*This is a book review that includes some opinions. There are spoilers, some may be considered major.

About the Saga

The Twilight Saga is an immensely popular book series by Stephenie Meyer. The series has been adapted into several movies, and companion novels have also been written. The sage is a vampire/fantasy/romance story. If you aren’t interested in those genres, then Twilight probably isn’t for you. The books don’t solely focus on romance, but it’s a main part of the storyline. There are several scenes in each book and in the movies along with some violence that may unsettle younger readers. There is also slightly heavy emotional content that might be harder to comprehend.

Main Arc

Book 1: Twilight

Twilight is the first book in the Twilight saga. The book introduces all of the characters and develops relationships well. The main character, Isabella (Bella) Swan originally lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her mother and her new husband, a minor league baseball player. She moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father (divorced from her mother) so her mother and her husband can travel. Her father happens to be the police chief in the small town.

While attending high school in Forks, Bella meets a mysterious boy, Edward Cullen. As you might have guessed, Edward is a vampire. At first, Edward is drawn to Bella because of her strange immunity to vampire abilities. (Abilities manifest in various vampires when they are turned. It’s usually a characteristic that is heightened by turning into a vampire, so much that it becomes supernatural. The abilities range from conscious manipulation, like projecting emotions, to physical advantages, like enhanced strength.) Edward’s family, consisting of his parents Carlisle and Esme, and his siblings Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett, are all vampires that have vowed to not attack humans. Another important character is Jacob Black. He is a Quileute (a Native American tribe) and has a little supernatural secret of his own. He befriends Bella and tries to protect her from Edward after they find out what he is.

Bella and Edward’s relationship develops to the point that Bella discovers Edward is a vampire. They slowly fall in love, and Bella even tries to persuade the Cullens’ to change her into a vampire. However, the Cullens refuse to protect her. The danger of living near vampires becomes apparent when a tracker vampire by the name of James decided to kill Bella for sport, interested in the Cullens’ protectiveness. Though Bella survives the ordeal, it leaves her wounded and Edward becomes even more conflicted about his influence on Bella. Overall, this book is a really good series starter and you should definitely read it.

Book 2: New Moon

New Moon is the second book. This book continues to emphasize the dangers of vampire society. All the characters feel strong emotions, and more surprises come that confirm Bella’s innocence and unawareness of supernatural beings. Bella starts the story by visiting the Cullens for a party. A paper cut nearly causes Jasper to lose control and attack Bella. Believing their proximity to Bella is endangering her (with proof like James and Jasper), the Cullens temporarily leave Forks. Bella sinks into depression and starts to participate in dangerous activities like riding a motorcycle and jumping into the ocean from a cliff. She finds a faithful friend in Jacob Black but finds he can’t replace Edward. They develop their relationship and appear to possibly have mutual feelings for each other. Jacob is later revealed to also be not entirely human, but a werewolf and he and his tribe decide to help protect Bella.

Still, even with those precautions, Bella’s existence is discovered by the Volturi. The Volturi is a powerful coven, with a presence that matches human royalty. Unlike the Cullens, they aren’t vegetarian and have no qualms about slaughtering humans, although they conceal their tracks. They threaten to kill Bella for learning their secrets, but then they find her unique talent, which is immunity to others’ abilities (like how Edward can’t read her mind). That talent is like a sign of what ability she would possess should she become a vampire. The Volturi spare her after they are led to believe that Bella would become a vampire in the future, therefore keeping their existence a secret from humans.

*Several readers complain that this book is boring because of the absence of Edward in the first part of the book. However, I think the development of Bella and Jacob’s relationship is really important to the plot, and this book is still really good.

Book 3: Eclipse

In the third book, the characters develop further and Bella seems to mature greatly as she reflects over her human life and becomes even more resolved to become an immortal. Edward and Jacob argue several times about Bella and her safety, while Bella is determined to prove to the Cullens that she should be turned into a vampire. Several characters like Rosalie and Jasper reveal some of their pasts to dissuade Bella, allowing the reader to learn more about them.

A series of killings in Seattle is suspected to be the doing of a newborn vampire (newborns can’t control their thirst as well). Later, it is revealed that Victoria is back and looking for revenge. Of course, Bella is her target because she was the reason why James was killed. This revelation causes Edward to become overprotective and he prevents Bella from seeing Jacob. Of course, the opposite happens, and Bella seeks out Jacob instead. Afterward, Edward and Bella reconcile and he even takes Bella to see Jacob. Amidst this chaos, Bella is getting ready to graduate. Edward tries to convince her to apply, but she insists that college is irrelevant since she will become a vampire anyway. This leads to more conflicts. Then, right before Bella graduates, they learn that Victoria is armed with an army of newborns who were the source of the killing in Seattle. Going to extreme lengths, the Cullens and Jacob’s tribe decide to work together to defeat the army.

In this book, Bella finally decides to pick Edward and rejects Jacob. She cries later but then promises to never shed a tear for Jacob again because of Edward. In the course of choosing Edward, Bella starts to cut off ties with the human world. But to make her integration to the Cullens more believable, she and Edward decide to get married. In the next book, the story picks up at Bella and Edward’s honeymoon, where they get an unexpected gift.

