By guest contributor Ashley DiFranza


Having been in the midst of the Twilight phenomenon for quite a while now, I knew what Stephenie Meyer’s book would eventually come to, though Meyer hid it very well for a good amount of time.

Isabella (Bella) Swan is a teenage girl who has never had a boyfriend before. She’s the too-ordinary, clumsy girl at school in Phoenix and everyone has come to know her as that. So when her mother gets remarried, Bella decides to move in with her father in Forks, Washington. Bella, dreading the first day of school almost as much as the daily forecast of rain, suddenly realizes that she’s not the same person. She has a lot of friends, is really smart here, and there are boys asking her to dances left and right. She’s never had to deal with anything like this before. Then again, her sudden rise in popularity is nothing but normal compared to the deathly looks she receives of the beautiful and mysterious Edward Cullen.

As I waited for Bella Swan to discover the truth about Edward, I actually felt like I was the new girl who was mixed up with this dark romance. For two days straight, I sat there on my couch, reading.

I even blame Meyer for the house fire I almost started. I was so engrossed in the story I didn’t even notice the food I had put in the microwave was on fire, filling the kitchen with smoke. I was pulled from the pages only when my mother began to yell and as I looked up, I couldn’t even see the room in front of me. My food had burnt and I hadn’t even noticed! Now that’s what I call a story that sucks you in!

As the story of Bella’s life in Forks progresses, Edward’s relationship with Bella changes and friendship grows as many crazy situations turn him into her savior. They bond over Edward’s hidden secrets that only Bella can seem to figure out on her own and not be afraid of. Still, as the secrets continue to poor out, Bella beings to realize that her feelings for Edward are strong, even if their relationship could mean danger to her. And in the end, it does.

This book is such an extravagant mix of teen love, adventure and sacrifice. I found myself actually yelling in shock as some of the more frightening plot lines unfolded. And oddly enough, just like every girl I’d ever talked to about Twilight with, as Bella fell for Edward, I found myself doing the same thing. Somewhere between his worry for her life and his soul-bearing love for her, Edward Cullen was made out to be the perfect, fictitious guy. And that is truly the only problem with Meyer’s creation: the fact that it is fiction and there really is no Edward Cullen gliding down the foggy streets of Forks, Washington.

And it was this mix of forbidden love and a twisting plot that made this book one of the best I’ve ever read. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from page one to page five hundred. And trust me; those five hundred pages go by FAST as you’re swept into the whirlwind of this teen love and love’s dangers. So, please, if you intend to read this novel, read it with an open mind and an open heart.


Stayed tuned for corporate mom Dee Murray’s review of Twilight later this week.

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