Download The Twilight series By Stephenie Meyer ~ Education world

‘Twilight’

Twilight is told by 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her dad for the remainder of high school. There, she meets Edward Cullen and his family, who possess an other-worldly and irresistible beauty and grace to which Bella is drawn. Twilight is the tale of Bella and Edward's burgeoning relationship, brimming with standard teenage drama alongside the unexpected, because, after all, Edward and his family are vampires. These undead friends have chosen to deny their urge to drink human blood, instead slaking their thirst with the blood of animals. Bella soon finds out, however, that not all vampires in her life are constrained by such scruples.

The book has been praised for its treatment of sexuality and morality. Although there's plenty of yearning and sensuality, there is no sex, drinking, or drug use. Edward refuses Bella's desire to be turned into a vampire herself, on grounds that it wouldn't be the right thing to do.

Twilight is an easy and enjoyable read. Its first-person viewpoint keeps the the pages turning. This isn't a masterpiece of literary achievement, however. You have to take it for what it is –- a unique and entertaining, if not flawlessly written, story. Twilight will almost certainly appeal to teenage girls and many women of all ages, but probably not to the majority of males. It's sure to make readers eager to devour the next three novels.

Twilight was adapted into a film by Summit Entertainment. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as protagonists Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen, respectively. The screenplay was adapted by Melissa Rosenberg. The movie was released in theaters in the

United States

on November 21, 2008, and on DVD on March 21, 2009.

‘New Moon’

New Moon is the continuing story of Bella Swan's unusual life in Forks, Washington. When her vampire boyfriend, Edward, suddenly leaves, Bella is heartbroken in a way only a teenager can be, leaving time on her hands to develop a friendship with Jacob Black, another boy with a strange family background.

Meyer does a good job portraying the melodrama of teenage life and love in New Moon –- it often made me roll my eyes in recognition of my own thoughts as a teenager. She has keen insight into the mind of teenage girls and conveys well the tension between friendship and romance Bella and Jacob struggle with. It makes for a story most readers will relate to, but is more entertaining and intriguing than real life, given the presence of mythical creatures.

Although the middle section is a little slow, the book still manages to hook its readers and rewards them when the adventure begins to pick up halfway through. Some of the plots points are predictable, however, and certain things that are mysterious to the characters, particularly Bella, were obvious to me.

New Moon is nevertheless a fitting continuation of the Twilight saga, endearing its readers to its characters even more, and leaving plenty of unanswered questions for the following novels.

' Eclipse'

Eclipse opens with teenager Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend Edward reunited after their tortuous parting in New Moon. Bella’s eventual transformation into a bloodsucking immortal is now guaranteed, yet all is not well in the drizzly town of Forks, Washington. Her best friend, the werewolf Jacob Black, harbors a generations-old vendetta against vampires in addition to unrequited feelings for Bella herself. To top it all off, a plague of murders in nearby Seattle points to an impending vampire threat.

With the question of Bella’s fate sealed, Meyer’s new sources of conflict feel heavy-handed at some points and over-the-top at others. The book begins sluggishly, with the first several chapters stifled by issues of jealousy which are slow to develop. Still, Eclipse picks up steam as it revisits the tensions of romance and friendship between Jacob and Bella. Readers will find the deepening of Edward and Bella’s relationship pleasing, and the final battle delivers on excitement, though it seems thin on justification.

Despite its shortcomings, Eclipse offers an absorbing read which will likely keep you up past bed time to finish. Meyer’s ability to express the workings of the teenage mind is uncanny, though Bella sometimes frustrates when she is slow on the uptake of plot points which have long since become obvious to the reader. Ultimately, Bella and Edward’s tale of impossible, fervent love remains compelling, and this penultimate entry in the Twilight series is sure to leave you thirsting for its conclusion.

'Breaking Dawn'

Reading Breaking Dawn must feel a lot like the diet of animal blood which sustains the vampires central to the story. It slakes one’s thirst, yet it doesn’t appeal quite like the "real thing"—it lacks the tantalizing scent, the desirable taste, of the authentic.

Barely more than halfway into Breaking Dawn, all the open issues which have been gathering over the course of the series have been resolved. Though this should be satisfying for the reader, it comes too easily and quickly. What’s more, Breaking Dawn arrives at these resolutions via the frightening plot vehicle of Bella’s horrifying pregnancy. To a somewhat redeeming effect, this portion of the novel is told through Jacob’s incredulous eyes.

With an entire series worth of plot points neatly out of the way, Meyers brings yet another circumstance of impending doom upon the beleaguered vampires of Forks, Washington. But for all the tense build up, this final conflict also dissipates too easily. In effect, it mirrors the arc of the entire saga.

The book closes without sacrifice, loss, or the pain of difficult decisions. Bella and Edward’s concluding bliss is not without appeal for followers of the series, yet can one reach the peak of true happiness without experiencing the valleys of true loss?