The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer – Series Review (Reread)

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

Books in the Series:

• Twilight

• New Moon

• Eclipse

• The Secret Life of Bree Tanner (Novella)

• Breaking Dawn

• Midnight Sun

Best Book: Twilight (Book 1)

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Spice: Mild

Summary:

Bella Swan is starting her junior year at a new high school after moving to the small town of Forks, Washington from Pheonix, Arizona. Her parents have long been divorced, and she decided to move in with her dad, Charlie, so that her mother can travel with her new husband. Bella, naturally reserved and shy, is horrified to find that everyone at Forks High School is eager to meet and know her. All except her gorgeous lab partner in chemistry class, Edward Cullen, whose cold standoffish demeaner rankles Bella.

On an icy morning, Edward impossibly saves Bella from being crushed by a car in the school parking lot. In this moment, Bella knows there’s something different about Edward, but he refuses to give her any real explanation. Eventually, Bella and Edward start to grow closer, but there are small details about Edward Bella can’t stop thinking about, wondering what exactly he is. A fateful visit to the local Quileute reservation reunites her with a childhood friend, Jacob Black, who tells her tribal legends about spirit warriors who turn into wolves. His tribe believes the Cullens are powerful immortal blood-drinkers they call the Cold Ones, or vampires. Instead of the idea of Edward being a vampire deterring Bella, she finds herself becoming more obsessed, falling harder for the beautiful boy. But exploring Edward and his world may just be deadly for Bella Swan.

Reaction:

I must start this review by confirming that I was obsessed with Twilight when I was a teenager. I first read the Twilight Saga when I was in middle school before the movies started to come out. I was one of those girls who had a huge poster of Robert Pattinson as Edward on my bedroom wall (Team Edward all the way) and went with friends to the midnight movie premieres. That nostalgia for how I felt about these books then, versus rereading them as an adult makes this review difficult. I still loved rereading the original Twilight. What I think I loved so much about that book was the dialogue between Bella and Edward. Every single word, every important thought of their early relationship is written in that book, there’s no skipping, no skimming over conversations. The beauty of that is that the reader can completely place themselves in the narrative. And I think that is what appealed to so many teenage girls who loved this book; riding the rollercoaster of that relationship was dangerous, exciting, and undeniable.

For me, the rest of the books never live up to the story and feelings created by Twilight, I’ve always felt that way. Rereading just confirmed that teenage me was not totally off the mark. New Moon was always my least favorite of all the series. Bella’s depression doesn’t make me feel sad; it was just boring. It’s only redeeming sequence is the ending, which may contain my favorite scene in the entire Saga (iykyk, the reunion). Eclipse was the biggest surprise of my reread. I used to think it was fine, but during my reread I felt like it was 200 pages of filler Edward vs. Jacob when there were so many other things the book could have focused on that would have been more exciting. The Secret Life of Bree Tanner, the novella that gives an alternate perspective to the events leading up to the end of Eclipse, was way more interesting; it gives the reader a view into a more average vampire compared to the elite Cullens. Breaking Dawn is okay, but there were key elements of the plot that just never made sense to me. It is interesting to get Jacob’s perspective in that book, but I also felt like Edward was missing overall as a character, he was just existing in the background. And finally, Midnight Sun, Edwards POV in Twilight. I first read the unfinished Midnight Sun when Stephenie Meyer put it up on her website after it was leaked. That portion of the book is an amazing insight into what Edward was thinking in Twilight (and yes I did attempt a paired read), but the remainder of the book, especially the ending, is just way too drawn out and detailed for a story I already know.

Overall, I think the world Stephenie Meyer created with immortal vampires and mystical werewolves is an interesting one that I would have liked to explore more. Even though it pulls from very common paranormal elements, there are enough unique aspects (the vampire history, the superpowers, werewolf pack mentality) that it feels different from other popular takes. The cast of characters is also very developed and distinct, which is something that other YA books of similar popularity (i.e. the Hunger Games, Divergent) succeed at, that make them a global phenomenon. The main downfall of this series is the plot and pacing. Sometimes, especially in the later books, events develop too slowly or, famously, don’t develop at all (see the end of Breaking Dawn), while other plot points seem random or there for the shock factor instead of actual character or story development.

Finally, even with all my criticisms from my umpteenth read, I would recommend reading Twilight if you haven’t already. The romance is sweet, and the fandom fun. Especially for those that may have seen the movie and are trying to get into reading, this is a good place to start; the book is relatively accessible to readers compared to required school readings or epic fantasies. So, get your Team Edward or Team Jacob gear ready, find Bella’s Lullaby on Spotify, and enjoy your foray into the world of Twilight.