.gif)
Twilight (novel)
Encyclopedia
Twilight is a young-adult vampire-romance novel
by author Stephenie Meyer
. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan
, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona
to Forks, Washington
and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen
. The novel is followed by New Moon
, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn
.
It became an instant bestseller when published originally in hardback in 2005, debuting at No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list
within a month of its release and later peaking at No. 1. That same year, Twilight was named one of Publishers Weekly
s Best Children's Books of 2005. The novel was also the biggest selling book of 2008 and the second biggest selling of 2009, only behind its sequel New Moon
. It has been translated into 37 different languages.
When first published, Twilight gained much critical acclaim. Critics often described it as a "dark romance that seeps into the soul" and praised it for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation". On the other hand, in more recent reviews, some critics thought that Bella's appeal to Edward was "based on magic rather than character" and that Bella is a weak female character. However, almost all critics, whether they acclaimed the novel or not, agreed that it was a literary phenomenon.
A film adaptation of Twilight
was released in 2008. It was a commercial success, grossing more than $392 million worldwide and an additional $157 million from North American DVD
sales, as of July 2009.
moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona
to rainy Forks, Washington
to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.
When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen
in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He disappears for a few days, but warms up to Bella upon his return; their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly run over by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Edward saves her life when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.
Bella becomes determined to find out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After a family friend, Jacob Black
, tells her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.
Their relationship is disturbed when another vampire coven arrives in Forks. James, a tracker vampire who is intrigued by the Cullens' relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens attempt to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. There, Bella receives a phone call from James, who claims to be holding her mother captive. When Bella surrenders herself, James attacks her. Before James can kill her, Edward, along with the other Cullens, rescues her and defeats James. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward successfully sucks the poison from her bloodstream and prevents her from becoming a vampire, after which she is brought to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, but Edward refuses.
who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. The first drafts were titled Forks instead of Twilight before the publisher requested to change the title. At first, she didn't use names to refer to Bella and Edward, instead she used 'She' and 'He'. Later on, "Charlotte Bronte
's Mr. Rochester" and "Jane Austen
's Mr. Ferrars" led her to choose the name Edward for her male character, while she named her female lead Isabella because it would have been the name she would have chosen for her daughter if she had one. Rosalie and Jasper were originally named Carol and Ronald.
Meyer continued writing to the end chronologically, not worrying about the backstory. She lettered the chapters instead of numbering them, Chapter 13 being E. The last chapter of the first draft kept getting longer and longer, so she wrote epilogue after epilogue. However, she realized that she wanted to explore a lot of the events of the backstory and the reasons behind the events of the chapters she wrote, so, planning to write the backstory in five or six chapters, it turned out to be twelve chapters in the end.In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a completed novel, though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment.After a summer of detachment from the world, immersed in writing, she finished the manuscript on August 29, 2003.
Her sister's response towards the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies. Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House. During the editing process, a chapter that used to be Chapter 20 was cut out of the manuscript along with Emmett's account of his bear attack and some parts of the epilogue.
has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit
from the Book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, similar to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
, as is implied by the quote from Genesis 2:17 that is quoted at the beginning of the book. It also represents Bella's knowledge of what good and evil are, and the choice that she has in partaking of the "forbidden fruit", Edward, or choosing not to see him. Meyer also says, "It asks if you are going to bite in and discover the frightening possibilities around you or refuse and stay safe in the comfortable world you know." An alternative cover features Kristen Stewart
and Robert Pattinson
, the actors who play Bella and Edward, respectively, in the film adaptation.
originally bid for $300,000, but Meyer's agent asked for $1 million; the publishers finally settled on $750,000 for three books. Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. It debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list
within a month of its release, and later peaked at #1. Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries.
In October 2008, Twilight was ranked #26 in USA Today
' s list of "Bestselling Books of Last 15 Years". Later, the book went on to become the best-selling book of 2008.and the second biggest selling of 2009, only behind its sequel New Moon
.
called Meyer one of the most "promising new authors of 2005". The Times
praised the book for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation", and Amazon.com
hailed the book as "[d]eeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful". Hillias J. Martin of School Library Journal
stated, "Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it", and Norah Piehl of TeenReads wrote, "Twilight is a gripping blend of romance and horror". Publishers Weekly
s starred review described Bella's "infatuation with outsider Edward", their risky relationship, and "Edward's inner struggle" as a metaphor for sexual frustration accompanying adolescence. Booklist
wrote, "There are some flaws here–a plot that could have been tightened, an over reliance on adjective
s and adverb
s to bolster dialogue–but this dark romance seeps into the soul." Christopher Middleton of The Daily Telegraph
called the book a "high school drama with a bloody twist ... no secret, of course, at whom this book is aimed, and no doubt, either, that it has hit its mark. Jennifer Hawes of The Post and Courier
said, "Twilight, the first book in Stephenie Meyer's series, gripped me so fiercely that I called the nearest teenager I know and begged for her copy after I misplaced my own." Roberta Goli of Suite101.com
gave the novel a positive review, saying that while "the first half of the novel lacks action", the writing is "fluid" and the story "interesting". She also praised the depth of emotion shown between the main characters for pinpointing "the angst of teenage love."
