Twilight (series)

Infobox Book
name = "Twilight" series


image_caption = Collector's edition boxed set that includes all the "Twilight" series books by Stephenie Meyer.
author = Stephenie Meyer
country = United States
language = English
genre = Romance, Horror, Fantasy, Young Adult
publisher = Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Twilight" is a series of four vampire-based fantasy/romance novels by author Stephenie Meyer. It follows the adventures of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington and finds her life turned upside-down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of "Eclipse" and a portion of "Breaking Dawn" being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black. "Midnight Sun", if published, will be a retelling of the first book, "Twilight", from Edward Cullen's point of view.

The series is currently one of the most popular written for young adults, having sold 50 million copies worldwide [cite news | author=Larry Carroll | url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1583085/story.jhtml | title='Twilight' Co-Star Anna Kendrick Braces Herself For Buzz Bigger Than 'Harry Potter' | date=2008-03-11 | publisher=MTV | accessdate=2008-09-09] [cite news | author=Vicky Yan | url=http://thedaily.washington.edu/2008/8/13/taking-bite-look-vampire-love-and-lore-behind-twil/ | title=Taking a bite: A look at the vampire love and lore behind the Twilight series | date=2008-08-13 | publisher=The Daily of the University of Washington | accessdate=2008-09-09] [cite news | author=Melissa Olson | url=http://www.chippewa.com/articles/2008/08/16/entertainment/doc4889f6d33497d786324628.txt | title='Twilight' series retells a familiar love story | date=2008-07-25 | publisher=Chippewa Valley Newspapers | accessdate=2008-09-09] and over 7.7 million copies in the U.S. alone. [cite news | author=Julie Bloom | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/arts/21arts-TWILIGHTSAGA_BRF.html | title=Twilight Saga Tour | date=2008-06-21 | publisher=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-09-09] The books have been translated into over 20 different languages around the world. [cite news | author=Dan Glaister | coauthors=Sarah Falconer | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jul/20/news.booksforchildrenandteenagers | title=Mormon who put new life into vampires | date=2008-07-20 | publisher=The Observer | accessdate=2008-09-09]

Plot

=Twilight=

Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to allow her mother, Renée, to travel with her new husband, Phil, a baseball player. After moving to Forks, Bella finds herself involuntarily drawn to a mysterious, handsome boy, Edward Cullen, who turns out to be a vampire who drinks animal blood as opposed to human blood. They fall in love, and must fight off a rival clan of three vampires who are drawn to drink Bella's blood. Bella escapes to Phoenix, Arizona where she is tricked into confronting James, a sadistic vampire who wishes to kill her. Edward rescues her, and they return to Forks.

=New Moon=

Edward and his family leave Forks because of his belief that he is constantly endangering Bella's life. Bella falls into a deep depression, until she develops a strong friendship with werewolf Jacob Black. Jacob and the other wolves in his tribe must protect her from Victoria, an evil vampire who intends to avenge the death of James, her mate, by killing Bella. A misunderstanding occurs, and Edward is led to believe that Bella is dead. Edward decides to commit suicide in Volterra, Italy, but he is stopped by Bella and Alice. They meet with the Volturi and are let go on the condition that Bella be turned into a vampire in the near future. Bella and Edward are reunited, and the Cullens return to Forks.

=Eclipse=

The vampire Victoria has amassed an army of "newborn" vampires to battle the Cullen family and kill Bella. Meanwhile, Bella is forced to choose between her relationship with Edward and her friendship with Jacob. Edward's family of vampires and Jacob's pack of werewolves join forces to successfully destroy Victoria and her army of vampires. In the end, Bella chooses Edward's love over Jacob's. Jacob is devastated to hear of Bella's choice and of her decision to become a vampire.

Breaking Dawn

Bella and Edward get married, but their honeymoon is cut short by Bella's realization that she has become pregnant. Bella's pregnancy progresses at an extremely fast rate and makes her very weak. She nearly dies while giving birth to her and Edward's half-vampire-half-human daughter, Renesmee, but Edward injects Bella with his venom to save her life by turning her into a vampire. A vampire from another coven sees Renesmee and mistakes her for an "immortal child", the existence of which violates vampire rules, and informs the Volturi. The Cullens gather vampire witnesses who can verify that the child is not one of the immortal children. The Cullens and their witnesses convince the Volturi that Renesmee is not a danger to vampires or their secret, and they are left in peace.

