Product Description

"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)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.com Review
The book that started the phenomenon is now available in a deluxe collector's edition! Featuring a ribbon bookmark, cloth cover, ragged edges, new chapter opener designs, and a beautiful protective slipcase, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

Bella 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, Bella'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 Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–When Bella Swan moves from sunny Phoenix to Forks, Washington, a damp and dreary town known for the most rainfall in the United States, to live with her dad, she isnt expecting to like it. But the level of hostility displayed by her standoffish high school biology lab partner, Edward Cullen, surprises her. After several strange interactions, his preternatural beauty, strength, and speed have her intrigued. Edward is just as fascinated with Bella, and their attraction to one another grows. As Bella discovers more about Edwards nature and his family, she is thrown headlong into a dangerous adventure that has her making a desperate sacrifice to save her one true love. One of the more original vampire constructs around, this recording of Stephenie Meyers debut novel (Megan Tingley Books, 2005) is narrated with great style by Ilyana Kadushin, who makes the infinitely romantic tale of star-crossed lovers resonate with a bittersweet edge. Although Edward and Bellas romance and subsequent danger develops slowly, the pacing is appropriate for teens who want learn all the details in this suspenseful tale. An excellent purchase for both school and public libraries.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
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From AudioFile
Stephanie Meyer's teen-vampire romance offers an appealing heroine in Bella, transplanted from sunny Phoenix to the wet, dreary town of Forks, Washington, and the seductive, secretive object of her obsession, Edward, who may or may not be a vampire. Predictability doesn't keep this spine-tingling tale from being fun, but alas, Ilyana Kadushin's reading, does. Her speaking voice is thin and underdeveloped, and any sense of nuance is nonexistent. Kadushin doesn't try to give the characters personalities, so distinguishing between speakers is difficult. This is one of those rare times in audiobook listening when the writing exceeds the reader's capabilities. Still, the story is engrossing and the characters well drawn, ensuring that older teens will find much to enjoy. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

From A Man Who Has Read 'Twilight'
For many reasons I banned reading this book. Working in retail with teenie girls barraging the bookstands demanding for the next Stephanie Meyer book was just annoying and made me believe these books were meant for the intelligently-deficient. A friend online said I should at least try it and see for myself. I thought about J.K. Rowling's work. I hated Harry Potter at first, then gave the books a chance since all my friends did, and turns out I loved them all. In thinking that Harry Potter wasn't just meant for kids, maybe Twilight wasn't just meant for dumb teenie girls.

So I read it. I freaking loved it!

I'm not big on romance novels, but this isn't just a romance novel. It's so much more than that. This is by far the most original vampire story I've read since H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shunned House." Meyer wasn't biased by all the Hollywood stereotypes of vampires like Buffy, Dracula, Lestat, or Blade. She had her own image in mind and stuck to it creating the most beautifully elegant vampires I've seen yet. In fact, I much more prefer these vampires over the others. They're more powerful, more understandable, have so much depth to them, you really feel for them, and their histories certainly make you wonder.

This being Stephanie Meyer's first book just impresses me. I must buy the other books now. A female coworker told other coworkers, "I can't see a guy reading this." I felt challenged, and did it anyway finding out that I am a male that loved Twilight. Bella and Edward share a love that can only be called "true love": limitless, eternal, and unbreakable. This is the only love anyone, whether they admit it or not, truly wants. I'm a helpless romantic, I confess, so this touched me in a different way. Albeit, I hold a dark sense-of-humor, and Meyer seems to also hold a wee bit of a dark sense-of-humor too. There are many moments I laughed, almost broke out in tears (I can imagine sad teenaged girls doing so), and nodded in great gratification. I didn't see any godlike battles between the superhuman vampires in this one, which I started expecting about halfway through, but I know there are more books to come and I'm sure I'll be in for a treat.

One day I may have to reread this book again. For now, I'm keeping it on my Kindle and can't wait to start reading "New Moon." Next on my list! This is like Harry Potter where it's like reading a soap opera where so much happens.

Suspense? Yes. Active? Oh my yes. Hard to put down? Yeah!

This is one man in the world who has read Twilight, and personally loved it. Has nothing to do with the fact I live in the Phoenix area and a part of the novel takes place here. I'm actually a northern person who grew up in the Northeast, so I could envision all the settings perfectly. (That may have helped in my case.) Anyways, if you're looking for a book that will help you feel something and keep you locked to the pages, then go ahead and pick up Twilight, because you won't be disappointed.

Speechless, sleepless, and addicted to vampires
I had to take a break from reading the series after book two because I had circles under my eyes from lack of sleep that were darker than Edward's when he's thirsty. These books are unbelievably addicting and everything ever said about Edward is true. Read with caution!

Twilight book 1
I read this book (and the rest of the 4 book series) because my 11 year old niece was reading them. I was a little concerned with the romance theme but overall this was a an excellent book and fun to read. It opened up the ability to talk about dating rules in the future, responsible love versus this fantasy version, where it would possibly be harder to get a teen to talk about it with an adult. I have read this book and book 4 twice.