Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Stephenie Meyer






















The Entertainment Critic’s Featured Author: Stephenie Meyer
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.com/
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.net/
http://www.theentertainmentcriticmagazine.com/
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC’S FEATURED AUTHOR: STEPHENIE MEYER
TWILIGHT
NEW MOON
ECLIPSE

Twilight
By Stephenie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown & Company, An Imprint of the Hachette Book Group USA
Publication Date: September 2006
ISBN-13: 9780316015844
Age Range: Young Adult
Series: Twilight Saga Series, #1
Price: $10.99
498 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780316015844
Five Star Rating *****
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER


New Moon
By Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Children's Books, An Imprint of the Hachette Book Group USA
Publication Date: September 2006
Age Range: Young Adult
Series: Twilight Saga Series, #2
Price: $19.99
576 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780316160193
Four Star Rating ****

Eclipse
By Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Children's Books, An Imprint of the Hachette Book Group USA
Publication Date: August 2007
Age Range: Young Adult
Series: Twilight Saga Series, #3
Price: $19.99
629 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780316160209
Four Star Rating ****

The Host
By Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publication Date: May 06, 2008
Price: $25.99
624 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780316068048
Not Rated

Breaking Dawn
By Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 02, 2008
Price: $22.99
704pp
ISBN-13: 9780316067928
Series: Twilight Saga Series, #4


MEYER'S FIRST NOVEL, TWILIGHT, WAS PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005. BY NOVEMBER 2005, TWILIGHT HAD REACHED #5 ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LIST FOR YOUNG ADULT CHAPTER BOOKS. THE BOOK ALSO QUICKLY GAINED RECOGNITION AND WON NUMEROUS HONORS, INCLUDING:

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN AMAZON.COM "BEST BOOK OF THE DECADE...SO FAR"
A TEEN PEOPLE "HOT LIST" PICK
AN AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION "TOP TEN BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS" AND "TOP TEN BOOKS FOR RELUCTANT READERS”

TRANSLATION INTO 20 LANGUAGES

MEYER SOON PUBLISHED THE SEQUEL TO TWILIGHT, NEW MOON, IN AUGUST 2006. IN ITS FIRST WEEK OF RELEASE IT DEBUTED AT THE NUMBER 5 POSITION FOR YOUNG ADULT CHAPTER BOOKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST. IT REMAINED IN THE NUMBER 1 POSITION FOR THE NEXT ELEVEN WEEKS. EVEN AFTER RELINQUISHING ITS NUMBER ONE SPOT, NEW MOON STAYED ON THE LIST. AS OF MARCH 18, 2007, IT HAD BEEN THERE FOR TWENTY-EIGHT WEEKS.

ON MAY 5, 2007, NEW MOON: SPECIAL EDITION WAS RELEASED. IT INCLUDED SPECIAL NEW MOON TEMPORARY TATTOOS, AN ECLIPSE POSTER, AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ECLIPSE.

ON AUGUST 7, 2007, ECLIPSE, THE SEQUEL TO TWILIGHT AND NEW MOON, WAS RELEASED. THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ECLIPSE WAS ALSO READ BY MEYER AT THE ECLIPSE PROM IN TEMPE, ARIZONA, ON MAY 5.

ON MAY 6, 2008, MEYER'S ADULT SCI-FI NOVEL, THE HOST, WILL BE PUBLISHED BY THE ADULT DIVISION OF LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY; IT FOLLOWS THE STORY OF MELANIE STRYDER AND WANDERER, TWO WOMEN SHARING A SINGLE BODY, WHO ARE FORCED TO WORK TOGETHER IN ORDER TO SAVE JARED, THE FUGITIVE MAN THEY BOTH LOVE. MEYER HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE HOST IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SCI-FI TRILOGY.

ON AUGUST 2, 2008, BREAKING DAWN, THE FOURTH NOVEL IN THE TWILIGHT SERIES, WILL BE PUBLISHED.

MEYER ALSO HOPES TO HAVE MIDNIGHT SUN — A RETELLING OF THE EVENTS OF TWILIGHT WRITTEN FROM EDWARD CULLEN'S PERSPECTIVE PUBLISHED SOMETIME AFTER THE RELEASE OF BREAKING DAWN.

ONE OF MEYER'S STORIES HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL, A COLLECTION OF STORIES ABOUT BAD PROM NIGHTS WITH SUPERNATURAL EFFECTS. OTHER AUTHORS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS COLLECTION ARE MEG CABOT, KIM HARRISON, MICHELE JAFFE, AND LAUREN MYRACLE. PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL WAS RELEASED APRIL 10, 2007.

