Paperback, 498 pages
English language
Published Sept. 6, 2006 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.
I didn't really start enjoying this book until 3/4 of the way through, Alice is definitely my favourite character though. I'm really not sure if I'll continue the series...at least not any time soon.
Finally I can understand the phrase 'still a better love story than twilight'
Together with the Hot & Bothered - Twilight in Quarantine Podcast it's really funny to read it.
Honestly, it was a fun time! Meyer has some fun ideas that put a nice spin on contemporary vampirism, like the whole deal with playing baseball.
The sparkling, for as much as it gets dunked on, isn’t such a bad idea either. I think the film might have done this a disservice by making it look more like body paint than something entirely supernatural.
I wish I could have seen more of Jacob, since he and Charlie were the only characters that acted like real people.
Bella and Edward, however, hoo boy. They’re awful for each other. Edward teeters the line between being an anxious mess I can feel sympathy for, and a weirdo bad boy who makes me cringe.
Overall, I’m really glad I read it. Rating is as it is because there wasn’t enough Jacob and Charlie.
Emotional pornography for preteen girls.
Eh, it's easier to read through than parts of certain religious texts that do nothing but repeat who was born to who, or ancient works in general with their stilted language and bizarro moralities. However, I couldn't bring myself to do more than read snippets of it from various places that mock it, honestly, which gave me enough entertainment to be worth a star or two. It is OK if you are into this sort of thing but I think there are much better works with romancing vampires. Try watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead.
Le premier roman, Twilight, est le plus classique et le plus simple – voire simpliste – de la série. Il introduit les deux personnages principaux : Isabella (dite Bella) Swan, une lycéenne de dix-sept ans et Edward Cullen, un bellâtre aussi fascinant que mystérieux. Après le remariage de sa mère, Bella quitte le soleil de Phoenix pour les nuages de Forks, une petite ville dans l'état de Washington. C'est là qu'elle rencontre le beau Edward et son étrange famille. Après un accident qui aurait dû lui être fatal mais dont elle est miraculeusement sauvée grâce l'intervention d'Edward, Bella commence à se poser des questions sur l'étrange garçon auquel elle doit la vie. Elle découvrira finalement qu'Edward est un vampire, tout comme toute sa famille. Evidemment, l'histoire ne serait pas complète si Edward et Bella ne tombaient pas follement amoureux l'un de l'autre. Tout est donc en place pour une histoire …
Le premier roman, Twilight, est le plus classique et le plus simple – voire simpliste – de la série. Il introduit les deux personnages principaux : Isabella (dite Bella) Swan, une lycéenne de dix-sept ans et Edward Cullen, un bellâtre aussi fascinant que mystérieux. Après le remariage de sa mère, Bella quitte le soleil de Phoenix pour les nuages de Forks, une petite ville dans l'état de Washington. C'est là qu'elle rencontre le beau Edward et son étrange famille. Après un accident qui aurait dû lui être fatal mais dont elle est miraculeusement sauvée grâce l'intervention d'Edward, Bella commence à se poser des questions sur l'étrange garçon auquel elle doit la vie. Elle découvrira finalement qu'Edward est un vampire, tout comme toute sa famille. Evidemment, l'histoire ne serait pas complète si Edward et Bella ne tombaient pas follement amoureux l'un de l'autre. Tout est donc en place pour une histoire d'amour impossible. Ajoutons à cela un méchant vampire qui contrairement à la famille Cullen se nourrit de sang humain, et vous obtenez un livre classique et sans surprise.
Read this for work-related reasons. Admittedly, I was a bit curious to see what it was like after all the hype. I almost gave this 3 stars, because: 1) this is a YA book, not intended for adults; 2) some interesting new angles to the vampire thing; 3) it's a very quick, easy read.
However, getting 2 stars in the end, because there was just too much that annoyed me. Bella is practically the quintessential Mary Sue character. The relationship between her and Edward just didn't convince me - based on many, many repeated descriptions throughout the book, Bella only seems to like Edward because he's sexy and strong and she likes playing with his self-control; he seems to like her because she smells good and isn't scared of him. And that's about it. Bella's reaction to him is unhealthy and unbelievable -- sorry, but some guy sneaking into your …
Read this for work-related reasons. Admittedly, I was a bit curious to see what it was like after all the hype. I almost gave this 3 stars, because: 1) this is a YA book, not intended for adults; 2) some interesting new angles to the vampire thing; 3) it's a very quick, easy read.
