Forgive me if I offend any Shakespeare lovers when I say that Bill was the king of churning out banal, romantic pulp. Sure, he can turn a mean rhyme, and he has become wildly popular over the decades, with professors and critics endlessly dissecting his work for moral subtext. But, at heart, the Bard was a pulp writer with an eye for what turned people on.

Bill Shakespeare would be proud of Stephanie Meyer. Twilight is her bid for the Queen of Romantic Pulp. The story, unfulfilled and impossible love with a strong undercurrent of ugly duckling, is the stuff of bodice rippers. Meyer’s twist, girl loves vampire, is little more than a wink and nod at Romeo and Juliet.

The weaknesses of the first book in the series are twofold: First, Meyer seems to just be learning to write, as there isn’t much strong, descriptive writing, even though the premise and setting would lend itself to such. Second, the story is told in the first person by Bella, a teen age girl, riddled with all the same doubts and fears and wild anxieties of that species. But the perspective grows old quickly, especially after about the tenth time Bella comments on how dreamy Edward is and how lame she feels.

The strength of the first book is that Meyer was able to repackage an old story in a way that has captured a lot of imaginations, something Shakespeare was a pro at. Let’s call it a keen eye for marketing. I also enjoyed Meyer’s foray into the vampire mythology, giving it her own personal touch. Constant reworking of vampire and monster lore is the way it maintains longevity.

Bottom Line: Romantic pulp, but not awful in the way of storytelling. ( )

Awful. Honestly, I could hardly finish it, I was so angry with the character of Bella by the end of this book--if there's a more vapid, spineless, weak, pansy-butted female character in anything I've ever read, I can't remember it. What a disappointing role model, especially as popular as this series is! ( )

This isn't very good writing or plotting. Its merit is instead in the ability to make girls and women feel special because we're missing that feeling in our own lives.

A book that makes people feel as strongly as this one has is a special thing and S. Meyer certainly has a gift for that, but I found it hard work to ignore what I consider bad writing.

The plot is cliched and uninteresting (I kept reading because I wanted to get to the happy ending already, not because I thought I would be pleasantly surprised by an ending I hadn't expected), and the characters lack depth.

Meyer has concocted some interesting and unique ideas, but they're not given the special treatment they deserve in this novel. This might have been a better book if the plot didn't read like she'd written the first cliched thing that came into her head every time. ( )

This awesome book is 'can't put it down good' which is saying alot considering I don't usually care one bit about vampires. Twilight is full of suspense, action, drama and romance, making it an excellent teen read (good for adults too). Twilight lays the foundation for Stephanie Meyer's other books in the series - all of which are good. Though this is not a short novel, it is easily read due to its engaging content. Can't wait to read New Moon! ( )

If it wasn't required reading for my English class, I never would have finished 'Twilight'. The writing is awful and Bella is a terrible (and boring) protagonist. The beginning is slow and there's almost no plot until the end of the book. After finishing the whole thing and putting it away, I decided it wasn't that bad after all - but it's certainly not that good either. ( )

What can I say...I'm addicted! I read it again 06/15/2009 - I caught a lot of details I hadn't found the first time around ( )

This is a very popular book and most of the girls in the class and some boys too have read it. It is suitable for the seniors at school. We were lucky enough to get the book as part of the prize of the 50 most popular books for the year through the Whitcouls book competition.

Twilight is a book about a young teenage girl that lives with her mother until her mother decides to get married to a baseball player who has to move a lot. So the young teenage girl Bella, is moving with her father in a small town in Washington called Forks. At first she hates it there it always rains and there is hardly any sunshine. She starts to attend school and getting to know her peers well enough until she came to a class and sat next to a boy named Edward and he pushed himself as far away from her as possible. It was like he could not sit by her at all. Later on, Bella almost got hit by an car when Edward ran in front of her and stopped the car with his hand. After that day Bella had questioned him about that incident for days. Eventually she came to find out that he is a vampire, but he only eats animals. Throughout the book the two tend to fall in love and become closer and closer. So close that the bad vampires come after Bella. The bad vampires tricked Bella into thinking they had her mother when they didn't and with that being, Edward and his family tried to help her so Bella, Edward, and his family helped as much as possible by fighting off the bad vampires. In the end, Bella was in the hospital and told her parent's she had a horrible fall.

This book is an amazing book. It clearly describes step by step in the book and has a wonderful meaning. I think the meaning is that love can come from any where no matter who or what it is. This book is in fact a sequel there are three other books. I have referred this book to all my friends and family.

In a classroom, we could divide up into groups and just discuss this book amongst each other. Also, we could makeup our own questions and give them to other groups.

