'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer - Book Review

There's a reason more than 10 million Twilight series books are in print. Twilight, the first in the series, is the addictive story of two teenagers –- Bella, a regular girl, and Edward, a perfect gentleman and a vampire. This is the type of book you might read in just a few sittings, becoming engrossed in its fantastical world and oblivious to your physical surroundings. While not the next great thing in modern literature, it's a fun book to get lost in and comes to an end much too quickly.

Twilight is told by 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her dad for the remainder of high school. There, she meets Edward Cullen and his family, who possess an other-worldly and irresistible beauty and grace to which Bella is drawn. Twilight is the tale of Bella and Edward's burgeoning relationship, brimming with standard teenage drama alongside the unexpected, because, after all, Edward and his family are vampires. These undead friends have chosen to deny their urge to drink human blood, instead slaking their thirst with the blood of animals. Bella soon finds out, however, that not all vampires in her life are constrained by such scruples.

The book has been praised for its treatment of sexuality and morality. Although there's plenty of yearning and sensuality, there is no sex, drinking, or drug use. Edward refuses Bella's desire to be turned into a vampire herself, on grounds that it wouldn't be the right thing to do.

Twilight is an easy and enjoyable read. Its first-person viewpoint keeps the the pages turning. This isn't a masterpiece of literary achievement, however. You have to take it for what it is –- a unique and entertaining, if not flawlessly written, story. Twilight will almost certainly appeal to teenage girls and many women of all ages, but probably not to the majority of males. It's sure to make readers eager to devour the next three novels.