Main characters

Bella Swan—The protagonist of the series, Bella is a perpetually clumsy "danger magnet". She is often portrayed as having low self-esteem and not being able to grasp Edward's love for her. Bella has dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. An important trait of hers is her immunity to supernatural abilities that involve the mind, such as Edward's mind reading. After her transformation into a vampire in the saga's fourth installment, Bella acquires the ability to immunize both herself and others from "mental harm" caused by opposing vampires' abilities. Edward Cullen—Edward is a vampire who lives with a coven of like-minded vampires known as the Cullen family, who feed on animals instead of humans. At first, Edward feels a mutual hatred toward Jacob Black due to his love toward Bella. In "Breaking Dawn", he comes to see Jacob as a brother and a friend. Like some vampires, Edward has a supernatural ability; his gift is mind reading, allowing him to read the thoughts of anyone within a few miles of himself. Bella is immune to his power as a human, but learns how to lower this "shield" after she becomes a vampire. Jacob Black—A minor character in the first novel, Jacob is introduced as a member of the Quileute tribe. He resurfaces in "New Moon" with a much larger role, becoming a werewolf and Bella's best friend as she struggles through her depression over losing Edward. Although he is in love with Bella, she initially sees him as just her best friend. In "Eclipse" Bella realizes that she loves Jacob as well, though this love is overpowered by her love for Edward Cullen. In "Breaking Dawn", Jacob finds his soul-mate in Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee, thus ridding him of his heartache for Bella.

etting

The story is set primarily in the town of Forks, Washington, where Bella Swan and her father, Charlie Swan, live. Other cities in Washington briefly appear in the series or are mentioned, such as Port Angeles, Olympia, Seattle and La Push. Some events in " Twilight" take place in Phoenix, Arizona, where Bella was raised. Volterra, Italy is featured in "New Moon", when Edward travels there to commit suicide and Bella rushes to save him. Jacksonville, Florida is mentioned in "Eclipse" when Edward and Bella visit her mother, who has moved there with her husband. Seattle, Washington is featured in "Breaking Dawn" when Jacob tries to escape his love for Bella, and when Bella tries to locate a man named J. Jenks. A fictional "Isle Esme" is mentioned in "Breaking Dawn", where Bella and Edward spend their honeymoon.

Future books

Stephenie Meyer originally planned to write a companion book to "Twilight" called "Midnight Sun". "Midnight Sun" would be the story of "Twilight" told from the point of view of Edward Cullen. She stated that "Twilight" was the only book that she planned to rewrite from Edward's point of view. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/video/festivals?bcpid=1378342280&bclid=1683773559&bctid=1688297816 "Entertainment Weekly" interview with Stephenie Meyer: Part 2] ] However, a copy of the first twelve chapters of "Midnight Sun" was illegally posted on the internet in its raw format. Stephenie Meyer has since put these twelve chapters of the book on her website so that her fans wouldn't feel guilty about reading it, but has put the project on hold indefinitely due to her upset at the situation. She stated, "If I tried to write "Midnight Sun" now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on "Midnight Sun", and so it is on hold indefinitely." [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Midnight Sun] ]

Confirmed are two companion books to the "Twilight" series: "The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide", due to come out December 30, and "Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion", due to be released October 28. [cite news|author=Sharon Hoffmann | title=Twilight shopping calendar | url=http://www.kansascity.com/twilight/story/818952.html | publisher=The Kansas City Star | date=2008-09-30 | accessdate=2008-10-01]