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONED TWILIGHT IN APRIL OF 2007. THE FILM VERSION IS CURRENTLY CATEGORIZED AS IN-PRODUCTION ON SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT'S WEBSITE. CATHERINE HARDWICKE HAS SIGNED ON TO DIRECT, WITH A SCRIPT BY MELISSA ROSENBERG. IT WILL STAR KRISTEN STEWART AS BELLA SWAN AND ROBERT PATTINSON AS EDWARD CULLEN

STEPHENIE MEYER HAS BECOME A WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING PHENOMENON. TWILIGHT WAS ONE OF 2005'S MOST TALKED ABOUT NOVELS AND TRANSLATION RIGHTS HAVE BEEN SOLD IN 33 COUNTRIES. THE SEQUEL, NEW MOON, WAS RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER 2006, AND SPENT OVER 30 WEEKS AT THE #1 POSITION ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST. ECLIPSE, THE LATEST BOOK IN THE SERIES RELEASED ON AUGUST 7, 2007, CATAPULTED TO THE #1 SLOT ON BESTSELLER LISTS NATIONWIDE AFTER SELLING 150,000 COPIES ITS FIRST DAY ON-SALE. THERE ARE OVER 5.5 MILLION COPIES OF THE TWILIGHT SAGA IN-PRINT WORLDWIDE


“I saved his eyes for last, knowing that when I looked into them, I was likely to lose my train of thought. They were wide, warm with liquid gold, and framed by a think fringe of black lashes. Staring into his eyes made me feel extraordinary-sort of like my bones were turning spongy. I was also a little lightheaded, but that could have been because I’d forgotten to keep breathing. Again.” (Pp. 17). Eclipse.


The featured author for this month is the one and only Stephenie Meyer. On February 7, 2008, Megan Tingley, Senior Vice President, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, announced the release of the most anticipated novel of the year — Breaking Dawn. At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2008, the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's #1 international bestselling Twilight Saga will be available in a hardcover edition. The countdown to Breaking Dawn will begin on Saturday, May 31, 2008 with the publication of the Eclipse Special Edition which coincides with the annual BookExpo America show in Los Angeles, the book publishing industry's largest convention. This deluxe hardcover version of the third book in the series not only includes the cover art for Breaking Dawn, but also the first chapter—both of which will be revealed to the public for the first time. The trade paperback of New Moon, the second book in the Twilight Saga, will also be released on Saturday, May 31, 2008.
"Stephenie Meyer has written a dazzling grand finale to an epic love story," commented Tingley. "And with the extraordinary excitement surrounding the publication of Breaking Dawn, I'm thrilled that legions of new readers will now discover the saga that has already captivated millions around the world."
Meyer's fans will have plenty to keep them occupied until the release of the Eclipse Special Edition and Breaking Dawn. On May 6, 2008, Little, Brown and Company will release The Host, Meyer's highly-anticipated debut novel for adults. Little, Brown and Company has announced a 500,000 copy first-printing and Meyer will embark on a 10-city author tour for The Host.
"We are thrilled to be publishing two novels from this extraordinary talent in 2008," said David Young, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Book Group USA. "Stephenie Meyer has already achieved so much in her young career and this year further establishes her as a major force in the publishing industry. Given her remarkable talent and her passionate, ever-growing fan base, there is no limit to Stephenie Meyer's success."
Meyer's amazing year will be capped off by a major motion picture event. Summit Entertainment will bring Twilight to the big screen, directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown") and starring Kristen Stewart ("Into The Wild") and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"). It will be released nationwide on December 12, 2008.
In just two years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Twilight was one of 2005's most talked about novels and translation rights have been sold in 33 countries. The sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006, and spent over 30 weeks at the #1 position on The New York Times bestseller list. Eclipse, the latest book in the series released on August 7, 2007, catapulted to the #1 slot on bestseller lists nationwide after selling 150,000 copies its first day on-sale. There are over 5.5 million copies of the Twilight Saga in-print worldwide. Stephenie’s work has been translated into 29 languages and sold in 33 countries. At the age of 34, she has become the gold standard writer for the fantasy romance genre.
What has made her so successful is her attention to detail, and her ability to tell a story from a young women’s point of view. Twilight introduced us to 18 year old Bella Swann, her vampire boy friend, Edward Cullen, and his chief rival for her affections, werewolf, Jacob Black. The tension in the book comes from Bella being torn between her love for Edward, her friendship with Jacob.
Isabella Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to start a new life so her mother Renee can travel with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a "strictly minor league" baseball player. Even though she never had many friends in Phoenix, Bella quickly discovers she is the new subject of curiosity at her new school in Forks, where she is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys in the school compete for shy Bella's attention.
Bella finds Forks dull, boring, and just plain horrible. She hated the ever-raining city as a child, and even referred to it in Twilight as her "own personal hell on earth". However, the one exception to her boring life in Forks is Edward Cullen, the gorgeous and mysterious boy she sits next to in her Biology class.
While sitting next to him on her first day of school, Edward displays extreme tension. This leads Bella to believe that he dislikes her. However, his attitude toward her soon begins to change. He displays supernatural abilities while saving Bella from being hit by an out-of-control van about to crush her into another car in the student parking lot of the high school. After seeing a dent on the side of the van in the shape of Edward's shoulder, she realizes the van hit him and that he seemed to be holding it away from her, keeping her safe. Bella confronts him afterwards about the strangeness of the situation, but he refuses to talk to her about it. As time passes, Bella and Edward are repeatedly attracted to one another, even though Edward desperately tries to stay away in order to keep her out of the danger that he will likely put her in.
At The Hall of Mosses, near Forks, Bella eventually learns from her friend Jacob Black of the Quileute (pronounced Quil-yoot) tribe and her own observations that Edward and his family are reformed vampires who substitute animal blood for human blood in their diet, although she doesn't believe that he's a vampire at first. She attempts researching vampires on her computer, but the information does her little good.
While Bella is on a shopping trip in Port Angeles with two of her friends, Jessica and Angela, Edward once again saves her life, this time from a gang of men who had been following her and planning to hurt her. He then takes her to dinner and finally admits that he truly is a vampire and has the ability to read anyone's mind (up to a certain distance), except for Bella's, for some unknown reason.