Kirkus
gave a more mixed review, noting that, "[Twilight] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character. Nonetheless, the portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot; fans of dark romance will find it hard to resist." The New York Times review stated, "The premise of Twilight is attractive and compelling — who hasn't fantasized about unearthly love with a beautiful stranger? — but the book suffers at times from overearnest, amateurish writing. A little more "showing" and a lot less "telling" might have been a good thing, especially some pruning to eliminate the constant references to Edward's shattering beauty and Bella's undying love." Although the Daily Telegraph later listed Twilight at number 32 on its list of "100 books that defined the noughties", it said that the novel was "Astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of [Meyer's] prose". Elizabeth Hand said in a review for the Washington Post, "Meyer's prose seldom rises above the serviceable, and the plotting is leaden".
. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke
and stars Kristen Stewart
and Robert Pattinson
as protagonists Isabella Swan
and Edward Cullen
, respectively. The screenplay was adapted by Melissa Rosenberg
. The movie was released in theaters in the United States
on November 21, 2008, and on DVD
on March 21, 2009. The DVD was released in Australia
on April 22, 2009.
confirmed rumors that a graphic novel
adaptation of Twilight was in the works. The book will be drawn by Korean artist Young Kim and published by Yen Press
. Stephenie Meyer reviews every panel herself. According to EW, "it doesn't look simply like an artist's rendering of Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson. In fact, the characters seem to be an amalgam of Meyer's literary imagination and the actors' actual looks." EW magazine published finished illustrations of Edward, Bella, and Jacob in their July 17, 2009 issue. The first part of the graphic novel was released on March 16, 2010.
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
by author Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan
Bella Swan
Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan is the fictional protagonist of the Twilight series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series, consisting of the novels Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, is primarily narrated from Bella's point of view...
, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
to Forks, Washington
Forks, Washington
-Government:The City is organized under Washington State law as a Non-charter Code City. Its structure is that of an elected Mayor and a five member elected City Council...
and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
. The novel is followed by New Moon
New Moon (novel)
New Moon is a romantic fantasy novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and is the second novel in the Twilight series. The novel continues the story of Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen's relationship. When Edward leaves Bella after his brother attacks her, she is left heartbroken and depressed for...
, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in the The Twilight Saga by American author Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections are written from Bella Swan's perspective and the second is written from the perspective of Jacob Black...
.
It became an instant bestseller when published originally in hardback in 2005, debuting at No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
within a month of its release and later peaking at No. 1. That same year, Twilight was named one of Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
s Best Children's Books of 2005. The novel was also the biggest selling book of 2008 and the second biggest selling of 2009, only behind its sequel New Moon
New Moon (novel)
New Moon is a romantic fantasy novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and is the second novel in the Twilight series. The novel continues the story of Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen's relationship. When Edward leaves Bella after his brother attacks her, she is left heartbroken and depressed for...
. It has been translated into 37 different languages.
When first published, Twilight gained much critical acclaim. Critics often described it as a "dark romance that seeps into the soul" and praised it for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation". On the other hand, in more recent reviews, some critics thought that Bella's appeal to Edward was "based on magic rather than character" and that Bella is a weak female character. However, almost all critics, whether they acclaimed the novel or not, agreed that it was a literary phenomenon.
A film adaptation of Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
was released in 2008. It was a commercial success, grossing more than $392 million worldwide and an additional $157 million from North American DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sales, as of July 2009.
Plot summary
Isabella "Bella" SwanBella Swan
Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan is the fictional protagonist of the Twilight series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series, consisting of the novels Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, is primarily narrated from Bella's point of view...
moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
to rainy Forks, Washington
Forks, Washington
-Government:The City is organized under Washington State law as a Non-charter Code City. Its structure is that of an elected Mayor and a five member elected City Council...
to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.
When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He disappears for a few days, but warms up to Bella upon his return; their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly run over by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Edward saves her life when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.
Bella becomes determined to find out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After a family friend, Jacob Black
Jacob Black
Jacob "Jake" Black is a fictional character in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe in La Push, near Forks, Washington. In the second book of the series, he undergoes a transformation that allows him to morph into a wolf. For the...
