January 27, 2010

Twilight (The Books)

1st in the series
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Bronte

I only read these books because I found out that Kristen Stewart was going to be in the movie, and I like to read the books before watching the movies. Since this book is so famous it doesn't really need an introduction but here goes: Bella moves from Phoenix, California to Forks, Oregon to live with her dad. There she meets Edward Cullen, a vegetarian vampire, and falls in love with him. That's really the entire plot of the book, heck, of the entire series. I didn't think it was that bad, it wasn't good writing or a good plot but it wasn't horrible, but then people started comparing these books to Harry Potter and that made me furious. Harry Potter is an amazing story while this is just a chic high school romance. Meyer's writing is elementary and her story stagnant until the very last chapters into which she fits all the action. Meyer's characters don't seem real, they have no real flaws, Edward might be overprotective but really who doesn't want someone overprotective so this isn't really a flaw. Bella is even worse, I'm sorry no one is that selfless, real people are prone to fits of jealousy or other ugly emotions but none of the main characters have any real feelings or react in a believable way. The first 370 pages are devoted to Edward and Bella's relationship which gets boring. OK they love each other, now get on with the story. Since this is primarily a love story I would recommend this for young girls (12-13) though I do know two boys who have read the series.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Leila

The book Twilight is a very interesting book. It's about a girl named Bella who moves from her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father in Forks, Washington. She encounters a rare family at school and figures out they are vampires. She then falls in love with one of the vampires, Edward. Throughout the book, Bella learns secrets about vampires and the like.

One of the things I like about Twilight is that it's very captivating and I didn't want to put the book down at all. It took me four days to read the book. Also, the fact that it includes supernatural characters. It got me interested about what types of myths the author puts together to create a background for the supernatural. There was nothing bad about the book except for the fact that I couldn't stop reading it. This book is for people ages 11+.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer is part of a series consisting of four books. These books are, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.They are all fantastic books and should be enjoyed by all young adults. There is also a movie on it, too.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Chimey

Twilight, written by The New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Meyer, is the first selection in the series. Readers relish the imaginative sequence of words and are captured by this suspenseful theme of trust and relationship. I give this book five stars—as my favorite all-time story.

Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington for a few months expecting nothing but to meet her dad and take school at the Forks High School. As mist clouds the story, a teenage boy emerges stealing butterscotch-eyed glances at Bella. When they finally make eye contact, he introduces himself as Edward Cullen, brother of Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and son to Esme and Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

Bella takes a sharp turn one night into a gang, and is saved by Edward who takes her out to dinner. Sipping coke, he quietly mentions he has the ability to read minds. The evening ends uncertainly and during the next few weeks they begin to spend more time together. Bella picks up on strange details about Edward - his creamy cold skin and changing eye color. When Edward stops a truck from crashing into her from across the parking lot with his bare hands, Bella puts her foot down. She spends her time on Google and at bookshops..then the answer hits her.

What other creature has agility, speed, strength? What other creatures stares hungrily at classmates? Edward Cullen was a vampire.

She demands Edward tell her to confirm her suspicions. He then brings her into the forest and whispers, "If you know what I am, say it." Bella surreptitiously answers "vampire" and Edward sighs, anxious. He tells her - most of it, and admits the change in his eyes. As Edward shines his glistening skin in sunlight, he lifts her easily and flashes to the top of the hill, Bella keeps his secret safe, for a while.

There's a new vampire in town, who's hunting down humans. In a few nights, a security guard and Bella's dad's friend's bodies are found. Edward resents telling her that this was simply the work of other vampires.

When the Cullens invite Bella to a baseball game, she tags along, gaping at the speed of the pitches and home runs. The game is called off by a worried Alice, who senses other vampires near. Edward protectively steps in front of Bella when three vampires come. Victoria, the pale female with fiery red hair, clutches the hand of James, his blood-red eyes glaring hungrily at Bella. Laurent explains they are from up north and flashes his crimson eyes at them.

Bella is a dream for a vampire, a perfect hunt, especially with Edward guarding her. As James lunges at Bella, Edward snaps his teeth at him, crouching down into a leaping position. Edward and Bella slip away into the truck and off to her dad's house, but Edward knows she is not safe and needs to leave as soon as possible.

Twilight is marked as my favorite book, and I suspect that girls are not the only ones reaching out for this book. The details in this book are succulent and dripping with red herrings, and make you want to read on and stay up as an all-nighter. Meyer works her word magic, making her characters come alive, nearly walking across the page. Forks is described as the rainiest, most glum area in the world. Meyer captures reader in these entrancing settings. Mainly written for Young Adults, people of all ages tend to stray across this book and are engulfed.

The story flows like a stream across the pages, suspicion turned into ink splattered on the pages. Will Bella and Edward's relationship survive through the tracking, chaos, and distance? Check out Twilight by bestselling author Stephanie Meyer at your local library to find out.


2nd in the series
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Bronte

I have to admit the twilight covers are amazing. This was the best book of the saga. After an accident that puts Bella's life in jeopardy, Edward decides that for her safety he must leave Bella. Alone Bella becomes closer to Jacob Black and learns more about the La Push natives. That description of what the book is about doesn't do justice to the book, the book is a lot more interesting than that. I like Meyer's spin on werewolves and why they change and how they interact. Bella becomes more believable and has more human emotions. I liked the heartbreak, Meyer did a good job with Bella's feelings and actions and we can understand why she does the things she does. We get past superficial emotions to Bella's turmoil. This is Meyer's best writing and best plot. Some might thing this book is the most boring of the saga because there is very little Edward and the story might move slowly but it is the most moving of the books, I cried a lot during this one where all I felt upon reading the other ones was mild entertainment. I would recommend this for tweenage girls (12-13).