Despite the obstacles presented by the vampiric nature of the Cullen family, Edward and Bella fall deeply in love. Their foremost problem is Bella's alluring "scent", which "sings" (as said in New Moon) to Edward, making it difficult for him to restrain himself from attacking her. However, despite this and Bella's strange knack for constantly landing herself in dangerous situations, they manage to stay together safely for a time.
The book ends with the two going to Bella's prom. Beneath the surface, tension remains as Bella wishes for Edward to turn her into a vampire and Edward refuses to do so. The reason for Edward's adamant decision not to turn Bella into a vampire is not yet revealed.
In New Moon, the saga continues. Isabella "Bella" Marie Swan is thrown an eighteenth birthday party by Alice and Edward Cullen, the vampire whom she loves, and his entire vampire family consisting of Carlisle, Alice, Emmett, Esme, Rosalie and Jasper. During the party Bella accidentally gets a paper cut, which leads to a violent and tense moment. Jasper, the newest member of the 'family' to try out the non-human diet, cannot contain himself at the sight and smell of her blood and makes a leap for Bella. Edward is forced to protect her, making him realize that keeping Bella close to the family puts her at risk. In the midst of this, a pivotal moment occurs during a conversation with Carlisle while cleaning her wounds. Bella is told that Edward believes that vampires are soulless creatures and that there is no better place for them if they die. It is made clear that Edward's relationship with her is a constant tug of war in his heart because he doesn't want to risk turning Bella into a creature who he believes is damned. Edward begins to withdraw himself emotionally, and later he and his family depart from Forks in an attempt to keep Bella safe. He unknowingly hurts Bella further by taking photos and memories from her possession that would prove his existence, in an attempt to make a clean break of their relationship.
Four months pass and Bella has become a "zombie"; existing but not really living. Charlie gets sick of it and tells her to snap out of it. She listens to Charlie and goes to see a movie with her friend Jessica. After the movie finishes she sees some men that are similar to the stalkers she encountered the previous year. She then hears Edward's voice in her head and wonders if she's on the verge of insanity. However, she thinks that her subconscious mind was giving her a "wish of fulfillment" with the idea that Edward cared if she lived or died. Thinking that the delusions are triggered by recklessness, she seeks other ways to trigger the delusions.
Jacob Black, the young Native American from Twilight, makes reappearance in New Moon. Bella finds two motorcycles on the side of the road, thinking they are the perfect way to hear Edwards voice. However, they need work and she remembers that Jacob is a mechanic of sorts. She loads them onto her truck and offers Jacob one of them as payment if he can make them run. They become very close friends and Bella comes to depend on him, filling up the hole in her heart as best as she can with their friendship. Jacob is attracted romantically to Bella and although Bella knows this and tells him they are just friends, there is nothing uncomfortable about their closeness.


