Twilight Saga – Book 1
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
YA Fiction, Published 2005
Read: Emme-Sept. 2007, Mel-Oct. 2007
5/5
From the Cover:
About three 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.
Emme’s Review:
Bella Swan moves from Phoenix to Forks to live with her dad, the police chief of a small, rainy town in Washington. Her mom is getting remarried and Bella feels she will be in the way of her mother’s happiness. So, she decides to move in with her father, Charlie, who willingly takes Bella in even though they’ve never been particularly close. He has even bought her a truck to drive to school so she won’t have to be dropped off in (gasp!) a police cruiser. Bella is about to begin her sophomore year of high school and is not at all excited about one, being in Forks, two, being in the cloudy, rainy weather of Washington, and three, attending a new school.
Bella’s first impressions of Edward are of confusion and anger. She really believes that he does not like her and it is not until he saves her life several months into the school year that they actually become friends. But she also befriends Jacob and soon Bella learns there are many secrets lurking in her new hometown. Book One of the Twilight Saga introduces us to the entire cast of characters, each unique in their own right.
As I, nor my contributing reviewer, bff and cousin Mel, am no longer in the “YA” age group (although she may disagree), I was hesitant to pick this one up. I’m so glad I did because Stephenie Meyer has a way of grabbing hold of the reader and not letting go until you turn the last page. After reading all four books in the series, I have to say that Twilight is probably my favorite in that it is where we first become enthralled with Edward, Alice, and the entire Cullen clan as well as a bit curious about Jacob and his friends down in La Push.
It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.
I stared at their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.
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Twilight Saga – Book 2
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
YA Fiction, Published 2006
Read: Emme-Oct. 2007, Mel-June 2008
4.5/5
From the Cover:
For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself; Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their dating relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning…
Mel’s Review:
Although I did enjoy this book — in fact, I intended to read a single chapter but ended up reading it all in a day — I liked it less than Twilight. When Edward leaves, it devastates Bella to a point where she shuts down emotionally, and simply goes through the motions for several months, much to my disappointment. Eventually, she builds up a strong friendship with Jacob Black out at the reservation, and her outings with him are, in my opinion, the highlight of this entry in the series. It turns out that Jacob has a rather unusual secret of his own now, and with his help Bella starts to find that life is almost livable again, but still she can’t quite get Edward out of her mind, or her heart.
The end of this book definitely left me wanting more, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in Eclipse, on special loan from emmegail’s bookshelf!
