The Cullens are a mysterious family residing in the little town of Forks, Washington. When Bella Swan moves there to live with her father, she misses the heat and friendships of Phoenix--and definitely can't get used to all her new male classmates, who are practically tripping over each other to win her attention.

But none of the guys capture Bella's interest. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Edward Cullen. Despite his initial rude reactions to her, despite everyone's warnings about the Cullens being weird, Bella is intrigued. Perhaps it's his manner of speaking, very elegant and eloquent. Perhaps it's his siblings, all aloof and beautiful. Perhaps it's the secret strength she sees exhibited in a car accident that should've killed her...but didn't.

The more Bella gets to know Edward, the more she realizes that she knows nothing. He is a vampire, after all, brimming with secrets and unwilling to get too friendly with a human. But, of course, as the back cover tells us, Bella finds herself falling "unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him." Can love conquer all, even between two very different species?

Twilight is the first novel in Stephenie Meyer's uber-popular series, which has garnered enough attention in the past three years to already have been made into a movie. Everywhere you turn, someone (probably a girl between 12 and 25) is gushing about the Twilight Saga. Case in point: my roommate (22) saw the movie, then purchased all four books and plowed through in a weekend. Nearly all the teens I work with have been asking me for months if I've started Twilight yet. Even my very picky cousin (16) who freaked out about the evils of Harry Potter consumed the set in a few days.

Is Twilight really that good? Does it truly earn the grand compliment of girls locking themselves into their rooms, devouring thousands of pages in a short time span?

Kind of.

Part of what makes it so popular, I think, is the writing style. Meyer has good flow and a decent way with words. Even though her writing isn't the most beautiful thing to hit the page, it's accessible, easy to understand, and really easy to read fast. (Most of the teens I've talked to have finished in a day or two, regardless of reading fluency.) I was a bit leery about starting a vampire novel, having never read this genre before and not being a big fantasy fan and not enjoying blood, gore, or generally dark stories. But the nice thing is that you don't have to being into vampires to get this story: Meyer supplies all the background knowledge, and it's really more of a teen love story than anything--and just happens to involve vampires.

That doesn't mean there's no blood. A few very bloody incidents occur near the end, but mostly, there's just talk of blood. Twilight is pretty clean, all things considered: about three swear words and a few hints toward Bella and Edward's sexuality. I would be careful about giving this to anyone too young, though (probably best for a 14+ audience). Edward does sneak into Bella's room at night, and she often sleeps next to him--but that, along with hand-holding and some light kissing, is about as far as it gets. Actually, the thing that got to be gratuitous was...Bella's description of Edward.

One can only describe another person's looks for so long. After Bella compared him to a Greek god for the millionth time, I was ready to puke. In fact, a lot of her affection seems to hinge on the fact that he's abnormally good-looking. Thanks, Meyer, I already figured that out for myself. Please stop making your main character gush and swoon.

Besides that, the main problem I had with Twilight was Bella's personality switch. Bella starts out as this endearing, clumsy girl. She doesn't seem to see how beautiful she really is, doesn't feel she's worth anyone's time--and I think we can all relate to that a little. However, the plotline kinda plods along for the first 250 pages, and I kept wondering to myself why everyone thought this was sooo special. Then, by the last half of the book, the action picks up, but Bella has traded in her insecurities for a hopeless obsession, all sappy and predictable, making huge promises and basically forsaking everything good so she can cling to Edward. Can anyone say "unhealthy"? It bothers me so much that characters can't ever find a decent balance between cloud nine and reality--maybe that's all a normal part of "puppy love," but I think it becomes damaging when we as readers begin to mis-label this type of reckless emotion as "love." (Maybe it's just me, but I'm extra-wary: my perception of love has gotten awfully warped by fiction in the past.)

By the end, I was fascinated by the Cullen mysteries that were finally revealed, frustrated by the book's predictability, and still somehow excited to read the next one. After all the hype, I guess I was expecting a little more than just a small twist on the basic teen romance. If Meyer had dug a little more into the plot and cut out a few pages of gushy, over-the-top interaction, I might've enjoyed this more. Compared to a lot of the teen romance junk out there, I'd say this is nearing the top of the pile...but definitely not as amazing as it's been labeled.

(A tricky thing, though, isn't it? Despite my criticisms, I'm still consenting to read the next books. If you can get through the first half, it's hard to put down. Sometimes, even lots of flaws and annoyances can't overtake a decent story.)

Don't read this if you can't stomach blood or teen romance. Do think about it if you're trying to keep up with what kids are reading these days (or if you are one of the kids doing all the reading these days :). Don't expect it to be the finest piece of fiction you've ever encountered. Do expect a little charm and a little use of your gag reflex. Personally, I'm not excited that my girls are, once again, falling in love with a story that gives such unrealistic and over-the-top notions about what love is. But...I can understand what draws them to it, and for that, I have to give Meyer a little credit. I just hope the rest of the series can justify some of the hype.

Saga Reviews:
Book 2: New Moon
Book 3: Eclipse
Book 4: Breaking Dawn

Recommended: Yes