, tells her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.
Their relationship is disturbed when another vampire coven arrives in Forks. James, a tracker vampire who is intrigued by the Cullens' relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens attempt to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. There, Bella receives a phone call from James, who claims to be holding her mother captive. When Bella surrenders herself, James attacks her. Before James can kill her, Edward, along with the other Cullens, rescues her and defeats James. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward successfully sucks the poison from her bloodstream and prevents her from becoming a vampire, after which she is brought to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, but Edward refuses.
Main characters
- Isabella Swan - Isabella, who prefers to be known as Bella, is a 17-year-old girl. She leaves Phoenix, Arizona, to go live with her father in Forks, Washington, in the aim of giving her mother the chance to travel with her new husband. She meets Edward Cullen in Forks High School and feels attracted to him.She confesses her discovery to Edward who admits to it, and they both venture into their forbidden love fighting against Edward's thirst for Bella's blood. Bella has a kind and awkward personality that is more mature than girls her age. She's very smart and observant that she was the first to notice and find theories for the Cullens' strange actions and features. At the beginning of the novel, Bella finds "the hardest part is making decision, but once the decision is made, [she] can easily follow." However, as the novel progresses, Bella unconsciously learns how to make hard decisions and accept their consequences.
- Edward CullenEdward CullenEdward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
- Edward is a 104-year-old vampire. He was transformed into a vampire by Carlisle Cullen when he was on the edge of death after being struck by Spanish Influenza in 1918. He has a supernatural gift for reading people's minds. When he met Bella, he was immediately attracted to her because of her mind that he couldn't hear, and her strongly appealing blood. Edward tries to stay away from Bella for her safety, but, nevertheless, fails. He notices Bella's attraction to him and tries to warn her that he's dangerous. However, he finally gives in and confesses his truth to her. Since Edward's transformation, he had never fallen in love nor thought that he needed to. He later realizes that his existence was completely pointless without an aim. He finds in Bella compassion, love, acceptance and care.In Twilight, Edward has a pessimistic personality influenced by Meyer's naturally pessimistic character.His character was also influenced by Mr. Rochester of Jane EyreJane EyreJane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
who also sees himself as a monster.
- James - James is a vampire who has the ability to track down people whether humans or vampires. He has a competitive character that always loves a challenge. He reacts aggressively towards Bella when he smells her very appealing scent. When the Cullens react defensively towards her, James finds the biggest game of his life. He decides to track down Bella to hunt her, knowing that the Cullens would challenge him. He secretly calls Bella to tell her that he's taken her mother hostage in a ballet studio in Phoenix, Arizona. It turns out that her mother is still in Florida and has never returned to Phoenix. He bites Bella, but the Cullens arrive just in time to save her. He is destroyed at the end of the novel.
Development
Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and a vampireVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. The first drafts were titled Forks instead of Twilight before the publisher requested to change the title. At first, she didn't use names to refer to Bella and Edward, instead she used 'She' and 'He'. Later on, "Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's Mr. Rochester" and "Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Mr. Ferrars" led her to choose the name Edward for her male character, while she named her female lead Isabella because it would have been the name she would have chosen for her daughter if she had one. Rosalie and Jasper were originally named Carol and Ronald.
Meyer continued writing to the end chronologically, not worrying about the backstory. She lettered the chapters instead of numbering them, Chapter 13 being E. The last chapter of the first draft kept getting longer and longer, so she wrote epilogue after epilogue. However, she realized that she wanted to explore a lot of the events of the backstory and the reasons behind the events of the chapters she wrote, so, planning to write the backstory in five or six chapters, it turned out to be twelve chapters in the end.In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a completed novel, though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment.After a summer of detachment from the world, immersed in writing, she finished the manuscript on August 29, 2003.
Her sister's response towards the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies. Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House. During the editing process, a chapter that used to be Chapter 20 was cut out of the manuscript along with Emmett's account of his bear attack and some parts of the epilogue.
Cover
Stephenie MeyerStephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit is any object of desire whose appeal is a direct result of knowledge that cannot or should not be obtained or something that someone may want but is forbidden to have....
from the Book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, similar to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
In the Book of Genesis, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or the tree of knowledge was a tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden. . God directly forbade Adam to eat the fruit of this tree...
, as is implied by the quote from Genesis 2:17 that is quoted at the beginning of the book. It also represents Bella's knowledge of what good and evil are, and the choice that she has in partaking of the "forbidden fruit", Edward, or choosing not to see him. Meyer also says, "It asks if you are going to bite in and discover the frightening possibilities around you or refuse and stay safe in the comfortable world you know." An alternative cover features Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
and Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
, the actors who play Bella and Edward, respectively, in the film adaptation.
