A FEW BOOKS I READ

I am a geek. I admit and have no shame admitting it. Here is why I am a geek. Before the release of the film, New Moon, I re-read all four Twilight books. I didn't really have to read them again, since I knew what would happen in the movie, but I felt that it would prepare me for the movie. What I needed to be prepared for, I don't know. Anyhow, I embarked on a re-read and must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it. For anyone who doesn't know what Twilight is, its a series of vampire books written for the YA audience by Stephenie Meyer. The four books are: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Here are summaries of each book: Twilight - introduces the Cullen family (vampire family living in Forks, WA and mingling with the living - they do not drink human blood) and Bella (high school girl moving to Forks to live with her dad). Bella and Edward (Cullen) fall in love and begin to date, only to have drama reach their doorstep from the get go. While out with the Cullens, Bella becomes the target of a nomadic vampire named James who is a tracker (he fancies hunting his prey and typically finds them and feeds on them) - this all leads to Bella leaving Forks with some of the Cullens in order to hide from James, while the rest of the Cullens attempt to track James down. In the end, Bella gets bitten by James who gets killed by the Cullens. Bella is saved from death or undeath and goes to prom with Edward and gets him to consider changing her into a vampire at a later date.
In New Moon, we have Edward and Bella still dating. Only Bella has a birthday (which stresses her out because she is aging, while Edward isn't) and at the birthday party that Alice (Edward's sister/Bella's BFF) throws her, Bella winds up with a paper cut on her finger which leads to Jasper (Edward's brother) chomping at the bit to attack Bella (he smells the blood from the paper cut). Edward intervenes (basically he smashes into Jasper and sends Bella flying into a table where she gets cut up even more due to the broken glass from the plates and cups). After the party, Edward becomes distant towards Bella, until one day he tells her that his family has decided to leave Forks. He breaks up with Bella and leaves her to cry in the woods. Bella gets very depressed and has nightmares and withdraws to the point where she has no friends and her father wants to ship her off to live with her mother. Bella pretends to be better and gets an old friend to hang out with, but she winds up getting in a little trouble which leads her to hearing Edward's voice in her head with a warning to stay safe. From then on, Bella embarks on dangerous types of activities in order to hear Edward's voice again. She winds up getting two broken motorcycles and has her best friend Jacob fix them - one for him and one for her. Bella and Jacob wind up becoming close and her broken heart heals just a bit. Jacob is in love with Bella, but Bella is in love with Edward, so the two only remain best friends. However, Jacob soon breaks Bella's heart when he tells her he can no longer be her friend because he is dangerous for her. Turns out Jacob is a werewolf and runs with a pack of wolves - their aim is to protect the people from vampires. Bella finds out Jacob's secret and soon finds herself hanging out with wolves. But still depressed she decides to dive off a cliff into the freezing water for one more chance to hear Edward's voice. This leads to Edward thinking Bella is dead and so he goes to Italy to commit suicide. Bella saves him and winds up choosing Edward over her friendship with Jacob, leaving her both happy and sad.
In Eclipse, Bella and Jacob are no longer hanging out together. Edward does not feel it is safe for her to be with wolves and vows to protect her and never leave her side again. However, once again Bella is being hunted by a vampire - this time its Victoria (Jame's girlfriend). Actually Victoria hunted Bella in New Moon, but she never caught up with her - thanks to the wolves. Anyhow, the Cullens think it might be the Volturi (vampire royalty who set the rules for vampirism and who made Edward promise to turn Bella into a vampire) after Bella. Jacob and Bella meet up when they can and discuss their friendship and lives as a werewolf and a girl dating vampire - their friendship continues to strengthen. When Bella realizes that it is Victoria who is chasing her she tells the Cullens and Jacob - they immediately figure out a fight plan to take Victoria and her minions down. Meanwhile Bella and Edward discuss changing Bella into a vampire and ways in which they can defer the date of said change (which is after Bella graduates high school). Edward proposes marriage to Bella in order to ensure that he will be the one to change her - she agrees. A battle ensues and Victoria and all of her minions are brought down. The Volturi show up and thank the Cullens for clearing up this vampire mess and mention that Bella better become a vampire soon or else. Jacob leaves Forks and his family after the battle, because he can not accept that Bella will marry Edward.
In the final book, Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward get married and go on a honeymoon. She winds up pregnant and returns to Forks and runs straight into the arms of Rosalie (Edward's other sister) . Jacob meanwhile returns to La Push and his family and the wolf pack. He knows that any day he will hear news that Bella is a vampire or dead. Instead he finds out that Bella is pregnant and does not know how to deal with that news. Bella appears very ill and weak and does not seem like she will survive this pregnancy. Upon reading Jacob's thoughts about a pregnant Bella, the wolf pack decides it must kill Bella and take the Cullens down. Jacob cannot allow for this to happen so he goes against the pack and breaks free from them and runs off to warn the Cullens. Seth and Leah both join Jacob and decide to belong to his new pack (to which Jacob claims he does not want a pack). Anyhow the trio keep an eye out for the wolves and stand guard on the Cullens' property. Bella has her baby (a little girl she names Renesmee, but whom everyone winds up calling Nessie) and everyone falls in love with the little girl, including Jacob. As a result of giving birth and nearly dying, Edward made the decision to change Bella into a vampire. Feeling confident that the Volturi will no longer bother them, the family once again settle into their lives at Forks. However, on an outing with Jacob and Nessie, Bella spots another vampire (a friend of the Cullens). She tells Edward and Carlisle, but they lose track of said friend. Soon, Alice finds out that the Volturi have sentenced the Cullen family to death. Bella realizes that the Volturi are under the impression that Nessie is an immortal child - an immediate reason for a death sentence. In order to prepare for battle, the vampires and wolves once again unite. However, this time round, the vampires call in their other vampire friends for help. A battle plan is set. Bella wants to ensure Nessie's safety so she has passports and cash prepared for Jacob and Nessie to run off together during the battle. She knows that Jacob will take care of her little girl, if her and Edward are killed. Night comes and the Volturi arrive and Edward and Carlisle attempt to reason with them with regards to Nessie. The Volturi are itching for a fight, but in the end Alice brings forth proof that Nessie is half vampire and half child - she brings with her another half-ling. Satisfied with the proof the Volturi call off the fight and the Cullens' and their friends breathe a sigh of relief. Bella and her family live happily ever after, or something like that. The end.
And so I read all four books again and got caught up in the story lines and characters and found myself excited to watch the new film, New Moon. The books are such a fun read. I admit that the writing is not stellar, but there is something in it that engages you with the idea of this love story between Bella and Edward that just keeps you reading and wanting more. Out of all four books, New Moon was my favorite. I just loved reading about Bella and Jacob's friendship and part of me wished that she would choose Jacob in the end. I suppose that choosing Edward makes sense though, because they were pretty obsessed with each other. With regards to the other three books, Breaking Dawn was my least favorite. I felt as if Stephenie Meyer rushed to get it finished and therefore it has the worst writing out of the bunch. Oh well, I still read it and enjoyed bits from it. As for the film, New Moon - it rocked! I absolutely loved it. It was just such a fun movie to watch and I absolutely loved the music played throughout the film. Definitely a movie worth watching for any Twilight fan. And now that I have enjoyed indulging in the vampire genre, I am off to read something a bit more real. Cheers!