while watching a river (one of my favorite activities). It's a weird analogy but that's exactly how this book made me feel - serene. I'm not usually a fan of overly descriptive narratives, but Bella's tale worked for me. Every line in this wonderful story became so vivid in my mind that I truly felt like I got to experience Bella's world first hand. May be it helped that not too long ago I was a teenage girl myself - just as impressionable, trusting and awkward at that tender age.
Now on to the actual review. Bella is a product of a broken home. She has a very distant and uncomfortable relationship with her father, a sheriff in a small town where he's lived all his life. Her mother is like a kid herself with a very whimsical personality which contradicts Bella's quiet and reserved nature. Having decided that her mother needed some time alone with her new husband, the seventeen years old Bella exiled herself to live with sheriff Swan in a perpetually rainy town of Forks, Washington. There Bella starts going through the difficult and somewhat depressing adjustment to a new life and a new school, since her insecurities and quiet personality have always made it hard for her to fit in. But her dreary and monotonous life comes to an end the first time she walks into her high school cafeteria and notices THEM. She finds out later that the five unearthly beautiful and ethereal people that captivate her dreams from that point on are adopted children of a local doctor, but as she soon learns they are a lot more then they appear to the rest of the people of that small town. Little does she know then that as of that moment her destiny is forever intertwined with one of the boys of that spectacular family.
This is not your average vampire story and is not filled with endless conflict and gore. As I said before, Bella's reflections take up a large portion of the book and any real action only starts more than halfway through the novel. I'm glad the author did not rush the beginning, since I loved seeing the world Ms. Meyer created through Bella's teenage eyes. A number of people felt that Bella was a weak protagonist having to be continuously rescued, but I completely disagree with that assessment since I believe that human strength comes in different shapes and sizes. Bella had to become an adult too early and always felt obligated to take care of her parents. She learned to never fully rely on anyone emotionally, physically or financially, becoming self-sufficient and reclusive. And like a normal teenage girl she was swept up by the excitement and danger Edward brought to her ordinary life. There was never any fear in her, just utter fascination with the mystery he represented. Bella's strength is evident in her consistency, trustworthiness and absolute loyalty that she displays to those she loves. You cannot help but to fall in love with this clumsy and intelligent girl - and this spectacular book.
 Surprising and Addictive November 21, 2008
As my title indicates, this was surprising and addictive! The narrative flows so easily ( as I geuss a YA novel should be..) I was lost in the imaginative story. I am much older than most of the Twilight fans, but believe that no matter what your age a little creativity and imagination keeps us healthy and alive. I've read some not so great reviews on the last 2 books of the series but..Oh well, I'm going to read them myself and decide. I'm also taking my nephews to see the movie ASAP.
 SMeyer, I'm not impressed November 21, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Alright, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a fan of vampires. Or romance.
However, this isn't even a vampire novel. The vampires don't drink human blood, they drink ANIMAL blood. They don't turn to dust or incinerate in the sun - they SPARKLE like diamonds. And, according to the author, they don't even have FANGS. I ask you, what sort of vampire novel is that?
I know I'm going to get lynched by a bunch of fangirls for saying that SMeyer didn't write "teh best book EVAR!!1!!1!" Honestly, I'm all for creativity in your stories. However, one thing I'd rather you do first, before you set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were) is RESEARCH. Research might be a pain sometimes, but it'll make your book all that much better. SMeyer hardly did any research on anything that's in her novel...vampires, Forks weather, how new kids are treated in school, biology, *anything*. She didn't learn how to write convincing characters either, and the ones that actually had potential (Jacob, Alice, Victoria, James) were promptly killed off or given complete personality workovers in the following books to make them rapists/pedophiles and stereotypical ditzes, respectively.