In the midst of their growing closeness, Jacob confides in Bella that something is going on at La Push reservation. Jacob confesses that he is afraid of Sam Uley, the leader of a group of older guys on the reservation. A friend of his had expressed fear of the group, went missing for days, and then resurfaced as a member of the gang. He has been acting strangely and Jacob believes they are up to no good. He is also frightened that he could be next on the list.
During an outing with Bella, Jacob becomes very ill and fevered. After this episode Bella finds that it is almost impossible to get in contact with Jacob, before finding out that he has reappeared as a follower of Sam Uley. Bella confronts him at his house and Jacob harshly tells her that he must stay away from her, refusing to explain why. However, after a fight ensues Jacob is clearly hurting and regretful, and sneaks into her room late at night to tell her that she knows exactly what is happening to Jacob, she just doesn't realize it. The only clue he gives her is a reminder of the legends that he told her when they first met.
Bella eventually recalls a story about werewolves and vampires and realizes that Jacob, and the rest of Sam Uley's gang, are indeed werewolves, and thus the enemies of her beloved Cullens. This presents a whole new set of problems for Jacob and Bella, because not only is there animosity between Jacob and Edward because of their mutual love for Bella, but they are also sworn enemies because of what they are. There is genuine potential for bloodshed and the possible death of either at the other's hands.
Things are further complicated by the return of Victoria. Victoria seeks to avenge her mate, the vicious tracker vampire James, whom Emmett and Jasper destroyed after James attempted to kill Bella. Rather than kill Edward, Victoria sees killing Edward's "mate" as a fair trade. It is up to Jacob and his pack to protect Bella from Victoria's revenge. Jacob and his pack then try to protect Bella and her father Charlie by encouraging them to spend most of their time in La Push.
Bella spends most of her time on First Beach. She soon gets frustrated and desperate to hear the voice of Edward, and thus jumps off a cliff. When she hits the water she almost drowns, but Jacob saves her and informs her that one of Charlie's friends, Harry Clearwater, is in hospital suffering from a heart attack. Bella instantly regrets jumping of the cliff and feels sorry for her father. Bella then goes to Jacob's home where they rest, and she thinks of what would happen if Romeo (Edward) left Juliet (Bella) and Juliet ended up with Paris (Jacob), linking it to her own life.
Jacob's father, Billy, comes home and informs them that Harry passed away. Jacob then takes Bella home, where Bella sees Carlisle's car and thinks that the Cullens have come back to Forks. Jacob gets angry at Bella and leaves her to face the vampires by herself. Bella finds only Alice waiting for her. Bella rejoices in Alice returning but soon realizes that it's only temporary. Alice "saw" Bella jump off the cliff and thought that she was committing suicide. Bella dismisses it but Alice is still curious as to why she did it.

