Twilight

Twilight is a novel written by author Stephenie Meyer, originally published in hardcover in 2005. It is the genesis of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she is attracted to a vampire named Edward Cullen.

Plot summary
Isabella "Bella" Swan decides to move from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to start a new life in order to allow her mother Renee to "travel" with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a "strictly minor league" baseball player. Even though she never had many friends in Phoenix, Bella quickly discovers she is the new subject of curiosity and envy at her new school in Forks, where she is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys in the school compete for shy Bella's attention.

Bella finds Forks dull. She always hated the ever-raining city as a child, and even referred to it in Twilight as her "own personal hell on earth". However, the one exception to her boring life in Forks is Edward Cullen, the gorgeous and mysterious boy she sits next to in her Biology class. She hears 'ridiculous' rumors that Edward and his family are more than "beautiful humans", but despite having many theories she cannot bring herself to believe that there is a supernatural explanation for Edward's behavior.

While sitting next to him on her first day of school, Edward displays an extreme amount of tension. This leads Bella to believe that he dislikes her. However, his attitude toward her soon begins to change. He displays supernatural abilities while saving Bella from being hit by an out-of-control van about to crush her into another car in the student parking lot of the high school. After seeing a dent on the side of the van in the shape of Edward's shoulder, she realizes the van hit him and that he seemed to be holding it away from her, keeping her safe. Bella confronts him afterwards about the strangeness of the situation, but he refuses to talk to her about it. As time passes, Bella and Edward are repeatedly attracted to one another, even though Edward desperately tries to stay away in order to keep her out of the danger that he will likely put her in.



Bella eventually learns from her friend Jacob Black of the Quileute (pronounced Quil-yoot) tribe and her own observations that Edward and his family are reformed vampires who substitute animal blood for human blood in their diet, although she doesn't believe it at first. She attempts researching vampires on her computer, but the information does her little good.

While Bella is on a shopping trip in Port Angeles with two of her friends, Edward once again saves her life, this time from a gang of men who had been following her. He then takes her to dinner and finally admits that he truly is a vampire and has the ability to read anyone's mind (up to a certain distance), except for Bella's, for some unknown reason.

Despite the obstacles presented by the vampiric nature of the Cullen family, Edward and Bella fall deeply in love. Their foremost problem is Bella's alluring "scent", which "sings" (as said in New Moon) to Edward, making it difficult for him to restrain himself from attacking her. However, despite this and Bella's strange knack for constantly landing herself in dangerous situations, they manage to stay together safely for a time.

The book ends with the two going to Bella's prom. Beneath the surface, tension remains as Bella wishes for Edward to turn her into a vampire and Edward refuses to do so. The reason for Edward's adamant decision not to turn Bella into a vampire is not yet revealed.

Film
On July 7, 2007, Stephenie Meyer announced on her website that Twilight is being optioned by Summit Entertainment. The film is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Melissa Rossenberg. It is currently listed as "In-Production" on Summit Entertainment's website.

On November 16, 2007, Summit announced the casting of Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. On December 11, 2007, it was also announced that Robert Pattinson will play Edward Cullen. A search is underway for a Native American boy between the ages of 16 and 18 to play the much-sought-after role of Jacob Black. An open cast audition for the role of Jacob was held on January 19, 2008.