Suzanne
Rating:
Review
What we have here is a teen romance novel in disguise as a vampire story. There are vampires, to be sure, but this is "vampire light". It was fun and I enjoyed it, even as I laughed and rolled my eyes at the silliness of teenage infatuation and love. Bella, the main character, is a 17 year-old who's just made the extreme move from hot sunny Phoenix to a rainforest on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Not only that, she's gone from a big city to the very small town of Forks, where she soon falls in love with Edward, your ultimate gorgeous, strong, godlike vampire with piercing eyes. Bella's immaturity, lack of self-confidence, and need to be repeatedly rescued by her vampire boyfriend got on my nerves, but they weren't enough to make me put the book down. As a bonus I enjoyed recognizing places around the Olympic Peninsula that I've visited myself. It does seem like an awful lot of wishful thinking to have a family of vampires who've risen above their essential nature and renounced feeding on humans, but this inter-species love just wouldn't work without it. The story is around 500 pages but it flew right by.
Best Line:
"You brought a snack?" (pg. 379)
Kim
Rating:
Review
Set mostly in small town Forks, Washington, Isabella Swan has just moved from her mother's house in Phoenix to her father's home, and though she's not entirely happy about her relocation, she's accepted it. Bella enrolls in the town's only high school and is immediately a source of fascination for some of the boys in school, but she only has eyes for Edward Cullen, he of the finely chiseled features, pale skin and ever-changing eye color, just to name a few beguiling boy features for any high school girl. He is odd in certain ways, like being blazing fast on his feet, and Bella is completely captivated by him. Even though Edward continues to warn her that they shouldn't be together, they are smitten with one another. Aside from the love story, there is some other drama thrown in here and there, just to keep us readers on our toes. As if a vampire main character wouldn't be intriguing enough! I liked the way this book was written in Bella's matter-of-fact voice, and the characters are pretty interesting. This book would have definitely been on my nightstand as a teenager, right next to Judy Blume's
Forever.
Best Line:
"I doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your vampire sweetheart takes you home to meet his vampire family."