During Alice's stay, Jacob sees Bella and is still angry that she chose the "bloodsucker" over him. While he visits Edward calls, pretending to be Carlisle, and Jacob answers the phone. Edward asks Jacob where Charlie is and Jacob answers "at the funeral", meaning Harry Clearwater's funeral. Edward misinterprets this and thinks that it's Bella's funeral, and tries to commit suicide. After Alice realizes this, she and Bella leave to go to Italy, where Edward is begging the Volturi, a "royal" vampire family, to kill him. His attempt falters because the Volturi think it is a "waste". Edward then tries to anger the Volturi to kill him by stepping into the sun where his skin will sparkle like diamonds and, potentially, reveal their existence.
Luckily, Bella reaches Edward just before he steps into the sun. However, the Volturi still want to talk to them (Bella, Edward, and Alice). Relieved and shocked to see her alive and thinking these will be their last moments together, Edward shows affection toward Bella. She wonders why this is, as she thinks that Edward is no longer interested in her. They meet Aro, one of the Volturi leaders. He discusses Bella's future and says that she will need to become a vampire, due to the fact that they need to keep their existence a secret. Edward does not agree, but Alice shows Aro that Bella will become a vampire in the future, and he agrees to let them go.
Bella is overjoyed that Edward is back, and he explains that he only left in order to protect her. He tells her how hard it was to be apart from her, saying that it felt like "half of me was gone". Bella and Edward then go to Edward's family and they "vote" over Bella's mortality, stating their opinion on if she should become a part of their family and a vampire. All of them but Rosalie and Edward agree that she should be changed. Edward gets angry, but agrees that Bella should be changed after graduation, a few weeks away. Carlisle agrees to change her, due to his ability to maintain self control over blood. Bella would rather Edward change her but will take what ever she can get. Edward is reluctant, but agrees only with the condition that Bella should marry him first. Bella is terrified, not wanting to end up like her mother and father, but considers it.
In the epilogue, Bella thinks back to her "pre-zombie" state and says that "it was as if the last seven months never happened". Jacob returns Bella's motorcycle in a vain attempt to keep Edward from seeing her, not knowing that Edward sneaks into her room every night. Charlie is furious with Bella and grounds her. But she knows that with Edward at her side, everything will be ok.
In Eclipse, issues again arise. The story begins with a note from Jacob to Bella. It explains that he misses her, but that this changes nothing between them. Charlie still blames Edward for making Bella go "crazy" after he left, and for being responsible for her unexplained disappearance in New Moon when she raced to Volterra, Italy to save Edward's life. He wants nothing to do with Edward, attempting to show with every word and gesture that the vampire is unwelcome in the house. Seattle is revealed to be plagued by a string of unsolved murders. Charlie "un-grounds" Bella, but on the condition that she spend more time with her friends, especially Jacob, and not just Edward. Edward and Bella continue filling out their college applications, while Bella explains to Edward her desire to see Jacob again. Edward refuses, explaining that werewolves are "unstable" and that those who associate with them often get hurt.

Meanwhile, Alice has a vision that Victoria, the vampire that is hunting Bella, is back in town. Edward, keeping this knowledge from Bella, talks Charlie into letting them take a weekend trip to Florida to see Bella's mother. When they return, Jacob confronts Edward as to why he is keeping Victoria's return a secret from Bella, also discussing the treaty's bounds as the Cullens crossed the territorial line while chasing Victoria into werewolf territory. Edward explains to Bella that he took her away from Forks to keep her safe. Jacob and Bella reconcile much to Edward's disapproval.
Edward insists that the only reason he doesn't want Bella seeing Jacob is because werewolves can be dangerous. Bella insists that Jacob and the rest of the pack are safe and that Jacob would never harm her. Edward finally agrees and willingly takes her, on occasion, to the border (the area where the pact between the Quileutes and the Cullens was made, and where both can travel freely), where Jacob picks her up and takes her to his house. During one of these visits, Jacob clarifies his emotions toward Bella; he reveals that he loves her and forcefully kisses her, much to her displeasure. She reacts by punching him as hard as she can, succeeding only in breaking her hand (as werewolves are almost as durable as vampires).
Edward angrily threatens Jacob when Bella is brought back home. Jacob clarifies what occurred, and they grudgingly agree to work together and deal with Victoria. Later that night after Jacob leaves, Bella agrees to marry Edward on one condition: that he sleep with her before turning her into a vampire. Edward initially refuses, explaining to Bella that he could very well kill her. He eventually says, upon realizing how much it means to Bella, that he is willing to try in the future as long as they are married first. Bella expresses the worry of what other people will think if she gets married so early, as she remembers the problems that marrying fresh out of high school caused her mother. She realizes that spending the rest of eternity with Edward is more important to her than anything else, however, and when Edward formally proposes to her, she accepts. She is still reluctant to the marriage and engagement as a whole; in an attempt to keep the engagement secret, she stubbornly refuses to wear the engagement ring, which belonged to Edward's mother.
Bella discovers that a vampire has taken things from her room for the purpose of using her scent to locate her. Meanwhile, the Cullens realize that there is a coven of newborn vampires committing the murders in Seattle. Bella soon makes the connection between both incidents, and realizes that the new vampires are being led by Victoria. Alice foresees a battle between Victoria's coven and the joined forces of the werewolves and the Cullens.
Jasper tells his story; he describes, in detail, how he became a vampire and how he became a part of the Cullen family. To the Cullens' advantage, he is an expert in dealing with newborn vampires, since he was once part of a large and powerful army of newborns. The Cullens and the Quileutes arrange a meeting in the woods, and Jasper demonstrates to everyone how to fight in "newborn combat" and explains the weaknesses of newborn vampires. Bella asks Edward to stay out of the fight because she cannot bear to lose him.

