Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer

ISBN: 9780316015844

Publisher: Brown Books for Young Readers

Copyright Date: 2005

Genre: Paranormal Romance

About the Author:

 Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke-up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head. "Though I had a million things to do (i.e. making breakfast for hungry children, dressing and changing the diapers of said children, finding the swimsuits that no one ever puts away in the right place), I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write--something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering." Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, then writing it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight.

Twilight was one of 2005's most talked about novels and within weeks of its release the book debuted at #5 on The New York Times bestseller list.Among its many accolades, Twilight was named an "ALA Top Ten Books for Young Adults," an Amazon.com "Best Book of the Decade&So Far", and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. The movie version of Twilight will be released by Summit Entertainment nationwide on November 21, 2008, starring Kristen Stewart ("Into The Wild") and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire").

The highly-anticipated sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006 and spent 31 weeks at the #1 position on The New York Times bestseller list. Eclipse, the third book in Meyer's Twilight saga, was released on August 7, 2007 and sold 150,000 copies its first day on-sale. The book debuted at #1 bestseller lists across the country, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The fourth and final book in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, was published on August 2, 2008, with a first printing of 3.2 million copies - the largest first printing in the publisher's history. Breaking Dawn sold 1.3 million copies its first day on-sale rocketing the title to #1 on bestseller lists nationwide.

Meyer's highly-anticipated debut for novel adults, The Host, was released by Little, Brown and Company in May 2008 and debuted at #1 on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and sons.

Amazon. Stephenie Meyer. https://www.amazon.com/Stephenie-Meyer/e/B001H6GO92/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0.

Curriculum Ties:

•  Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Plot Summary:

 Bella decides to move in with her dad as a result of her mom’s new marriage. As she begins to make new friends in her new town, she notices a different family of attractive people. One member of the family, Edward, is in one of her classes doesn’t appear to like her. However, they begin to talk and even date. After they start dating, Edward tells Bella that he is a vampire and that the reason he initially didn’t talk to her was because her blood smelled overpoweringly good. This new relationship begins a number of problems, with his family not liking her because she could compromise their secret, and with Bella’s father, who doesn’t like Edward. Even worse, a new group of vampires come to town, and begin to threaten her. Bella must tread carefully and rely on Edward if she wants to stay safe and sound from a vampire attack.  

Critical Evaluation:

 Bella is a character with little or no substance. Her character has very little development over the course of the plot. She is not a strong romantic lead, having Edward stalk her and finding it endearing. She also has little to do with the development of the plot, doing nothing when she is kidnapped and allows others to make her decisions, like going into hiding. The sole exception to this is when she thinks her mom is kidnapped, which is a questionable decision at best. Edward is a little better, initiating the relationship between him and Bella, and actively pursuing her after that. However, a three-hundred-year old man who spends his time pursuing a seventeen-year-old girl is like romantic than this novel would make it seem. The plot starts out slowly, with many descriptions of Bella and Edward, but picks up at the end and becomes more exciting as vampires hunt Bella.

Readers Annotation:

When Bella moves to a small town, she finds herself at the center of attention. But when she finds out that one of the boys interested in her is a vampire, she can't help to learn more.  

Book Talking Ideas:

• Describe both Bella and Edward. Look for reasons why people are worried about their relationship.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 13-18

Challenge Issues:

•  There is a scene with serious bloody injuries and violence.

Defense Collection:

•  Sun-loving Bella meets her demon lover in a vampire tale strongly reminiscent of Robin McKinley's Sunshine. When Bella moves to rainy Forks, Wash., to live with her father, she just wants to fit in without drawing any attention. Unfortunately, she's drawn the eye of aloof, gorgeous and wealthy classmate Edward. His behavior toward Bella wavers wildly between apparent distaste and seductive flirtation. Bella learns Edward's appalling (and appealing) secret: He and his family are vampires. Though Edward nobly warns Bella away, she ignores the human boys who court her and chooses her vampiric suitor. An all-vampire baseball game in a late-night thunderstorm—an amusing gothic take on American family togetherness that balances some of the tale's romantic excesses—draws Bella and her loved ones into terrible danger. This 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. (Fantasy. YA) (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2005)
• Gr 9 Up– Headstrong, sun-loving, 17-year-old Bella declines her mom's invitation to move to Florida, and instead reluctantly opts to move to her dad's cabin in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, WA. She becomes intrigued with Edward Cullen, a distant, stylish, and disarmingly handsome senior, who is also a vampire. When he reveals that his specific clan hunts wildlife instead of humans, Bella deduces that she is safe from his blood-sucking instincts and therefore free to fall hopelessly in love with him. The feeling is mutual, and the resulting volatile romance smolders as they attempt to hide Edward's identity from her family and the rest of the school. Meyer adds an eerie new twist to the mismatched, star-crossed lovers theme: predator falls for prey, human falls for vampire. This tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel, and kissing, touching, and talking take on an entirely new meaning when one small mistake could be life-threatening. Bella and Edward's struggle to make their relationship work becomes a struggle for survival, especially when vampires from an outside clan infiltrate the Cullen territory and head straight for her. As a result, the novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight  will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library --Hillias J. Martin (Reviewed October 1, 2005) (School Library Journal, vol 51, issue 10, p166)
• Awards:
• BILBY - Books I Love Best Yearly (Australia) : Older Reader
• Black-Eyed Susan Book Awards (Maryland): High School
• Delaware Diamonds: Middle School
• Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Rosie Award)
• Garden State Teen Book Awards (New Jersey): Fiction (Grades 9-12)
• Gateway Readers Award (Missouri)
• Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers
• Golden Archer Awards (Wisconsin): Middle/Jr. High School
• Golden Sower Awards (Nebraska): Young Adult (Grades 6-9)
• Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona): Teen Book
• Illinois Readers' Choice Awards: Abraham Lincoln Award
• Iowa High School Book Award
• Isinglass Teen Read Award (New Hampshire)
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award: Grades 9-12
• Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards: Young Adult
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award
• School Library Journal Best Books: 2005
• South Carolina Book Awards: Young Adult Books
• WAYRBA - Western Australian Young Readers' Book Awards : Older Readers
• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2006
• YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Forbidden Romance (2012)
• YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: Fiction: 2006
• Reconsideration Policy
• Freedom to Read Statement
• ALA Library Bill of Rights
• Springville Public Library Collection Development Policy
• The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
• Library materials are selected based on the following (not necessarily in order of priority):
• Local public demand and usage potential
• Popularity
• Subject coverage
• Relevance
• Accuracy and currency
• Presentation, readability and format
• Point of view (all sides)
• Cost
• Local connection
• Social values
• Collection balance
• To assess the item based on the above criteria, staff utilize:
• Nationally recognized and relevant pre-publication reviews
• Staff expertise
• Bestseller lists

Purpose in Collection:

Twilight is a popular series that started a paranormal craze through teen literature. With the movies released, it is still an expected part of a teen collection.