However, getting 2 stars in the end, because there was just too much that annoyed me. Bella is practically the quintessential Mary Sue character. The relationship between her and Edward just didn't convince me - based on many, many repeated descriptions throughout the book, Bella only seems to like Edward because he's sexy and strong and she likes playing with his self-control; he seems to like her because she smells good and isn't scared of him. And that's about it. Bella's reaction to him is unhealthy and unbelievable -- sorry, but some guy sneaking into your bedroom and watching you sleep before you even know anything about him is not sweet or something to overlook, it's grounds for calling the cops and getting a restraint order. And a gun.
Basically I guess it boils down to, I just didn't like Bella much, and I really didn't see ANY redeeming features of Edward (being sexy doesn't count), and I don't generally enjoy books where I don't really care if the main characters live or die. It was interesting to read, and I can see how it could appeal to some audiences, but personally I'm unlikely to pick up the sequels unless I need to read those also for work.
Still loved this book on my second read through nearly a decade later. It will never be classic literature, but it is an exciting, romantic, character driven vampire series.
When a book makes me stop reading because I have dropped into English-Teacher-Mode to consider how to best revise a sentence because it is unclear and bordering on grammatically incorrect, I cannot reasonably be expected to enjoy that book.
Bruised and beaten prose aside, I did laugh at a number of points. I'm not sure if satire was really the intent, but Meyer succeeded at that, at least. The characters seem to lack any significant personality traits, and while Bella has one redeeming speech near the end of the book where she asserts that there should be equality in a relationship, the rest of the book seems only to highlight how little she really cares about equality as she acts as a domestic servant for her father and as a passive admirer to Edward.
As a final note, the following traits were taken from a checklist meant to determine if …
When a book makes me stop reading because I have dropped into English-Teacher-Mode to consider how to best revise a sentence because it is unclear and bordering on grammatically incorrect, I cannot reasonably be expected to enjoy that book.
Bruised and beaten prose aside, I did laugh at a number of points. I'm not sure if satire was really the intent, but Meyer succeeded at that, at least. The characters seem to lack any significant personality traits, and while Bella has one redeeming speech near the end of the book where she asserts that there should be equality in a relationship, the rest of the book seems only to highlight how little she really cares about equality as she acts as a domestic servant for her father and as a passive admirer to Edward.
As a final note, the following traits were taken from a checklist meant to determine if a relationship is abusive:
Is jealous or possessive toward you.
Tries to control you by being very bossy or demanding. (Literally drags Bella around, issues commands rather than requests)
Tries to isolate you or forces you to cut off social contacts and friendships. (Lunch room scenes)
Is violent and / or loses his or her temper quickly.
Claims you are responsible for his or her emotional state.
Blames you when he or she mistreats you. (Less obvious, but the whole "I'm sorry, but you just smell so good." line seems to fit this)
Your family and friends have warned you about the person or told you that they are concerned for your safety or emotional well being. (Billy and Jacob)
You frequently worry about how he or she will react to things you say or do. (All the time)
Your partner "rages" when they feel hurt, shame, fear or loss of control. (Likewise frequent)
You leave and then return to your partner repeatedly, against the advice of your friends, family and loved ones. (Hasn't happened "repeatedly" yet, but I think the codependent nature of the relationship is obvious)
You have trouble ending the relationship, even though you know inside it's the right thing to do. (Again, not quite literally, but the whole dance around "I'm dangerous - you should stay away from me" thing Edward does seems to fit).
And that's not even getting into the whole breaking and entering/stalking behaviour.
Utter tosh
Readable. Nothing flash certainly and Bella was unbelievable as a teen but quite alright as an entertaining read
Ugh
This is... one of the worst books I've ever read. And I've read a lot of pretty bad urban fantasy.
That said, I did finish it (probably in the vague hope that Bella gets eaten), and I'm kind of curious to read the next one. Maybe she'll get eaten in that.
Nope. I have really tried to appreciate this book, but there is almost nothing enjoyable about the story or the characters or the writing style or even the new take on vampires. OK, I did find the new take on vampires intriguing for a couple chapters.
Nikki, I am trying. I haven't finished the book yet, so maybe I'll change me mind before the end.