Film adaptations

A screenplay for "Twilight" was written by Melissa Rosenberg and has been adapted into a film by Summit Entertainment. The film is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke, with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the leading roles of Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen, respectively. It is set to be released on November 21, 2008. [cite news | author=Sabrina Rojas Weiss | url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/08/15/did-harry-potter-release-date-change-to-avoid-twilight-competition/ | title=Did 'Harry Potter' Release Date Change To Avoid 'Twilight' Competition? | date=2008-08-15 | publisher=MTV | accessdate=2008-09-09] [cite web |url=http://themovie-fanatic.com/the_buzz!/movie_news/twilight_new_date_of_release/ | title=A Strategic Move? Twilight moves release date to November 21st! |publisher=The Movie Fanatic | accessdate=2008-09-09 | language=English ]

Reception and influence

The series as a whole has received relatively negative reviews from critics. Laura Miller of "Salon.com" notes that "characters, such as they are, are stripped down to a minimum, lacking the texture and idiosyncrasies of actual people" and that "Twilight" would be a lot more persuasive as an argument that an "amazing heart" counts for more than appearances if it didn't harp so incessantly on Edward's superficial splendors."cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/07/30/Twilight/|title=Salon.com Review (Page 1)|publisher=Salon.com|accessdate=2008-09-17 ] cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/07/30/Twilight/index1.html|title=Salon.com Review (Page 2)|publisher=Salon.com|accessdate=2008-09-17 ] Gina R. Dalfonzo of "National Review Online" wrote that "In the final analysis, Meyer has deprived her characters of both choices and consequences. And young readers are left with the image of a girl who discovers her own worth and gets all she ever wanted, by giving up her identity and throwing away nearly everything in life that matters."cite web |url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTE4OTNmNzcxNDAzMTI3MTk5MWFkZTllNDQzZmZlNDA=&w=Mg=|title=NRO Review (Page 3)|publisher=National Review Online|accessdate=2008-09-17 ] Natalie Pompillo of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" criticized Meyer's writing, noting "Bella is often struck by Edward's beauty and icy perfection, to the point where I want to say, 'We get it. She thinks he's hot. Move along.' The author loves adjectives, adverbs, and any word that can stretch out a sentence."cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/26203399.html|title=Twilight Review at Inquirer|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=2008-09-17 ] Stephanie McGlothlin of "Tulsa World" noted that she felt the love story was dull, and wrote that the book didn't stand out from other vampire-human romance fiction.cite web |url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?articleID=20080804_44_D3_pncase537387|title=Tulsa World Reviewr|publisher=Tulsa World|accessdate=2008-09-23 ]

Economically, the town of Forks, Washington, the setting for the "Twilight" series, has improved due to tourism from fans of the books.cite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2008075490_twilight270.html|title=Effect on Forks Washington|publisher=The Seattle Times|accessdate=2008-08-31 |language=English ] The town also hosts "Twilight" tours, which visit places such as La Push's First Beach, the hospital where Carlisle Cullen supposedly works, and a two-story house meant to portray the Swan residence. In response to plans for the aging Forks High School to be renovated, "Twilight" fans have teamed up with Infinite Jewelry Co. and the West Olympic Peninsula Betterment Association to collect donations in an attempt to save the brick appearance or the building altogether.cite web |url=http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080913/NEWS/809130304|title=Forks High School|publisher="Peninsula Daily News"|accessdate=2008-09-17 ]

Merchandise

"Godiva" has released a "Twilight"-themed chocolate bar.cite news | author=Megan Warner |url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/07/30/take-a-bite-out-of-the-twilight-chocolate-bar/|title=Twilight Chocolate|publisher=MTV|date= 2008-07-30 |accessdate=2008-08-31 ] "Hot Topic" has released a "Twilight"-themed line of clothes, which includes t-shirts and hoodies.cite web |url=http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/store/nodePage.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302036927|title=Hot Topic Twilight shirts|publisher=Hot Topic|accessdate=2008-08-31 ] Torrid, a chain store owned by Hot Topic, also carries Twilight-themed clothing.cite web |url=http://www.torrid.com/torrid/store/nodePage.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302037462|title=Torrid T-Shirts|publisher=Torrid|accessdate=2008-09-23 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com Stephenie Meyer's website]
* [http://www.thetwilightsaga.com/ The Twilight Series's official website]
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