Archival Book Review: Twilight

Archival+Book+Review%3A+Twilight

Melanie Wang

Twilight is the first book in the Twilight saga, it was published October 8, 2005 and was number 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Twilight was written by Stephanie Meyers, and to this day she has made over $125 million from the books. The book received many awards such as the Top Ten Books for Young Adults. 

The story takes you into another world with vampires and werewolves, with many twists and turns to keep the reader interested. There is complexity in how both humor and romance are found in the characters. I enjoyed this book because I like reading about vampires and werewolves. The Twilight saga is also relatable to many teens today as it deals with relationships, moving to new places, and experiencing new journeys. 

In this book, Bella is a 17 year old girl who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father. She begins school and meets friends. She notices an odd group known as the Cullens. One day Edward Cullen saves her life from a car crash but comes out untouched. As Bella enhances her relationship with the Cullen family, she learns that they are vampires who only feed on animal blood and are known to be vegetarian. Bella is warned by her other friend Jacob, a descendant of wolves that are natural born enemies of the Cullens. She later spends time with the Cullens and begins to understand their special abilities to mind read, see the future, and change emotions. Bella and Edward develop a romantic relationship throughout the book and Edward feels he must protect her. Throughout the book, non-vegetarian vampires come to the Cullen turf and smell Bella’s blood. They hunt for her thinking it is a game, and the Cullens must protect Bella from the vampires James, Victoria, and Lawrent. Bella and the Cullens must come up with a plan to leave Forks and try to survive from the other vampires.

Stephanie Myers does a fantastic job with creativity in the book and the characters. She incorporates the vampire’s human traits and amplifies them into powers when they become a vampire. This adds captivating characteristics to Edward, Alice, and Emmett. The author also does a good job by giving minor details such as Jacob hinting the vampires as the cold ones. This keeps the readers interested and engaged throughout the book. 

“I like the book because it is a love story between a girl and two boys and the girls journey to find the one she truly loves” said Kyna Wilson, a Junior at Centreville Highschool. Makayla Wang, a freshman from Centreville also said “I really enjoyed reading this book because of all the mythical characters such as vampires and werewolves, I would reccomend this to middle/highschoolers”.

The Twilight saga fits in with literature because it connects with the legends about vampires and werewolves. Also, Edward and Jasper’s powers deal with empathy, which connects with the emotion in literature. Jasper’s powers portray the character’s emotions because he can control how they feel, and Edward can read minds and see how others are doing. 

Overall, Twilight is a fantastic romance and fantasy novel. The storyline keeps the readers engaged and interested. I would definitely recommend this book to those who like to read about the legends of vampires and werewolves.