As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward and Bella camp up in the mountains, where they are later joined by Jacob and Seth Clearwater -a younger member of the pack- in wait of the war. They use Bella's scent to set a trap for the newborns to follow, which will lead them to face the Cullens and the werewolves. Bella succumbs to the numbing cold at the top of the mountain, and Jacob, with the intention of taunting Edward, slips into Bella's sleeping bag in order to keep her warm (a werewolve's normal core body temperature is 10 degrees above that of a human). Feigning sleep, she hears a conversation between Edward and Jacob, in which Jacob openly confesses his feelings for Bella to Edward. And Edward admits that Jacob can give Bella some things that he, Edward, can't. The two of them come to an understanding.
In the morning, Edward and Bella begin talking about their engagement; they hear a howl of pain, and Bella realize that it is Jacob, who had been listening in to their conversation. He runs away before Bella can reach him, and so she asks Edward to go after him. When they come back, Edward gives them some space to talk. Jacob threatens to join the fight and get himself killed because Bella doesn't love him; when Bella begs him not to, he insists that he won't do it if she asks him to kiss her (later on, he reveals that he had tricked her into believing he would kill himself, just so he could kiss her). Furious, she does so, and she realizes that she is in love with Jacob.
When Edward returns, he admits that he overheard everything and that he's not angry at her for loving- and kissing- Jacob; this makes Bella feel guilty. As the two stay at the camp with Seth, Victoria attacks with her newborns. The werewolves and Cullens make short work of her inexperienced army, but Victoria goes around the battle completely. She soon arrives to confront Bella and Edward, along with one of her newborns named Riley. Edward tries to talk Riley out of fighting for Victoria, and tells Riley that Victoria is only using him; however, at the last second, Victoria bolsters Riley's faith in her, and he refuses to back down. A fight breaks out, and in the end Seth (in his wolf form) kills Riley as Edward destroys Victoria.
The Cullens, as well as the pack, are unharmed during the fight; but it turns out that Jacob was injured when Leah Clearwater (one of the werewolves) tried to take on one of the newborns alone. Jacob stopped the vampire from killing her, but the entire right side of his body was crushed in the process. Carlisle assures Bella that Jacob is healing and that no permanent damage was done. The Volturi arrive to clean up the war, but they are too late. They remind Edward of the agreement they had to change Bella into a vampire, to which Alice replies that the date has been set.
Bella goes to visit Jacob, who is on the mend, a little while later. They both admit that they love each other, but Bella explains that her love for Edward is much greater and she can't live without him. Jacob tells her that if she ever changes her mind, he will always be there for her.
When she returns from La Push, Edward announces that he's decided to break off the deal and they needn't get married- that Bella could have her way- before trying to complete what she wished. However, Bella states that she wants to do things the way he wanted to, and agrees to marry him first. Edward places the ring back on her finger, and Bella suggests that it is time to break the news to Charlie.

The epilogue is from Jacob's perspective. He receives an invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding, and a letter from Edward. Edward tells Jacob that he doesn't have to come to the wedding, but if their places had been switched he would have wanted the choice. He also thanks Jacob for all he's done for Bella. The letter only angers Jacob further, because he believes she is killing herself by choosing to become a vampire. Ignoring the questions and pleas of the pack, he changes into his wolf form and runs off, attempting to "leave Jacob Black behind." He hopes that if he doesn't phase back, he won't ever have to feel that pain again. He decides that he is no longer hurt that Bella would choose Edward over him, but he wonders how things would be between them once Bella becomes a vampire.
I think the reason that Stephenie’s books are so successful is that she understands very well the young women that are her market, the teenage drama and angst that accompanies maturing into young womanhood. The romantic fantasy backdrop of her books only enhances the very detailed examination that she makes of her characters and the intricate plot lines that inhabit these books. These are definitely not books, where a vampire is dropped in for effect; the vampires have identifiable personalities and near human foibles that make these books fascinating reading. The tension and romantic confusion of the young girl in these books is easily identifiable by her audience. Excellent plotlines and character development are earmarks in all of these books. As one other reviewer wrote, “Bella's infatuation with outsider Edward, the sense of danger inherent in their love, and Edward's inner struggle — a perfect metaphor for the sexual tension that accompanies adolescence. These will be familiar to nearly every teen, and will keep readers madly flipping the pages.” Her trilogy of star crossed passion, love triangles, and vampires /werewolves issues thrown in makes for some of the most interesting reading in modern day history.





No comments: