Twilight

About three things I knew about Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. First, this was a Young Adult (YA) book about a vampire. Second, that her third book’s release prompted the media to call the authoress the American J. K. Rowling. And third, I really didn’t want to read her novel — but read it, I did. And I actually enjoyed it.

A little back story: Over the holidays, both my sister-in-laws gushed together about this series of books — to the degree of my Harry Potter craze — and I suddenly realized I should join this club! A trip to the bookstore later, and I had my copy, which I then proceeded to read within a span of seven hours (That’s the beauty of Young Adult Fiction which I can appreciate).

The term “vampire” carries a heavy load. Whenever I hear a novel has one, my initial reaction is to groan, “Oh no, not another Anne Rice!” The last thing I wanted to read about was another bad boy Lestat, but Twilight overcomes this perception.

This is not a dazzling world; it is a realistic one. The main character, Bella Swan, moves to Forks, Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. She begins a new life co-habitating a house with her policeman father (as her flaky mother is remarrying). In this small town, everyone knows everyone, and her arrival causes a stir.

As Bella tries to make friends with her classmates, she is assigned a lab partner — the strange but immaculate-looking Edward Cullen. He tries hard to stay away from her, which makes her curious about him and his family even more. His aloof brothers and sisters sit together in the cafeteria, buying food but never actually eating from their trays.

Bella’s knack for getting herself into trouble, albeit car accidents or chased down by strangers in Seattle, keeps colliding her with Edward. Eventually, he admits to keeping his distance because he is concerned about hurting her. A boy named Jacob at a bonfire confirms her suspicions, calling the Cullen family “the cold ones.” Edward and the entire Cullen family are vampires.

But the Cullens aren’t like other vampires. They do not hunt people. Instead, they look for prey in wild, and luckily Washington boasts a thriving wildlife. However, they have certain rules and illusions they must uphold. As Bella and Edward’s relationship deepens into true love, she must understand them herself. Understanding evolves into a desire to become like them. But this is a possibility Edward, who believes has lost his soul, refuses to contemplate.

Be forewarned: I’ve introduced two other readers to this novel, and they both complained this middle section dragged. However, in hindsight, this section is necessary to follow future chapters — and future books in the series.

The story builds momentum when the vampires play their own version of baseball. They have incredible speed and strength. However, during this game, a chance encounter with a roving group of tracker vampires suddenly turns everything on edge. Because these outside vampires discovered Bella, a mortal, amongst other vampires, the leader becomes interested. And soon, Bella is being hunted — and the Cullens must protect her.

Note: You will see a film of this novel in the near future, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson (that kid who played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Edward. One must ask, is this story deserving?

I think so. Something special certainly exists in this novel, and my instinct is to point to the world. Meyer does the unexpected: she tosses the mundane (particularly, the "new kid in school" story) with a vampire culture-slash-romance. For being a vampire novel, you’ll find an awful lot of human experiences involving growing up.

I will say that I did not make the bookstore a priority to buy the second and third novels (although I did eventually read them). To me, that means I was not breathless with anticipation. I was fine to leave Edward and Bella arguing about prom, and go about my day.

Nothing earth-shattering here. Simply a fun read!