I borrowed this book from my sister and I have no direct need to own it, and yet... I know this is sort of pathetic, but I couldn't dislike this book. I've spend at least a year ignoring the hype and being sarcastic about it, but when I finally read it I enjoyed it. It is a bit fluffy and I surely don't think it deserves all the attention it has got, but it's a story that makes you want to read on nonetheless. And at least for a day it made me feel like I was a bit part of this whole world of Edward and Bella. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the sequels yet, but I might. ( )

this book was amazing everyone told me the end was the best but i disagree th beginning was interesting. i has saw the movie first and i still didnt get teh story but once i read the book the movie came to life. my friend dared me to read the book so i turned it into homework and chose it for english. i never liked reading butit only took me 4 days to read it. my favorite part is when bella finds out that edward was watching him sleep and how they took turn asking each other questions each day. the was d=good and even though it looks big its a fast read.

The book Twilight by Stephenie Myers was one of the best books I have read. During the beginning it was a little boring boring but i couldn't put the book down towards the end. The story is about an awkward teen, Bella, falling in love with a vampire, Edward. The couple faces many obstacles that try to end their relationship. The conflict of the story is when another group of vampires come into to town and their leader James attempts to kill Bella. I would recommend this book anybody who likes a romance novel and who doesn't mind reading a 498 page book. ( )

Stephanie Meyer has created a winning formula by injecting the popular mythology of the vampire into the coming age tale of stubborn protagonist Bella Swan. The characters may sometimes seem exaggerated and the style plain, but these characters are enrapturing enough to ensnare the reader into their tale of forbidden love and lurking danger. A light and entertaining read that keeps you hooked until the last page and leaves you hungry for more, of which there is plenty in the subsequent books of the series. ( )

Falling in love with Edward is a fun ride. ( )

Well, I thought it was good..I read it in 2 nights, but not so sure I'll read the rest of the series. Glad to see what all the hype was about, though! ( )

Lisez Anne Rice.

From Follett Titlewave:

Bergin, Melissa. "Twilight (Book Review)." Library Media Connection (2006) 20 Nov 2009

Martin, Hillias J. "Twilight (Book Review)." School Library Journal (2005) 20 Nov 2009

"Twilight (Book Review)." Booklist. Vol. 102, No. 6 (2005) 20 Nov 2009

"Twilight (Book Review)." Kirkus (2005) 20 Nov 2009

"Twilight (Book Review)." Horn Book (2006) 20 Nov 2009

"Twilight (Book Review)." Publishers Weekly (2005) 20 Nov 2009

(http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID...) ( )

Reviewed by Hillias J. Martin in
School Library Journal (v. 51 no. 10 (October 2005) p. 166) Found through HW Wilson collection
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.login.ez...

First of the Twilight series. Quite good, the best of the four.

It was really exciting at the end. ( )

Just to see what all the fuss is about.

What can I say I read it 3 times. Loved it!!!!! ( )

I made the mistake and watched the movie before I read the book. The reason being I never thought I would have to actually read it until I took this class. However, the book is better than the movie. After reading it I can tell that alot of incidents in the movie are just added for dramatic effect.

Bella moves with her father in the gloomy town of Forks so her mother can spend some time wtih her new hubby. While there she falls in love with Edward, a vampire. Even though Edward wants to drink her blood they still seem to make it work, and my prediction is that in the next part of the series that I do plan on reading, Bella will probably become a vampire before the end. Just my prediction. One difference that I noticed is that in the movie they never really said the words "I love you", but in the book the say it several times.

This book is about Bella and she moves to a new town to live with her father. She makes friends including one who is a vampire. She must deal with the challenges and adventures with her new friend, Edward.

This is an AWESOME book about two hearts that were doomed to love each other from the start. One of them holds a deadly and dangerous secret that the other is determined to uncover. When she does, it only causes her to fall even more desperately in love with him. This thrusts her in to danger and leaves her forever changed.

I LOVED this book. I saw the movie first and I just hated it. I though it was the stupidest vampire movie I had ever seen (this coming from someone who devoured Ann Rice books and was addicted to Buffy). I had no intention of reading the book. Then I signed up for child lit and saw that it was on the curriculum for the semester and on the list of books required for the class. So I bought it and it sat in the office for weeks. One day i was bored so I picked it up to get a head start on the reading assignment due at the end of the semester. A week and 1/2 later, I finished "Breaking Dawn". It was THAT good.

I thought about how I would integrate this into the curriculum in public schools. I guess I could use it as a modern day Romeo and Juliet. There are a lot of allusions to the Shakespearian play in the book. I could ask the students to draw a parallel between the characters of the play and the book and also point out the contrasts between the two. In my opinion, the love between Bella and Edward is much deeper and less fickle than that which existed between Romeo and Juliet.

I want to tell everyone right off the bat why I read this book. I read this book 1st. Because it was one of two choices offered in my college level Children's Lit. class for review, and 2nd because my daughter (eleven) is gaga over the Twilight series (even though she has never seen ANY of the movies, or read ANY of the books.) So before allowing her to read the book I made it my choice for review and picked it up, already with some bias in my mind, thinking that it would be none other than a sappy pre-teen style romance.

