Twilight

Astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of her prose. Teen vampire schlock that has the nation’s youth in thrall.

[L]et me say to you as a meat-eating, Entourage-watching, sports-loving (OK, I really don't love sports, or actually understand sports) — heterosexual man who can't sit through a single show on Lifetime television, let me loudly proclaim: I, Brad Meltzer, love the Twilight series by Stephenie

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Meyer.

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I confess, I have joined the legions of the bitten and smitten.

The plot may sound rather comic and camp, but Meyer chooses to play it straight and serious. Vampires or not, what this novel is really about is a fatal attraction to someone or something dangerously different from yourself. The trajectory of the story is such that Bella's behavior and choices grow

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increasingly more disturbing, with irrevocable, self-destructive consequences.

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Meyer's debut is a gorgeous, passionate paean to first love with a dark core that's as bracing as a Northern Pacific breeze

Starred Review. Grade 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

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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

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Bella's romantic dilemmas, klutziness, and loving relationships with her parents give her character depth and keep the narrative from becoming too dark. Although the novel is long, its pacing is steady and compelling until the end, when the chase scene rockets out of control. Nevertheless, TWILIGHT

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is a gripping blend of romance and horror that will entice fans of both genres.

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