Twilight (Twilight Saga, #1)

by Stephenie Meyer

[Leah]

After her mum, Renee, decides to follow her new husband to Florida, Bella Swan takes evasive action and decides to move in with her father, Charlie, in Forks in Washingon. Bella is absolutely dreading it but on her first day of school she comes across the mysterious Cullen family and is instantly intrigued by the youngest of the bunch Edward. Trouble is the Cullen clan look different to Bella and her classmates: they're incredibly pale, they don't seem to eat or drink and they're frequently off school. As Bella finds herself more drawn to Edward, and him to her, just what will happen between the pair and what exactly are the Cullens hiding?

Unlike the rest of the teenage population I only heard of Twilight when the movie was being released in 2008. I thought nothing of it at the time and it never really occured to me to see the film or read the books. Now, though, in the run-up to the release of New Moon, the Twilight saga seems to be everywhere and I've found myself wanting to read the books more and more. I finally happened upon Twilight and, although I have no interest in vampires whatsoever, I eagerly started it.

The book is narrated entirely by Bella Swan so we really get into Bella's mind so much so that you could probably imagine yourself in Bella's place and feel everything Bella is feeling. We learn her deepest thoughts on her move to Forks, on starting a new school and most importantly of all, of meeting the elusive Edward Cullen. Bella is drawn to Edward straight away and you can see why: who wouldn't be intrigued by someone so utterly mysterious? At the beginning Edward is completely off with Bella and I was incredibly confused as to why. As Edward thaws toward Bella I found myself picking up the pace more and more before the book had me in its vice completely. I truly did not want to put it down.

Bella and Edward's relationship is the main focal point of the book and it makes for compulsive reading. It seemed incredibly surreal and yet so incredibly believeable at the same time. Their relationship gets more solid as the book progresses and it's intensity multiplies itself all of the time. It was incredibly gripping and I felt compulsed to just carry on reading to find out just what would happen next. I had no idea this book would grab me in this way yet I was hooked pretty much from the outset. As Bella finally realises why Edward is so mysterious and so beautiful their relationship just intensifies all the more. It came to the point where I just couldn't put the book down.

If you've been living under a cave and have no idea why Edward is strange but beautiful then I'll let you in on a little secret: the Cullen family are all vampires. Of course that adds a completely different spin onto the book and it all seemingly becomes clear. Unlike regular vampires, the Cullen family don't feast on human blood and instead drink the blood of animals, which is why Edward lets himself become closer to Bella. Of course just because they say they don't drink human blood doesn't mean they're tempted and even though the book is narrated entirely by Bella I could feel Edward's struggles. He loved Bella but he also thirsted for her blood and his struggle was a difficult one but was one he wanted to overcome. It mean that Bella had to be aware at all times and it just made the book all the more gripping. The ending ratcheted up the suspense facter 100 fold and I just couldn't put the book down - I know I've said that a lot but this was a truly unputdownable book.

The characters in Twilight were fantastic. I loved Bella but I loved Edward even more. Bella was incredibly likeable and easy to relate to but Edward was just so fascinating, it was unreal. I loved the entire Cullen family, also, they seemed incredibly nice. There are other characters within the book; Charlie, Bella's father and Renee, Bella's mother; school friends of Bella's, Jacob Black, a childhood friend of Bella's, the aforementioned Cullen family. But the only focus of the book really was Edward and Bella. It was all about those two, everyone else seemed rather irrelevant and I loved that aspect of the book.

The writing is superb from Meyer. She taps into the mind of Bella fantastically well. I also thought she portrayed what it's like to fall in love as a teenager very well, it was very compelling and utterly readable. I truly didn't know what to expect from Twilight so I was incredibly surprised to find that I loved it immensely. I would never have thought I'd enjoyed a love story featuring vampires so it's truly a shock to me to find I adored this. Meyer has created some fantastic characters, characters we really care about. This was a truly outstanding book and I am so gutted I don't have New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn because I'd be half way through New Moon by now, it's that compelling. My next Amazon voucher is definitely getting those three books so I can complete my set and read them as soon as possible. Now I'm off to watch the film... lets see if it's as good as the book.