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Leila

New Moon is the second book in the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer. Bella continues her adventures in Forks with Edward and his family. She meets Jacob, an old friend, for the second time and begins to start seeing changes in him. For instance, his drastic increase in height.

This book was just as interesting as Twilight. I finished New Moon in three days. That's how fascinating it was. There is so much excitement in the book in between learning something new about Jacob that Bella starts having feelings for Edward AND Jacob. That was something I liked. There was the confusion about which one she liked most. Another thing I liked about the book is that I got to learn even more secrets about the supernatural and Jacob's new character. Children 10+ would love this book.

New Moon is one of four books in the Twilight Series along with Twilight, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. They all follow Bella in her confusing life with vampires. It is one of the best series I've ever read.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Chimey

New Moon is the second book in the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer, New York Times number one bestselling author.

New Moon features Bella, Edward, and brings a new character into play, Jacob Black who emerges into Bella's heart. Edward, being a vampire, stresses Bella's safety. Reluctant to injure her, he leaves her and heads to sunny Los Angeles—the last place Bella would suspect him to go. Heartbroken, Bella is left with tears and a wounded heart.

Jacob Black, Bella's childhood friend mends her wounds and together they build something more than a friendship, a sturdy and careful relationship. Jacob promises to keep Bella safe, but nobody is safe when a large, bearish figure is sighted in Forks. Meanwhile, Jacob's friends detest him and act secretive.

It's not long before Jacob himself begins ignoring Bella and turns his back on life. Bella, furious, demands what's wrong with him. Slowly and quietly the truths leak into Bella's mind.
Jacob admits his aid to the Protectors, a group of wolves, who protect humans from vampires.

Meanwhile, Victoria and Laurent, Edward's enemies, return to Bella, scouting to kill her. Jacob's pack kills Laurent while Victoria continues the hunt for Bella who, exasperated, jumps off a cliff in pain for Edward. Edward thinks Bella is dead and heads to Italy to commit suicide by revealing his identity of a vampire to mortals so the Volturi—an ancient vampire society—would kill him.

Alice, Edward's sister, hurries to Bella's aid and together they rush to Italy to save Edward. Is it too late? Will Victoria murder everyone? Will Edward die?
Check out New Moon by Stephanie Meyer at your local library to find out! Don't forget to read the whole Twilight saga.

1.Twilight
2.New Moon
3.Eclipse
4.Breaking Dawn


3rd in the series
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Bronte

The titles are also cool. Why doesn't Edward just turn Bella and get it over with? This back and forth between them is getting tiring, if he had just turned her at the end of Twilight none of this would have happened. Bella is in mortal danger ... again, so why doesn't someone change her already so she can't be harmed? Bella is pulled in many different directions by Jacob and Edward and must choose between them, meanwhile vampire attacks in Seattle and Victoria's thirst for revenge put Bella's life in even more danger. The story is kind of repetitive, hasn't this "vampire out to get her" happened in each book? The interesting part is the werewolf-vampire interactions. I really don't like Jacob, he bugs me. Allie wants Edward for Bella and Jacob for herself but I just wish he would die or runaway, whichever is easier. This series is also one of my sister's favorites, though she admits the plot is a little dull sometimes she likes Meyer's style of writing. This book is a little more realistic with the Jacob-Bella-Edward love triangle but you get tired of Jacob. I would recommend this for tweenage girls (12-13).


4th in the series
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Bronte

If New Moon was my favorite of the saga, this is the worst. Bella and Edward are married at last, right out of high school, but they put of making her a vampire. Then Bella gets pregnant and has a little half-vamp baby, and the Volturi are after them because of a misunderstanding about the half-vamp. Now they must prepare to do battle against the all powerful Volturi and the people they have gathered to annihilate the Cullens. This plot is so far fetched it just amazes me, and not in a good way. Their getting married right out of high school, Bella getting pregnant, what are the chances? And then of course the Volturi are after them, because Bella can never be out of danger even when she is a vampire. I might have ruined a lot of the book for you with this description but it wasn't worth reading anyway. Meyer has understandable if repetitive plots until this one when she goes all out crazy. Bella is back to having inhuman feelings and acting unrealistically. This was a pretty bad finale to her mildly entertaining sappy romance saga. The romance and love are kind of unreal, her writing gets worse the more emotional the scenes are supposed to be, ruining the effect entirely. I would recommend this for young teenage girls because there are more adult concepts in this book (13-14).

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by Leila

Breaking Dawn was probably the best book in the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer. Bella and Edward get married and they turn Bella into a vampire after months, maybe even years, of controversy over the subject. While she is a vampire, Bella has some quality time with Renesmee, her baby. But then there is word that the Volturi are coming with all their people. So the Cullens round up as many people as they can to help witness/fight the Volturi. It turned out the Voluturi were coming for Renesmee. This experience was made even harder because Alice (who tells the future) and Jasper (the best fighter) had run away.

I loved this book because it had so much suspense. With Alice and Jasper running away how would the fight turn out? Also, it turned out Bella had her special ability with her even when she was human (hint, hint, wink, wink). Another thing I liked was that Jacob had his own part of the story where the book was told from his point of view. Something I didn't like was that Meyer had jammed a lot of information in one book. This made the process of reading the book overwhelming at times. People ages 12+ would enjoy this book.

If you liked this book, wait until Stephanie Meyer finishes the next book Midnight Sun. . It is basically Twilightin Edward's point of view. Unfortunately, the process of writing the book has been delayed because the first 12 chapters have been released on the Internet. This book was very enjoyable and hopefully you would read it and feel the joy, too.

Posted by library at January 27, 2010 04:22 PM
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