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Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) | 
| Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: EBooks
List Price: $5.99
Buy New: $4.79
You Save: $1.20 (20%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  1499 reviews
Sales Rank: 6
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
ASIN: B000QRIGLW
Publication Date: July 18, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
"Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. 'Be very still,' he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat." As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship. Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Stephenie Meyer Q: Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Angel? What are you watching now that those shows are off the air? A: I have never seen an entire episode of Buffy or Angel. While I was writing Twilight, I let my older sister read along chapter by chapter. She's a huge Buffy fan and she kept trying to get me to watch, but I was afraid it would mess up my vision of the vampire world so I never did. I don't have a ton of time for TV, and my kids get rowdy when I have on "mommy shows," but I do have a secret fondness for reality shows (the good ones, at least in my opinion). I always TiVo Survivor, The Amazing Race, and America's Next Top Model.
Q: What inspired you to write Twilight? Is this the beginning of a series? Why write for teens?
A: Twilight was inspired by a very vivid dream, which is fairly faithfully transcribed as chapter thirteen of the book. There are sequels on the way--I'm hard at work editing book two (tentatively titled New Moon) right now, and book three is waiting in line for its turn.
I didn't mean to write for teens--I didn't mean to write for anyone but myself, so I had an audience of one twenty-nine year old (and later one thirty-one year old when my sister started reading). I think the reason that I ended up with a book for teens is because high school is such a compelling time period--it gives you some of your worst scars and some of your most exhilarating memories. It's a fascinating place: old enough to feel truly adult, old enough to make decisions that affect the rest of your life, old enough to fall in love, yet, at the same time too young (in most cases) to be free to make a lot of those decisions without someone else's approval. There's a lot of scope for a novel in that.
Q: What is your favorite vampire story? Fave vampire movie?
A: I guess my favorite vampire story would be The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice, simply because it's one of the only ones I've ever read. I keep meaning to pick up Bram Stoker's Dracula, because I get asked this question so often and I should probably start with the classics, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Again, I'm afraid to read other vampire books now, for fear of finding things either too similar, or too different from my own vampire world. Ack! I can't even answer the movie question. I can't remember ever seeing a single vampire movie, outside of clips from Bela Lugosi movies on TV. I don't like true horror movies--my favorite scary movies are all Hitchcock's.
Q: What other young adult authors do you read?
A: My favorite young adult author is L.M. Montgomery I also enjoy J.K. Rowling (but who doesn't?), and Ann Brashares. As a teen, I skipped straight to adult books (lots of sci-fi and Jane Austen), so I'm rediscovering the world of teen literature now.
Stephenie Meyer's List of Books You Should Read 
Anne of Green Gables | 
Romeo and Juliet | 
Dragonflight | 
To Kill a Mockingbird | 
The Princess Bride |
See more recommendations from Stephenie Meyer
Amazon.com's Significant Seven
Stephenie Meyer graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: The book with the most significant impact on my life is The Book of Mormon. The book with the most significant impact on my life as a writer is probably Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card, with Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier coming in as a close second.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: The CD is easy: Absolution by Muse, hands down. It's harder to give myself just one movie, but the one I watch most frequently is Sense and Sensibility--the one with the screenplay by Emma Thompson. One book is impossible. I'd have to have Pride and Prejudice, but I couldn't live without something by Orson Scott Card and a nice, thick Maeve Binchy, too.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: My lies are all very, very boring: "No, you really look great in hot pink!" "My children only watch one hour of TV a day." "I didn't eat the last Swiss Cake Roll--it must have been one of the kids." That's the best I've got.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: It's late at night and the house is silent, but I'm still (miraculously) full of energy. I have my headphones in and I'm listened to a mix of Muse, Coldplay, Travis, My Chemical Romance, and The All-American Rejects. Beside me is a fabulous, and yet mysteriously low in calorie, cheesecake....
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: I'd like it to say that I really tried at the important things. I was never perfect at any of them, but I honestly tried to be a great mom, a loving wife, a good daughter, and a true friend. Under that, I'd want a list of my favorite Simpsons quotes.
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: I'd love to have a chance to talk to Orson Scott Card--I have a million questions for him. Mostly things like, "How do you come up with this stuff?!" But, if he wasn't available, I'd settle for Matthew Bellamy (lead singer of Muse).
Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: I'd want something offensive, rather than defensive. Like shooting fireballs from my hands. That way, you're really open to going either way--hero or villain. I like to have choices.
Product Description
Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1494 more reviews...
 Pure escapist fantasy May 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Perhaps you're a fan of the vampire "genre." Perhaps you're looking for a little horror/romance. Or maybe, like most fans of this book, you're just looking for an unrealistic romance fantasy. Unless you fall into the latter category, you are bound to be disappointed.
The characters are supremely unrealistic--and just as uncreative. The heroin of the story, Bella Swan, is a typical damsel in distress. She has low self-esteem, despite the fact that she is apparently drop-dead gorgeous, and from the moment she enters her new school immediately has plenty of friends and admirers--and of course the required "jealous mean girls."
