Third Quarter ORB Review

Twilight by Stefenie Meyer. Little, Brown and Company, 2005.
Genre: Romance/Fantasy/Action.


Twilight is a story about a seventeen year old girl named Bella who moves from living with her mom in sunny Arizona to living with her father, Charley, in Forks, Washington. She goes to a new school, gets new friends, and finds a new boyfriend – Edward Cullen. When she sees him at lunch, he immediately draws in Bella. He’s handsome, and just attractive; but Bella comes to know that he and his family are all outcasts. Bella and Cullen become closer as the story progresses, and Bella has her suspicions about him all along. But it took her a while to put the pieces together that he was a vampire. After he tells her, she is accepted into his family and things get a little crazy. Bella ends up being chased by other enemy vampires, who trick her into falling into their trap. She is bitten by one of the vampires, and Edward saves her in the end.

“About 3 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.”

I love Meyer’s descriptive writing style. She uses vocabulary that really gives a visual of the setting or situation. She doesn’t use lengthy, confusing sentences or any of that. She gives just enough detail so that you don’t get bored while you’re reading, or have to go back and read it again. Since her writing lacks much bulk, it allows the reader to breeze through paragraphs without too much thought. It’s a lot like the book I’m reading now for school: The Old Man and the Sea. Ernest Hemingway doesn’t use much detail in his writing, either. Some people would criticize this quality, but I personally think it makes their stories much easier and more interesting to read.

“Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn’t get used to it, though I’d been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday’s hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface.” (ch 13, pg 260)

I really enjoyed reading this book, so much that I read it twice. I like the topic because it’s very mysterious and compelling. Although the book is very lengthy, especially for a young reader, don’t let that convince you to avoid reading it. I really enjoyed this book because it was unlike anything I’d ever read before. Twilight is a story that you won’t want to end.