Twilight (Novel) by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Twilight
Cover of Twilight
Author	Stephenie Meyer
Cover artist	Gail Doobinin (design) Roger Hagadone (photograph)
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Twilight series
Genre(s)	Young adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher	Little, Brown
Publication date	October 5, 2005
Media type	print (hardcover, paperback) e-book (kindle) audio book (cd)
Pages	512[1] (Hardcover) 544[2](Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-316-16017-2
Followed by	New Moon

Twilight is a young-adult vampire-romance novel written by author Stephenie Meyer. It was originally published in 2005 in hardback. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

Plot summary

Isabella "Bella" Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.

When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. However, over the next few days Edward warms up to her, and their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly run over by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Seemingly defying the laws of reality, Edward saves her life when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.

Bella becomes hellbent on figuring out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After tricking a family friend, Jacob Black, into telling her local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was so desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.

Their relationship is thrown into chaos when another vampire coven sweeps into Forks. James, a tracker vampire who is intrigued by the Cullens' relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens attempt to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. There, Bella receives a phone call from James, who claims he is holding her mother captive. When Bella surrenders herself, James attacks her, but Edward, along with the other Cullens, rescues Bella and kills James. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward sucks the venom from her system before it can spread and transform her into a vampire, and she is then sent to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, which Edward refuses.

Cover

Stephenie Meyer has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit from the book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, similar to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, as is implied by the quote from Genesis 2:17 that is quoted at the beginning of the book. It also represents Bella's knowledge of what good and evil are, and the choice that she has in partaking of the "forbidden fruit", Edward, or choosing not to see him.^[3]

Awards and nominations

Twilight gained recognition and won numerous honors, including:

• A New York Times Editor's Choice
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• An American Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers"
• Translation into 20 languages ^[4]
• A New York Times Best Seller^[5]
• The best selling book of 2008 according to USA Today^[6]

Critical reception

The critical reception for Twilight has been mixed. Booklist wrote, "There are some flaws here–a plot that could have been tightened, an over reliance on adjectives and adverbs to bolster dialogue–but this dark romance seeps into the soul."^[7] Kirkus wrote: "[Twilight] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character. Nonetheless, the portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot; fans of dark romance will find it hard to resist."^[8] Publishers Weekly's starred review described Bella's "infatuation with outsider Edward", their risky relationship, and "Edward's inner struggle" as a metaphor for sexual frustration accompanying adolescence.^[9] Hillias J. Martin of School Library Journal praised the novel, saying, "Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it."^[10]

Film adaptation

Main article: Twilight (2008 film)

Twilight has been adapted into a film by Summit Entertainment. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as protagonists Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen, respectively. The screenplay was adapted by Melissa Rosenberg. The movie was released in the United States on November 21, 2008.^[11]

Editions

Little, Brown and Company (United States, etc.)

• ISBN 0316160172 (Hardcover)
• ISBN 0316033413 (Hardcover, Collector's Edition)
• ISBN 0316015849 (Paperback)
• ISBN 0316038377 (Mass Market Paperback)

Topeka Bindery (United States, etc.)

• ISBN 1417755911 (Library Binding)

ATOM (United Kingdom, etc.)

• ISBN 1904233643 (Hardcover)
• ISBN 1904233651 (Paperback)
• ISBN 1905654340 (Special Edition Paperback)

Alfaguara (Spain, etc.)

• ISBN 9789707709942 (Paperback)

Hachette (France, etc.)

• ISBN 2012010679 (Hardcover)

Sony Magazines (Japan, etc.)

• ISBN 4789726029 (Magazine)

References

1. ^ "Twilight (Hardcover)". Amazon.ca. http://www.amazon.ca/Twilight-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0316160172/ref=pd_bowtega_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215465512&sr=1-2. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
2. ^ "Twilight (Paperback)". Amazon.ca. http://www.amazon.ca/Twilight-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0316015849. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
3. ^ "What's with the apple?". StephenieMeyer.com. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_faq.html#apple. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
4. ^ "Stephenie Meyer's Official Website". StephenieMeyer.com. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
5. ^ Leila Summers (2008-01-19). "Part of 'Twilight' movie will be filmed at Kalama school". The Daily News Online. http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/19/area_news/10064367.txt. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
6. ^ "The top 100 titles of 2008". USA Today. 2009-01-14. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-01-14-top-100-titles_N.htm.
7. ^ "Booklist Review at Amazon.com". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0316015849/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
8. ^ "Kirkus Review at B&N.com". B&N.com. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Twilight/Stephenie-Meyer/e/9780316160179. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
9. ^ "Stephenie Meyer's official website - Twilight reviews". http://stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_reviews.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
10. ^ Hillias J. Martin (2005-10-01). "Grades 5 and Up Reviews: October, 2005". School Library Journal. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA446397.html?industryid=47085&q=twilight+meyer+review. Retrieved on 2008-11-16.
11. ^ "Stephenie Meyer's official website - Twilight news archive". http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.