In summery the book is about Bella, who goes to live in rainy, Forks, Washington with her father for the school year. Lonely as she is, she meets STRANGE Edward (of course he is the vampire). He WARNS her away (sorta) but is hopelessly attracted to her and does not stay away. Bella appears to be like a lost puppy without him, unable to survive or even manage on her own. Over half of the book is devoted to character development and then maybe about a fourth of the book is a decent suspense/action adventure with some real plot. I yawned my way through much of the book but found some value to the attention the author gave to fleshing out her characters (I felt like I really knew them). I really wish she could have been a bit more brief.

I thought the messages in this book were VERY unacceptable for teenagers, ESPECIALLY girls! I borrowed some of the bellow references from another (anon.) reader, so I cannot guarantee the page accuracy. I can vouch for the validity of the content presented, so I want to share with you the compare/contrast between Bella (our heroin) and Edward (love interest/villain/hero???)
Bella, Our Heroine:

Pg. 117: I tried to keep up better this time through the woods, so naturally I fell a few times.
Pg. 191: ”I fall down a lot when I run.”
Pg. 210: ”[I’m] so clumsy that I’m almost disabled.”
Pg. 212: ”Are you referring to the fact that you can’t walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?”
Pg. 221: I somehow managed to hit myself in the head with my racket…
Pg. 231: The pressure made me more clumsy than usual…
Pg. 284: ”Bella, I’ve already expended a great deal of personal effort at this point to keep you alive.”
Pg. 442: I tripped several times, once falling.
Pg. 485: …I fell down a lot…

Ahh, my friends! my friends, take a gander, take a glimpse now at Edward, simplified:

Pg. 253: He wasn’t smiling at first….He laughed….He chuckled….He laughed again.
Pg. 256: …godlike creature…
Pg. 258: He smiled….He smirked....His smirk grew more pronounced.
Pg. 260: …literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface.
Pg. 285: …he simply bent his face to mine, and brushed his lips slowly along my jaw, from my ear to my chin, back and forth. I trembled.
Pg. 287: The light of the setting orb glittered off his skin in ruby-tinged sparkles.
Pg. 292: …godlike creature……dreamlike in his beauty, but no longer the fantastic sparkling creature of our sunlit afternoon.
Pg. 302: He laughed his quiet, musical laugh. He’s laughed more tonight than I’d ever heard in all the time I’d spent with him.
Pg. 306: I could feel his cool breath on my neck, feel his nose sliding along my jaw, inhaling….He chuckled, and then sighed….He chuckled.
Pg. 333: His smile widened over his brilliant teeth….He smiled.
Pg. 338: He chuckled darkly….He laughed.
Pg. 339: …he sighed….He smiled half a smile….he said, smiling.
Pg. 341: …a gentle angel’s smile lit his expression.
Pg. 344: He shrugged, smiling slightly……his smile faded and his forehead creased……a faint smile touched his lips.
Pg. 345: Then he flashed a wide, wicked smile….he chuckled….he grinned….he just laughed.
Pg. 346: …was still chuckling quietly….was grinning.
Pg. 349: He assured me with a grin….he smiled…he grinned widely.
Pg. 362 His nose drew a line up the skin of my throat to the point of my chin.
Pg. 473: His mouth looked as if it was chiseled from stone.
Pg. 486: He grinned, and then chuckled.

It concerns me deeply that Edward is described as "Godlike". As a middle aged woman I am all too aware of what happens when women/girls start looking at men/boys as little miniature gods! Boy are we/they disappointed, and think of the pressures we put on the men/boys. Anyway obviously this book is a fantasy to I could let SOME of that slide, but STILL, it is rife with sexual tension (don't teens have enough problems with sexual tension without having to be tempted by a BOOK). And lastly, I was very concerned about Edward who is VERY much older than Bella, pretending to be younger than he really is... he stalks her, hunts her and "dazzles" her... Seems very pedophile like and less animalistic/predator, which ultimately nauseated me to the point of choking down the last 100 or so pages!

Having said all of this; the ONLY reason I could fathom that teenage girls (my daughter tells me the boys could care less about this book/movie) would be interested in this book/movie is the BOY/MAN factor.. Which means ultimately that this book has just enough sexual tension to attract teenage girls (and younger) like little magnets. I will call it, ***The Vampire Factor***.
Final thought: I interviewed three girls age 11-15 about Twilight the book and movie. Never once did any of them talk about the story, the feelings, or any particular events or scenes... The entire conversation was "WHO WAS THE CUTEST."

I WOULD NOT CHOOSE THIS BOOK FOR USE IN A CLASSROOM OR FOR ANY REASON ASIDE FROM PRIVATE SELECTION IN A HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY. SO THERE ARE NO EXTENSION ACTIVITIES.

I rest my case. ( )