Stephenie Meyer - Twilight

A few weeks ago I noticed that my fifteen-year-old daughter had abandoned her computer and was buried in a book. Now, this is not completely unusual as she does go through spells of voracious reading (a trait she inherited from me). Still, it was somewhat unusual for her to do NOTHING but read. I noticed the book sitting on her bed a couple of times but I hadn't had time to pick it up and see what it actually was.

Then, last week my twenty-year-old daughter came into the kitchen and tossed a book at me. "You have to read this," she said. I recognized the cover as the book my younger daughter had been reading and finally picked it up.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. I had never heard of this particular writer, or of this particular book. I read the back cover and I was immediately intrigued. A vampire book. Now, I am not generally intrigued by vampires. The vampire movies that are prevalent on TV generally bore me. But something about the way the back cover was written drew me in.

I had a bit of time, so I sat down with the book. Big mistake. Once I started reading, I simply couldn't stop. It was a good thing it was a Saturday afternoon with no compelling place I had to go. By the end of the evening, I had finished the book - all 498 pages of it. I have always tended to be a fast reader and am blessed with being able to absorb material I read fast. Twilight had become a compulsion from the very beginning. I had to know more. I had to find out what happened.

After I finished I was somewhat distraught that the book was done with. I started to regret reading it so fast. And then my daughter informed me that she had finished book two. There was a sequel? I was elated. And became even more elated when my daughters told me there were actually four books and they had purchased all of them.

It has been a long time since I have been so grabbed by a writer. And in truth I was somewhat surprised with my reaction to this book. I have never much liked books written in first person, and Twilight is such a book. Most of the time I find it hard to relate to the characters in books written in first person. But not this time. Stephenie Meyer has written a masterpiece in Twilight. Her first person works. I felt as if I had stepped into the shoes of the main character.

Plot development is also extremely well done in Twilight. I am a writer, and because of that I have an uncanny ability to see where the writer is going in the storyline. Most of the time. With Twilight, I didn't get a clear picture of what was going to happen. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something changed. There were no holes in the plot. There were no slowdowns or places that didn't work. The character development was excellent and by the time I finished the book the characters were firmly in my head. I not only felt as if I knew them personally, I felt I had been personally involved in the entire story. At times the book caused me to laugh out loud, fume in indignation, or cry. Twilight has the ability to evoke an emotional response from the reader, something many books strive to achieve but only the best actually do.

So what is Twilight about? I don't want to ruin it so I am going to give a very brief overview. Twilight is a love story. It is a story about a human girl falling in love with a vampire. The story covers their conflicts and passages as they get to know each other and pass through their days. Edward is the epitome of the perfect man (he is also the vampire). Bella is the very human girl he is trying so very hard to not fall in love with (or kill). Together they forge an intricate relationship that was meant to be and neither one can deny it.

The story is set in Forks, Washington, a small town on the other side of Washington State from where I live. Several of my friends actually came from Forks. I found it astonishing to find a vampire novel set in Forks, but it really worked. In fact, I can't imagine the story working as well anywhere else.

Stephenie Meyer has a wonderful way with words. Her descriptions are excellent and her writing style moves the story along in such a way that the reader cannot help but follow.

While Twilight qualifies as a young adult book, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is unequivocably the best vampire novel I have ever read. Ms. Meyer has created a masterpiece, a fictional story presented in such a way that it crosses the dimensions of the completely supernatural and leaves a doubt that maybe, just maybe, vampires could exist in such a manner.

I highly recommend Twilight. It is well-written and just one of those books that I know I will read over and over again. My daughters each want their own copies of the set so I will have to buy my own copies. No problem.