Aside from her self-esteem issues, Bella also has another problem. To put it bluntly, she is too stupid to live. Every chance she gets, she manages to put herself in danger--a fact that even the other characters mention. Despite having grown up in a city like Phoenix, she is naive enough to go wandering around the first unfamiliar town she comes to, and is almost raped by a gang of men (that she plans to fight off, instead of running away from). Luckily, her knight in shining armor, Edward appears out of nowhere to save her, in his shiny Volvo.
Later, she also goes to give up her own life by facing off against a vampire that wants to eat her, in order to try to save her mother--without telling the entire family of powerful vampires that she is friends with, or asking them for help. In fact, she does everything in her power to escape them, so that she can sacrifice herself without them trying to stop her.
Edward, besides being a vampire, is also apparently a stalker. Besides following Bella to another city, he also reveals that he has made a habit of breaking into her house and watching her sleep at night. And all this happens before they even begin dating. When Bella hears this, she is FLATTERED. Whereas she views her other admirers, who show their affection in far more normal ways (not the least of which by making her feel welcome in a completely new environment--something most teenagers would be grateful for), with mild annoyance.
Edward also does not suffer from ANY traditional vampire vulnerabilities. Not even sunlight. Why, then, do vampires stay out of the sun? Rather than burst into flame, they sparkle. Which would just draw too much attention.
Of course, he keeps the immortality, indestructibility, pale beauty, lighting fast reflexes, blinding speed, and all around perfection that comes with being a vampire, and is psychic to boot. The only drawback to his gift is that he requires blood to survive--which he gets from mountain lions.
Of course, such unrealistic characters deserve an equally unrealistic relationship. It is love at first sight for both characters. It is easy to see why Bella falls for the pretty boy, since his astounding, "god-like" beauty is described vividly at every opportunity, but why does Edward, who has had hundreds of years to find the perfect mate, choose Bella, a normal, clumsy, unremarkable, and reckless girl?
Well, we never really know--the closest thing to a reason we get is that she smells good.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, by all means, order this book. If you would like to imagine yourself the prettiest girl in school, who instantly makes friends, and has four or five admirers to turn down, before settling with her stalker vampire honey, who constantly saves her from her own stupidity, then you will Twilight.
If you want a good read, with realistic and interesting characters and a plot that makes sense, look elsewhere. It won't be hard to find something better.
 The BEST book EVER May 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have never read a book like this in my life. I didnt even have dinner, breakfast in the morning and lunch until i was done with the book. That is how exciting the book is..! it is the best. i have read this book 4 times alredy and i am still not tired of it!
Excellent, Excellent book. May 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I notice some of the "bad" reviews are being overly critical. Yes, Bella does glare a lot...but Meyer did not write it without cause. I actually enjoyed the narration by Swan, who was incredibly easy to relate to on so many levels.
Edward was not only beautiful, you negative people you. He was smart, mysterious and of course, played hard to get. What every woman wants, though we rarely admit it.
How could you NOT imagine what he looks like...I honestly had beautiful dreams of him while reading the series.
Another thing I would like to note on, is the "bad messages" you say she is implementing in the books.
"Girls, life is not worth living unless you have your man. It's okay to have no dreams, ambitions, hobbies, interests, goals, ideas, friends, etc... as long as you have your man. It's okay, and in fact desirable that you stay with a man forever, even though he may very likely kill you, or at least injure you, in the future. Growing into mature adulthood and eventually old age is a fate worse than death. True Love is based on appearances and physical aspects. And the list goes on."--Gaimangirl
This is absurd, really. It is about growing up awkwardly, not fitting in, and knowing your soul mate. Things most girls and women go through, and will understand. (maybe not the last part, though I wish it would to me! =D )
And for "fer Chrissakes", there are things such as other books and especially movies and games, that young people choose to (and are allowed by parents) to see that are FAR FAR worse when it comes to these "messages".
It's beyond me why you didn't enjoy the book.
For new readers-
This book is filled with heart stopping romance and decent "turn-of-events". lol.
Enjoy please.
An Intriguing Book!!! May 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Upon picking up Twilight, I was very hesistant to read it, but 100 pages in to it, I fell in love with this breathtaking story!!! The way Meyer tells the story is very relatable, vivid, and detailed. What I also loved was the fact that Meyer puts her own fresh twist on cliche vampire stories!! The characters were very relatable and this book contained romance, fantasy, and action all in one and that makes for a good book!!! Even though this book is not the type of book I would find myself picking up in the book store, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it and almost missed out on this awesome book that is now my favorite!! Please keep writing Mrs.Meyer!!!
 Bordering on the verge of a cheesy romance novel. May 15, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I read the book Twilight, after my cousins repeatedly raved to me how great it was, and I was more inclined to read it after hearing that it would be adapted to the big screen later this year. I thought, it must be good, right? First, to put it bluntly, the storyline passed dreadfully slow. There were so many chapters with really nothing pertaining to the plot that could have been easily edited out. And, the protagonist's thoughts about her godlike crush were mentioned too many times. I'm sorry, but I was wrong thinking this would be good, just since it was being turned into a movie. I mean, remember Eragon?
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