Twilight

I will always remember the day that I was introduced to Twilight. I was taking a nap and my sister came into my room. “I got you a surprise,” she said. She handed me what is today my favorite book of all time. My eyes traveled across the title, then down the pale white arms until they stopped, fixed on the bright red apple. “It is about a vampire who is in love with a human, but it is hard for him because he wants her blood,” she explained. My sister knows me so well. I immediately felt the excitement start to build. In that moment, my sister gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. Falling in love with Edward was indescribable.

Here is an excerpt from the book, it is from Chapter 13: Confessions. Bella and Edward are in a meadow. At this point, Bella knows that Edward is a vampire. He has just shown her how his skin sparkles in direct sunlight.

I inched closer, stretched out my whole hand now to trace the contours of his forearm with my fingertips. I saw that my fingers trembled, and knew it wouldn’t escape his notice.
“Do you mind?” I asked, for he had closed his eyes.
“No,” he said without opening his eyes. “You can’t imagine how that feels.” He sighed.
I lightly trailed my hand over the perfect muscles of his arm, followed the faint pattern of bluish veins inside the crease at his elbow.

Throughout the duration of this chapter, Bella and Edward talk about their thoughts and fears. They describe how they are feeling about each other. Edward explains to Bella how intensely he thirsts for her blood. He also tells her that while his thirst for her is great, his devotion to her is much greater. Bella explains to Edward how intensely she feels the need to be near him. This is also the chapter in which they share their first kiss. It is my favorite chapter in the book.

Last night I went to the midnight showing of the film version of Twilight. The movie was disappointing on many levels. One of which being the happenings of the aforementioned chapter which were greatly skewed and poorly portrayed. It is for this reason that I felt the need to express my feelings about that chapter, being as it is my favorite part of the book.

Casting Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan is one of the greatest casting mistakes of all time. I have been anti-Kristen Stewart for a long time now. Not only is she a horrible actress, she has no concept of who Bella is. She completely butchered the character and it is painfully obvious throughout the entire movie.

I am baffled by the fact that so many pivotal moments of the book were sacrificed for parts of no importance or parts that weren’t even in the book. Why? How could that happen?

Despite the numerous failures of the film, it is saved by the performance of Rob Pattison. He IS Edward Cullen. There were moments during the movie when I had the overwhelming feeling that I was actually face to face with the greatest book character in existence.

The other members of the Cullen family were amazing. They truly did their characters justice. The world seemed to stand still every time they were on the screen. And the baseball scene was unlike anything I have ever seen before.

I left the theatre completely heartbroken. I quickly made it home, crawled into bed, and opened the book. I flipped through the pages slowly, reading random passages and reveling in the splendor of every word. I felt a sense of calm in knowing that I will always have the book and that Edward and Bella’s true story will forever be mine.