What is TWILIGHT?♥Twilight is a series of four vampire-

based fantasy/romance novels by author Stephenie Meyer. ♥ It follows the adventures of Isabella ("Bella") Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, and finds her life turned upside-down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

♥ Twilight is the first in the series. The following books are New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

♥ The series is told from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and a portion of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of Jacob Black.

♥ Stephenie Meyer is working on the next novel, Midnight Sun, which will be the plotline of the first book, but told from Edward Cullen’s point of view.

♥ The first book of the Twilight saga

♥ It introduces 17-year-old Bella, who moves from Phoenix, AZ, to Forks, WA, and ends up falling in love with a vampire.

♥ The apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit from the book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, like the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

♥ The second novel in the Twilight saga.

♥ This book, unlike the previous entry, is about losing true love.

♥ The title refers to the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, indicating that New Moon is about the darkest period of Bella's life.

♥ The third book in the Twilight saga.

♥ It continues the story of Bella, her vampire love, Edward, and werewolf best friend, Jacob.

♥ The broken ribbon represents choice, as in the book Bella must choose between two loves.

♥ The ribbon also represents the idea that Bella can't completely break away from her human life.

♥ The fourth and final novel in the Twilight saga.

♥ Divided into 3 "books", all but Book 2 are told from Bella’s perspective, with the second being told from the point of view of Jacob.

♥ The cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire saga; she began as the physically weakest player on the board, the pawn, but ended up the strongest, the queen.

CHARACTERSTHE

Bella Swan: ♥ Bella is a perpetually

clumsy "danger magnet". She is often portrayed as having low self-esteem and not being able to grasp Edward's love for her. Bella has dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. An important trait of hers is her immunity to supernatural abilities that involve the mind. She moves to Forks in order to live with her father after her mother remarries, where she then meets the Cullens.

Edward Cullen:♥ Edward is a vampire who

feeds on animals instead of humans. He is frozen in his 17-year-old body from when he died from the Spanish influenza in 1918. Like some vampires, Edward has a supernatural ability; his gift is mind reading, allowing him to read the thoughts of anyone within a few miles of himself. Bella, however, is immune to his power.

Jacob Black:♥ A minor character in the first

novel, Jacob is introduced as a member of the Quileute tribe. He resurfaces in New Moon with a much larger role, becoming a werewolf and Bella's best friend as she struggles through depression . Although he is in love with Bella, she initially sees him as just her best friend. He and his werewolf pack are enemies of the vampires, but they come together in order to protect Bella.

Carlisle Cullen:♥ Carlisle looks like a model; he

has blond hair, stands at 6'2", and is slender but muscular. He theorizes that when a human is turned into a vampire, they will have an enhanced ability from their previous life. He brought compassion from his human life. Carlisle has had centuries to perfect his medicinal talents, and is now an excellent doctor. He is not at all tempted by the scent of human blood, because he has spent 300 years holding back his temptations.

Esmé Cullen:♥ She enjoys restoring old houses

and her physical age is 26. She has no special power, but has a strong ability to love passionately. Esmé is described as being 5'6" with caramel-coloured hair; she also has a heart-shaped face with dimples, and her figure is slender, but rounded and soft. In her human life, she attempted suicide following the death of her son. She was then changed into a vampire, and married Carlisle.

Rosalie Hale-Cullen:♥ Her physical age is 18, and

she was born in 1915 in Rochester, NY. Rosalie is described as being astoundingly beautiful; she is tall, statuesque, and has long, wavy blonde hair. As a human, Rosalie was a woman who had beauty, elegance, class, and eyes resembling violets. She was beaten and raped by her fiancée, and then was changed into a vampire. Rosalie is rather vain, self centered, and wishes to be human again.

Emmett Cullen:♥ Emmett is described as being

tall, burly, extremely muscular, and, to most humans, the most intimidating in the Cullen family. He has slightly curly dark hair and dimpled cheeks. In 1935 when Emmett was 20, he was mauled by a bear – found by Rosalie, he was changed into a vampire and they are now married. He originally had trouble surviving only on animal blood, thirsting after humans.

Alice Cullen:♥ Alice is described as being

petite and pixie-like at 4'10", with a graceful gait and hair that is short, spiky, and black. Her special ability is seeing the future. This ability is limited; she is only able to see the outcome of a decision once it is made. Decisions made in the spur of the moment can not be foreseen. Alice can see futures involving humans and vampires, but not of werewolves or half-breeds. She has no recollection of her human life, where she was being held in an insane asylum.

Jasper Cullen:♥ Born in Texas, he joined the Army

of Confederates in 1861 during the Civil War. When he was 20 years old, he was turned into a vampire for purposes of making a vampire army. He gained the ability to manipulate the emotions of those around him. Alice, foreseeing that they would be together, met up with him and together they sought out the Cullens. He finds it very difficult to survive on animal blood alone. He is described as tall with honey blond hair, and is muscular. His body is covered with crescent-shaped scars, after years of fighting newborn vampires.

Charlie Swan:♥ He is the father of Bella and

works as Police Chief in Forks. His hobbies include fishing with Billy Black, as well as watching various sports on TV. Charlie married Bella's mother, Renée, just after they both graduated high school and they soon had Bella. Renée divorced Charlie not long after and moved to Phoenix with Bella. When Bella is seventeen, she moves to Forks to live with him after Renée remarries.

Billy Black:♥ He is Jacob's father, born and

raised in La Push, and an elder of the Quileute tribe. He is heavyset, has a wrinkled face, russet skin, black hair and black eyes, and his diabetes has forced him to remain in a wheelchair. Billy is directly descended from the last chief of the Quileute tribe, Ephraim Black, who was his grandfather. He is best friends with Charlie Swan, and is a sworn enemy of vampires.

