Author: Stephanie Meyer

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Reviewer: Ying-yue Zhao

Unless you have lived under a large metaphorical rock the last few months then you would have definitely heard about Twilight, the next big thing in the young-adult book world (it’s tipped to be the new Harry Potter). The success of the book has led to its adaptation onto film, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (the same actor who played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter films). The book (written in 2003) is the first in a series of four books. Other titles in the series are New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

The plot of Twilight is one of forbidden love, teenage angst and vampires. The protagonist is Isabella “Bella” Swan, an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her police chief father in a sleepy town called Forks. She settles into her new life reasonably well but she finds herself uncontrollably fascinated with the Cullens. The Cullens are a mysterious adoptive family who keep to themselves; they are incredibly pale and never eat (I think you know where I am going with this). Bella finds herself seated next to the brooding Edward Cullen in one of her classes and after a few awkward encounters she becomes rather infatuated with him. As the book progresses the infatuation grows into love and the couple inevitably have to work through a few “difficulties” associated with such unique relationships, like him constantly resisting the urge not killing her.

There is nothing new about vampire books. Anne Rice’s book Interview with a Vampire was so popular that the film version helped launch the careers of its actors such as Kirsten Dunst. But there is something undeniably different about Twilight. The reason that it appeals to the masses opposed to just the hardcore fantasy fans is the angle in which the book was written. The focus is on an innocent first-love romance rather than freaky supernatural phenomenon (although it does have a bit of that too). Bella and Edward are essentially two young adults who are working out this thing called love; him being a vampire adds to the stain but is secondary to the story. Teens can relate to this book because the tension is akin to what is experienced in normal adolescence. It helps adults to reminisce about simpler times, when the biggest problem in one’s life was being in love.

However the book’s appeal is also its downfall. The language used in the book was sickingly clichéd: “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.” I often felt like I was reading something an emo kid wrote for their high school creative-writing assignment. Some may find the writing style vivid, but I am more inclined to say it was tedious. Parts of the dialogue between Bella and Edward were downright cheesy:  “The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn’t work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I’m only getting FM.” The overall effect of Stephanie Meyer’s writing style is naïve yet trashy but that has not stopped millions of people enjoying her books. If you cannot be bothered reading the books then you could always just watch the movie version, just as long as you don’t mind sitting among hundreds of emo kids in the cinema. Better yet, just hire the DVD.