Another problem I have with this novel is that it is written in the most cliche purple prose I have ever read. (No, really. I've read Eragon. This is worse. Eragon at least has a plot, kind of. All this book is about is Bella drooling over her darling Eddie-poo.) SMeyer doesn't understand the concept of "show not tell" and feels it necessary to describe Edward's "inhuman beauty" so many times that you start going "Oh, yeah RIGHT" about 50 pages in. She tells us that Bella is "selfless" and "kind", but all I see is Bella acting like a spoiled brat to her friends and family and refusing to talk to anyone who isn't beautiful enough (basically, no one but Edward). And she has a bad habit of overusing words like "murmured" and "chagrin." Someone ran a reading-level test on this book, and it came back as second-grade level reading. I'm quite serious. And this is being marketed to teenagers because why?
The author is also, quite simply, one of the most naive or stupid people I have ever encountered. She says, first of all, that her books have no message in them. Any small child will tell you that every story has a message if you look deep enough into it. And, folks, I've found the messages in Twilight. They aren't good ones.
1. Only beautiful people are worth your time. Ugly people can just be ignored, even if they're nice.
2. If a guy likes you, you can ignore the fact that he's manipulating you, emotionally abusing you, stalking you, and destroying your property because "he loves you" and "it's for your own good."
3. Necrophilia is okay as long as he's "OMG HAWT."
4. It's okay to give up all your ambitions for life once you have a boyfriend. It's completely normal for the two of you to take up all each other's time and become the center of each other's lives. Especially in high school.
Another thing. SMeyer says, and I quote, "And stalking doesn't scare me. I've never stalked anyone (yet) but I think I would be AWESOME at it."
Yes. This woman made #5 on Time's Entertainer of the Year List. This woman is writing the drivel that girls across America are eating up. Really. If that doesn't scare you just a little bit, I don't think you can be fully human. Stalking isn't cool, fangirls, and it isn't fun, no matter what SMeyer says. It's disgusting behavior and terrifying for the victim and if this woman is condoning it then I fear for the future.
Finally, SMeyer sent this book off to publishers after she finished the first draft. Not the second or third or fiftieth draft, but the FIRST. She didn't even edit or revise it at all! Now, if that doesn't say "bad fanfic writer" I don't know what does... She's also arrogant enough to say that she's going to finish 5 books in 2009. As an aspiring writer, that's an insult, because even I (a 17-year-old) know that you need a good 2 or 3 years for each book. Working on multiple books at one time is one thing - finishing them all within a year is quite another. That's not a compliment, by the way, that's me shaking my head in disgust.
I leave you with this, reader, as a final proof of just how bad this book is and how messed up this poor woman must be. She has said in interviews that when she was writing this book, she felt annoyed when she had to stop when her kids needed something. Now, I'm not a parent myself, but I've been around long enough to know that when you have kids they're supposed to pretty much take precedence over everything else in your life. What kind of mother is this woman?! Oh, and she's been quoted multiple times as saying "I am anti-human." Great example there, SMeyer. You fail multiple times. (If you absolutely must check out how awful this book is, then get it from the library or borrow a copy from a friend. Don't give her any more money, I beseech you.)
loved it November 21, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I loved this book. It is a great easy read! Very interesting and kept me wanting more. Even though I am 20 years old I could still get into it!
Glitz is in! November 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found the Twilight Saga to be pure fun. Perhaps the folks who don't like it take their free time more seriously than I do mine. Or perhaps they don't read at every available opportunity. I don't watch TV. I work very hard with very difficult people and reading is more of an escape than a study. It isn't that I thought it was perfect. I simply found the story enjoyable and gripping. I have read the series twice and two of the books two and three times. They were quite consumable.
Unfortunately I'm plagued by the need to edit and will buy a book specifically to edit it. My copies are vigorously marked up. And I'm still delighted by the departure this reading gave me from the norm. Editing is fun, too!
I found the characters to be entertaining. Because I have vertigo, it was grand to read of someone who is more plagued by gracelessness than I. I think her bad luck just made her more appealing, for me. The Cullens were intimidating to some, I suppose. I have been around some very famous people and have always assumed they are just like you and me. Some are completely kind and some aren't. The Cullens' stories were an excursion into fantasy and the recreation of myths that I reveled in. I love to see someone stretch all of our notions by changing what we think we believe. What DO we believe about vampires, after all? I, traditionally, if the use of that word isn't too idiosyncratic, find vampire stories annoying. These were candy.
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