Book 4: Breaking Dawn

On Bella and Edward’s honeymoon, Bella starts to get sick and Edward gets concerned. However, the concern turns to happiness when Bella finds out that she’s pregnant. They name the baby girl Renesmee. But since Bella is still human at the time, their child is different from a human child. The baby develops very quickly, injuring Bella in the process. When Bella gives birth, her stomach needs to be cut open before the baby harms Bella further. Bella dies in the process of giving birth. But wait! Edward injects Bella with venom, successfully saving her life and turning her into a vampire.

This sounds like a happily ever after, but no. A vampire from another coven spots Renesmee and mistakes her for an “immortal child.” An immortal child is a human child who has been turned into a vampire. They are illegal to vampires, since children usually have poor self-control, and being turned into a vampire means they will stay that way permanently. Therefore, they will likely be unable to control themselves and kill humans or reveal the existence of vampires. This draws the attention of the Volturi, the coven that was mentioned in New Moon (the second book). Sort of like an ultimate showdown, the Cullens prepare to gather allies in case the Volturi don’t believe that Renesmee is half-human, half-vampire. They are even able to find another half-human half-vampire who has grown up in secrecy.

Finally, the Volturi turn away, slightly mollified with the evidence provided by the Cullens. Thus, from here, Bella and Edward’s happily ever after begins.

Companion Novels

Life or Death: Twilight Reimagined

Life or Death is a companion novel to Twilight. In this special edition, the story remains largely the same, however, the genders are reversed. However odd that may seem, it’s sort of interesting to see the ways the characters are different. For example, instead of Bella, the main character is Beaufort (Beau) Swan. Like, what?! Instead of Edward, there’s Edythe Cullen. The Cullen family now consists of Edythe (Edward), Carine (Carlisle), Earnest (Esme), Archie (Alice), Royal (Rosalie), Jessamine (Jasper), and Eleanor (Emmett). Instead of Jacob Black, the female version is named Julie Black. If the idea of different genders and different viewpoints don’t confuse you or make the Twilight story lose its appeal, you should read this book.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the storyline is very similar to the original book. Of course, slight changes are made to help the story with reversed genders, but most are the same. Unlike the Twilight series, the story ends when a tracker vampire named Joss (originally James) bites Beau and turns him into a vampire. Therefore, this cuts short the entire story and skips the events of books 2-4 with Beau and Edythe reaching their happily ever after.

Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun is another companion novel to Twilight. This book doesn’t swap genders or anything like that. Instead, it changes the reader’s P.O.V. We no longer discover the world of vampires through Bella’s eyes. Instead, we experience Edward’s experiences as a vampire attracted to a human. The reader gets to witness his internal struggle against the alluring smell of Bella’s blood and trying to leave Bella in fear of accidentally hurting her.

Although many readers have requested more, author Stephenie Meyer has stated that Midnight Sun would be the only book told from Edward’s perspective.

The reception of the novel included a lot of the same complaints as Life or Death. Critics have claimed that since the storyline is the same as Twilight, with not even a bit of a difference, readers might not enjoy reading the same story again. However, I think it’s worth it as you get to see the story as Edward experiences it, and there isn’t any other way to understand the story better than to read it from two different people.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is an Eclipse novella. As you may recall, Eclipse is mainly about the newborn vampire army. Bree Tanner is a young girl who turns into a vampire, courtesy of Victoria (James’s mate). The story is mainly about Bree’s experiences as a newly turned vampire. She befriends another vampire named Diego, who she eventually falls in love with. In this book, we can find out some of the inner workings of Victoria’s army and their arrangement with the Volturi. Victoria convinces the newborns to learn to fight so that they can attack the Cullens, who supposedly want to kill them.

At the fight, the Cullens practically massacre the newborns. The Cullens corner Bree, but then they decide to spare her. Bree’s encounter with the Cullens and Bella is portrayed in Eclipse, only from Bella’s viewpoint. However, the Volturi arrive and insist on killing Bree. They kill her to spare their reputation as vampire law enforcers. The Cullens argue, but it is futile. The book ends with Bree’s death.

This book is very good and isn’t a repeat of events in Eclipse, allowing readers to follow a new story in the world of Twilight.

Movies

This poster shows Bella and Edward, the main protagonists of the movie.

This is the poster for the second movie. Bella and Edward are in the center. To the left are Emmett and Rosalie. On the other side are Carlisle and Esme in the background, Jasper, and then Alice.

This poster shows Bella center, Edward left, and Jacob right.

There are too many events in Breaking Dawn to portray, therefore there are two movies. This is part one, which shows Edward, Bella, and Jacob (in order from left to right).

This is the movie poster for part 2 of Breaking Dawn. At the top, it shows Jacob, Bella, and Edward (in order from left to right). You may notice that Bella’s eyes are red, like a newborn, showing her transformation to a vampire. Barely shown, at the bottom, are the figures of the Volturi. The main vampires are at the front, while their followers are in the background.

Conclusion

Twilight is a true literary masterpiece, and many people (including me) have enjoyed it. Of course, not everyone will enjoy reading Twilight, and this is my personal opinion, but Twilight is a must-read for anyone who loves books.

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