Mike Newton:♥ A friendly boy who initially

has a crush on Bella, though Bella does not return the affection. He often asks Bella to accompany him on dates, and Bella usually declines. He has a strong dislike for Edward Cullen. It is with Mike and a group of friends in Twilight that Bella goes to First Beach, where she meets Jacob and learns that Edward is a vampire.

Angela Weber:♥ A classmate of Bella's,

Angela is described as being a tall, shy, quiet, and very kind girl. She has light brown hair and soft brown eyes. She respects the space of others and has a very gentle disposition. Angela becomes very good friends with Bella, and has a strong relationship with her boyfriend, Ben Cheney.

Jessica Stanley:♥ A classmate of Bella's and

her first friend in Forks. She informs Bella about the Cullen family on her first day at school. She tends to be more interested in Bella's popularity than Bella's actual character, and is sometimes jealous of Mike's affections toward Bella. Jessica is described as a "chatterbox" with curly dark hair.

James:♥ He is a merciless "tracker"

vampire who hunts human beings or, in some cases, animals, for sport. James is unusually gifted at what he does and always gets what he wants. In this first book, he wants Bella -– mainly her blood. Unlike the Cullen family, he drinks human blood as his food source. He is described as having light brown hair and is average-looking.

Victoria:♥ A red-haired, cat-like

vampire, Victoria is a member of James' coven. She assists James, her lover, in hunting Bella. Victoria creates an army of bloodthirsty newborn vampires in Seattle to rise up against the combined forces of the werewolves and Cullen family. Her supernatural talent is the ability to know the safe place to escape to.

Laurent:• A dark-haired, olive-toned

vampire, he is a member of James' coven. He does not assist James and Victoria in the pursuit of Bella, and travels to Denali, Alaska in hopes of finding solace among a coven of "vegetarian" vampires. However, he does not adopt their strict diet of drinking animal blood, and "cheats" by occasionally feeding on humans.

Renée Dwyer:♥ She married Charlie Swan right

after high school, but left with Bella and divorced him soon after. She is an eccentric, silly person who will brave new things and come to her senses later. She is very insightful and child-like. When Renée remarries, Bella unselfishly sends herself to live with her dad in Forks so that Renée and Phil can travel together for Phil’s job. She is not part of the story much, as she lives far away.

SETTINGTHE

Forks♥ The story of the Twilight saga is mainly

set in the rainy town of Forks, WA, where Bella lives with her father, Charlie. The Cullen family resides just outside of town. Forks is the rainiest place in all of the United States. It rains there almost everyday of the year, with the exception of approximately 50 days. It is a neighbor of other towns such as Port Angeles and Olympia, and is next to the Quileute Native reservation, La Push.

La Push

♥ The story of the Twilight saga sometimes takes place in the nearby Quileute Native reservation of La Push, next to the Quileute River. One of the main attractions in La Push is the Ocean Park Resort of James Beach. It is also known for good surfing and whaling conditions. Jacob Black lives here with his family, as well as the entire werewolf pack.

What kind of vampires are these?

♥ The vampires described throughout the Twilight saga are not your typical kind of vampires. They are not harmed by garlic, wooden stakes, or silver. They have reflections and are capable of coming out during the day. They are also capable of eating human food, though their bodies are unable to digest it and they must cough it up later. They do not have to breathe, but typically find it uncomfortable to be without a sense of smell.

♥ All vampires possess supernatural beauty, which allows them to lure in prey. Their skin is flawless and has the texture and feel of marble; in direct sunlight, it sparkles. Newborn vampires have bright red eyes, though they fade to a deeper crimson over the course of a year. If a vampire chooses to drink human blood, the most revitalizing kind of blood for a vampire, then their eyes will be deep crimson. If they feed on animal blood, like the Cullens, their eyes are golden in color. All vampires' eyes grow darker with thirst, eventually fading to black, and they only tire from lack of blood.

♥ All vampires are described as having incredible superhuman strength, with the ability to uproot trees, throw cars, and crush metal. Newborns are known to be exceptionally strong during their first year of being vampires. Vampires have very keen senses and are able to see and hear clearly for miles and move with such speed that they become a blur to human eyes. They are immortal, and very difficult to destroy, only permanently killed when dismembered and then burned, as their body parts continue to move even after being detached.

♥ Vampires are not able to sleep, and thus are always awake. After the transformation from human to vampire, a certain ability is enhanced, sometimes resulting in a special ability. While not definite, the theory behind special abilities is that the power is reminiscent of the individual's original personality. Some have no special abilities, and instead have a prominent personality or physical trait from their human life magnified. The Cullen family is one of the only families to live in such close proximity to humans, and therefore live in the rainiest town of the USA, where there is no sunlight to sparkle on them, which would give them away.

What about those werewolves?

♥Werewolves in the Twilight saga do not age while they regularly phase into wolves. They heal quickly, have enhanced physical speed and strength, and can communicate telepathically with each other while in their wolf forms. As humans, they become much taller and more muscular. The Quileute tribe wolves are not true werewolves because they don't transform according to the lunar cycle. Instead, they are shape-shifters who take the form of wolves. The werewolf sub-plot becomes prominent in New Moon.

MOVIETHE

♥ The movie based on the first book opens on Friday, November 21st.

♥ It was originally scheduled to open on December 12th, but after Harry Potter 6 moved their opening date, Twilight moved up in the schedule

♥ The soundtrack to the movie comes out on November 4th.

♥ Kristen Stewart is playing Bella, while Robert Pattinson is

playing Edward

The Cullen Family

Created by Sheena Penfold -Residence Don, Nipissing

University, North Bay, Ontario

Twilight font found at:http://www.fanpop.com/spots/twilight-

series/links/1846417