A decent start and an interesting concept, but Meyer clearly needs to work on her prose skills. That, and I have some major reservations about the stalkeresque quality of the Edward-Bella relationship. If you would call the cops if a cute guy (and complete stranger) snuck into your house and watched you sleep in real life, you shouldn't find it endearing in a novel as a plot device.

i absolutely love this book! yes, it's not your typical vampire literature, but keep in mind that stephenie myer never read typical vamp literature; twilight came to her in a dream. besides, edward explains the reason the "myths" about vampires exist in chapter 14. just because it doesn't fit your typical vamp stereotype, doesn't mean it isn't a fabulous book. yes, the movie sucks, but don't knock the book til you've read it.

This was the mistake I made. If I could have redone it, I would just read it quickly once and never touch it again. It's that kind of book.
After first read, it leaves me with the bitter sweet feeling about the young love. It reopened many memories from the past. I felt I understood the insecure feeling the Bella had and was willing to forgive her foolishness and some bad writing. Then I read it again.
The second time around, Bella's foolishness and the bad writing were not easily forgivable. And it really is a teenager version of romance novel.
I'll say it does worth reading once and it would probably make you think about your high school sweetheart or first love in college.

Okay so I read it again! In re-reading it I discovered that there was quite a bit more foreshadowing than I remembered. She even has a dream of him as a vampire and Jacob as a werewolf long before the plot even gets near that. I will probably re-read the rest of them again while I'm waiting on the last one to come in the mail.

I saw the movie first before I ever laid hands on, or even knew about this series.

I knew sort of what to expect from the movie but as always, the book expanded upon what happened and even changed some events that I was expecting.

I think I didn't expect much, and so I wasn't really all that disappointing. There were times, mainly the interactions of Bella and Edward, that this book felt very cheesy. However, the overall story itself wasn't half bad.

I would say that this book wasn't half bad.

I gave into the pressure and read Twilight. I was expecting pure fluff, I got it. I was expecting cheesy lines and romance, I got it. What I wasn't expecting was to enjoy it, but I did. Twilight is something you can read to completely lose yourself into the fantasy of it all for a few hours. Edward and Bella have a relationship you can identify with minus the vampire part, because if we haven't experienced that passion, we want to find it or we dream of it. Don't take this book too seriously or expect an award winner, just enjoy it, and you too may even become addicted.

Since I teach high school, I felt obligated to read this series. I never would have paid for them (the box set is RIDICULOUSLY expensive), and they are never available in the library... BUT I have a dear friend in the publishing business (she gives me ALL my books!) who hooked me up with the collector set. I read them so as to be better able to relate to my teenage students.
It was easy and sort of fun to read, though I found the descriptions tedious at times. I also loathed the main character. She happens to be the exact one that my female students so strongly relate to. Well, I guess I am almost 30 and the teenage angst seems melodramatic and overdone to me.
Oh well... I read all 4 in the series. If you like vampires and wish you could date one, then this is the series for you.
Also if you think secretly you are NOT actually a boring, average human with no special skills or talents, then you may relate to Bella. Ugh.

I am not a girl and far from teenage, but I was curious what makes this book such a big hit among teenage girls. Here is my two cents,

(Bella) Beautiful girl who does not think she is beautiful, dangerously clumsy (that could hurt anyone including herself), and ridiculously stubborn, especially to her lover.

(Edward) Incredibly beautiful (not just handsome), even more attractive than the beautiful girls, physically strong but look fragile emotionally.

Relationship (Bella + Edward) - the physical attraction is so strong that make it ridiculous to have any guard up between their desires, but (this is a crucial point) they could not have any physical satisfaction (advancement) without some serious (fatal) consequences. That makes their affections stronger and easier to be perceived. All the teenage girls could easily relay the sensations and thirst about the feelings without the burden of the consequence/risk of physical relationship.

The Vampire has helped creating the critical elements of the formula. It makes the relationship venturous and exciting. I can imagine (like other sequels, e.g. Harry Potter) that there are a lot of explanations to be made to satisfy the readers' curiosity.

Well, well, well…
To steal from the author’s choice of words from the back of the book, at the start of reading Twilight “about three things I was absolutely positive”: I was not a tweeny emo goth, there was a part of me that wanted to laugh out loud with ridicule, and I unconditionally and irrevocably needed a drink.
HOWEVER, after the first 100 pages I found myself completely obsessed with the oh-so-cliché forbidden romance that was unfolding before my eyes. Stephanie Meyer is GENIUS at tapping into every single element of teenage girl love fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, the writing in this book is extremely sappy but by the end of the last page my brain had “irrevocably” decided that having an impossibly perfect vampire boyfriend would be so rad and I so totally need to read the sequels.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Suggested With: Renewed Puberty