This book was given to me by my daughter, who loved it so much she insisted I read it. The characters draw you into this
book, Bella for her oh so normalcy, Edward for his mysterious, charming beauty.
Bella is a realistic teenager with insecurities and doubts about everything from her looks to the small town in which she now lives with her father, the town police chief.
Things seem a bit drab on the surface but she soons discovers that underneath it all, there is much excitment to be found. It all starts with one glance from Edward Cullen in the
school cafeteria.
Edward and his family, an ethereally beautiful group, stay to themselves, seeming to avoid even talking to each other. But something in their lithe, graceful movements, in the heat of the look shared with Edward, draws Bella to them.
Then, to her shock and dismay, Edward seems to resent her presence at the lab table they must share and later she overhears him requesting to drop the class.
What about her does he hate so?
Things start to turn around, bit by bit and an uneasy, strained friendship begins to form between the two. He''s so different from any of the other boys in school. Not just in looks, for Edward was, by far, the best looking of the gorgeous Cullens, but in manners and speech as well.
A bit of unearthed discovery explains the differences and suddenly things are so clear. Or are they?
Will they really become friends? Why is he so nervous around her? And.. most importantly of all, why can''t she get him out of her mind?
This is the first in a trilogy (a series of three) and I''ve read them all. I love that the passion remains steadfast in all three. The characters maintain their identities throughout, evolving and growing into stronger, more realized ''people''. The books are edgy and dark, yet with enough lightness to them that I had no qualms about my young daughter reading them.
My hats off to Ms. Meyer... the book is not graphically violent or sexual yet retains an edge that so many in the genre lack.