Awards and honors
- One of Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
' s "Best Children's Books of 2005" - One of School Library JournalSchool Library JournalThe School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
s "Best Books of 2005"
Publication
Twilight was initially rejected by 14 agents, however, eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in the 2003 auction. Little, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
originally bid for $300,000, but Meyer's agent asked for $1 million; the publishers finally settled on $750,000 for three books. Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. It debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
within a month of its release, and later peaked at #1. Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries.
In October 2008, Twilight was ranked #26 in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
New Moon (novel)
New Moon is a romantic fantasy novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and is the second novel in the Twilight series. The novel continues the story of Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen's relationship. When Edward leaves Bella after his brother attacks her, she is left heartbroken and depressed for...
.
Critical reception
Initial reviews for Twilight were mostly positive, with Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
called Meyer one of the most "promising new authors of 2005". The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
praised the book for capturing "perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation", and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
hailed the book as "[d]eeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful". Hillias J. Martin of School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
stated, "Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it", and Norah Piehl of TeenReads wrote, "Twilight is a gripping blend of romance and horror". Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
s starred review described Bella's "infatuation with outsider Edward", their risky relationship, and "Edward's inner struggle" as a metaphor for sexual frustration accompanying adolescence. Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
wrote, "There are some flaws here–a plot that could have been tightened, an over reliance on adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s and adverb
Adverb
An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun . Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives , clauses, sentences, and other adverbs....
s to bolster dialogue–but this dark romance seeps into the soul." Christopher Middleton of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
called the book a "high school drama with a bloody twist ... no secret, of course, at whom this book is aimed, and no doubt, either, that it has hit its mark. Jennifer Hawes of The Post and Courier
The Post and Courier
Charleston's The Post and Courier is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the South and the eighth oldest newspaper still in publication in the United States. It is published in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the Charleston Courier, founded in 1803, the...
said, "Twilight, the first book in Stephenie Meyer's series, gripped me so fiercely that I called the nearest teenager I know and begged for her copy after I misplaced my own." Roberta Goli of Suite101.com
Suite101.com
Suite101 is a Canadian online magazine that publishes articles by freelance writers. It generates revenue from advertisements and shares the revenue with article writers. Suite101 was established in 1996 and has published in excess of 300,000 articles by more than 10,000 freelance writers.- History...
gave the novel a positive review, saying that while "the first half of the novel lacks action", the writing is "fluid" and the story "interesting". She also praised the depth of emotion shown between the main characters for pinpointing "the angst of teenage love."
Kirkus
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
gave a more mixed review, noting that, "[Twilight] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character. Nonetheless, the portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot; fans of dark romance will find it hard to resist." The New York Times review stated, "The premise of Twilight is attractive and compelling — who hasn't fantasized about unearthly love with a beautiful stranger? — but the book suffers at times from overearnest, amateurish writing. A little more "showing" and a lot less "telling" might have been a good thing, especially some pruning to eliminate the constant references to Edward's shattering beauty and Bella's undying love." Although the Daily Telegraph later listed Twilight at number 32 on its list of "100 books that defined the noughties", it said that the novel was "Astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of [Meyer's] prose". Elizabeth Hand said in a review for the Washington Post, "Meyer's prose seldom rises above the serviceable, and the plotting is leaden".
Film
Twilight was adapted into a film by Summit EntertainmentSummit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Catherine Hardwicke
Catherine Hardwicke is an American production designer, film writer and film director. Her works include the independent film Thirteen, which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, the Biblically-themed The Nativity Story, the vampire film Twilight, and the werewolf film Red Riding Hood...
and stars Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
and Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
as protagonists Isabella Swan
Bella Swan
Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan is the fictional protagonist of the Twilight series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series, consisting of the novels Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, is primarily narrated from Bella's point of view...
and Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
, respectively. The screenplay was adapted by Melissa Rosenberg
Melissa Rosenberg
Melissa Anne Rosenberg is an American screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of America Awards. She won a Peabody Award...
. The movie was released in theaters in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 21, 2008, and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 21, 2009. The DVD was released in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on April 22, 2009.
Graphic novel
On July 15, 2009, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
confirmed rumors that a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
adaptation of Twilight was in the works. The book will be drawn by Korean artist Young Kim and published by Yen Press
Yen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
. Stephenie Meyer reviews every panel herself. According to EW, "it doesn't look simply like an artist's rendering of Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson. In fact, the characters seem to be an amalgam of Meyer's literary imagination and the actors' actual looks." EW magazine published finished illustrations of Edward, Bella, and Jacob in their July 17, 2009 issue. The first part of the graphic novel was released on March 16, 2010.