I read this book. Michelle made me do it. 500 pages in less than 24 hours. I don’t know if I can say I’ve ever done that before.
But, I admit, I really don’t read that much anymore. Until now.
And its not to say that I didn’t have anything else to do. I just couldn’t put the book down. I think the hideousness culminated in my 2 year old daughter asking for breakfast, “I hungry mom. Want dinner.” (yes, she has her meals at bit mixed up). I tried to put her off by a few minutes so I could finish the chapter I was reading, and soon heard her rummaging around in the cupboard until she had a handful of Cheez-It crackers. That’s about when I started feeling guilty. *Sigh*
The book is called “Twilight” and it is authored by Stephanie Meyer.
It’s a strange combination of suspense and romance. The book is clean, and surprisingly addicting. I was skeptical at first, particularly when hearing that it was about a 17 year old girl that fell in love with a vampire. But it came with good reviews.
Here’s the scoop from other sources:
Overstock.com Description: Seventeen-year-olds Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are enmeshed in an intense, hungry love that leaves them both destroyed, yet passionately longing for more. Bella`s scent and very being excites Edward, a vampire who, along with his family, abstains from feasting on humans. After a difficult start, the two become inseparable, learning more and more about each other as the days pass, all the while knowing that with every thrilling moment might end with Bella`s death. The beautiful, evergreen landscape of Washington state`s Olympic Peninsula permeates this gripping, fast-paced drama as it torpedoes through the notions of family, relationships, and sacrificing everything imaginable for true love. Named one of Publishers Weekly`s Best Children`s Books of 2005 and a 2005 School Library Journal Best Book.
School Library Journal (10/01/2005) “Meyer adds an eerie new twist to the mismatched, star-crossed lovers theme: predator falls for prey, human falls for vampire. This tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel, and kissing, touching, and talking take on an entirely new meaning when one small mistake could be life-threatening…Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, TWILIGHT will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it.”
Amazon.com “Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. ‘Be very still,’ he whispered, as if I wasn’t already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat.”
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.
Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward’s sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) –Patty Campbell
And of course there are many, many consumer reviews at Amazon.com (and everywhere else).
So, you need to read it. I did.
Oh – and there are two other books in the series. New Moon. And Eclipse.
As the author puts it, “Twilight” is about finding love, “New Moon” is about loosing love, and “Eclipse” is about choosing love.
And. . . she’s working on a fourth book.
I guess I better stock up on Cheez-Its! (wink, wink)