Lauren’s Library Nook: Twilight

Okay, maybe this one should have stayed in the archives, but I feel that I would be doing the book a disservice if I didn’t mention it at some point. After all, the book put a memorable stamp on my middle school years and unlocked my imagination to a world where vampires and werewolves exist. It was and still is a very interesting concept to me, but especially in my early teen years, I read the book multiple times and of course had to watch the movies too.

Reading “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer made me feel as if anything was possible in life. If for a moment we looked beyond the logistics and didn’t rationalize every little detail, we might just be lucky enough to find something out of the ordinary and experience what we thought could only happen within our dreams. This kind of thinking might be over the top, but when I read fantasy fiction it’s how it makes me feel; like a kid who doesn’t drown out creativity, but lets the imagination run wild.

I’m sure most of you have at least heard of the “Twilight” saga or even read the first book, but if not, here’s a quick rundown.

A girl named Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her dad. When Bella is thrown into a new school, she is intrigued by the pale yet striking Cullen family. Of course, she is seated beside the mysterious Edward Cullen in biology class, where they are forced to talk to each other. Despite Edward’s attempts to steer clear of his attraction for her, he ends up doing the opposite. So, Edward and Bella fall dangerously in love even though he’s a vampire whose natural diet includes human blood. Oh, and of course there’s the werewolf, Jacob, who is also in love with Bella, but has a long history of family feud with the Cullens. Essentially, it’s a love triangle mixed with the messiness of fantastical creatures who find ways to blend into human society.  

While reading this in middle school along with the rest of the female population, almost every girl seemed to want a vampire boyfriend — I know I did. It seems weird to say at first but when you really think about it, it comes down to the exhilarating idea of being with someone who has supernatural abilities and is better than you in almost every single way. Who wouldn’t want to be picked out of the crowd by a vampire? 

I’ll let you think on that one. 

Now, I won’t spoil every detail of the book, and definitely not the outcome of the series, but I will say there were some moments that I found to be a little too … let’s just say odd. 

One of these moments pertain to when Bella sleeps. Naturally as humans, we tend to sleep a good eight hours. But vampires — well they don’t sleep at all. So, instead of picking up a cool new hobby or maybe reading a book, Edward spends his nights watching Bella sleep. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. I did not find this part of the book romantic in any way, and I would be absolutely terrified if I were her. 

Thankfully, it’s just a book. 

A quote I love from “Twilight” is when Edward says to Bella, “What if I’m not a superhero. What if I’m the bad guy?” 

I feel that it embodies the idea of how much risk is involved in the love between a vampire and a human. There’s a chance it could result in death, which is why I feel that the words of Edward are so beautiful. He’s aware that he’s dangerous for Bella, but he also knows he would never hurt her. 

To them, their love is worth the risk because they would rather die trying to create their love story than spend an eternity apart. 

And for that reason, there’s one thing I will never change my mind on: team Edward all the way. 

Shank is the Editor-in-Chief. Follow her on Twitter