Twilight

This is the book that made vampire romance a generation's obsession, and it still earns it: the danger is the point, not a flaw. Read it if you want to understand modern YA, love a doomed-love story, or remember what it felt like when one look across a biology lab rearranged your whole life. It's fast, moody, and honest about wanting the wrong thing badly.

1. 1

   Act 1

   The Boy Who Hated Her on Sight

   Bella Swan arrives in Forks, Washington, trading Phoenix sun for a town where rain is a permanent condition, moving in with her father Charlie, the police chief, because her mother Renée is traveling with her new husband Phil, a minor-league baseball player. At Forks High she's adopted by a friendly crowd—Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley, Eric, Angela—and Mike quickly makes his crush obvious. Then biology class. Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen, and he reacts like she's something rotten: he stiffens, leans as far away as the chair allows, and vanishes from school for a week. She's bewildered and stung. When he returns, everything flips—he's warm, he apologizes, his eyes shifting from black to a warm golden brown. Before she can enjoy it, a van skids on ice in the parking lot and barrels toward her. Edward is suddenly there from across the lot, stopping the van with his bare hand and leaving a deep dent in the metal. At the hospital she confronts him: he was nowhere near her before the accident. He deflects with a flat 'Nobody will believe you,' and refuses to explain. On a trip to First Beach at La Push she meets Jacob Black, son of Charlie's friend Billy Black, who tells her the tribal legend: the Cullens are 'the cold ones'—vampires—but harmless, because they hunt only animals. Bella starts researching, comparing myth to the Cullens' pale skin, beauty, golden eyes, and untouched lunches, and becomes convinced Edward is a vampire. Nightmares follow: Edward in a bright glassy room, refusing to save her.

2. 2

   Act 2

   The Confession in the Dark

   In Port Angeles, Bella wanders away from her friends and gets cornered by a group of men in a dark alley outside a bar. Edward's silver Volvo appears out of nowhere; he's furious, menacing, and orders her into the car. Over dinner, as his anger fades, he starts confessing: he can read minds—everyone's but hers—and her blood is more desirable to him than anyone else's, which is why he reacted so badly on her first day. On the drive home she says it out loud: she knows he's a vampire. He confirms it, tells her he's 103 years old, transformed by Carlisle Cullen in 1918, and that his family are 'vegetarians' who drink only animal blood. He admits the worst: 'I wanted to kill you. I've never wanted to kill anyone before.' He tried staying away to keep from hurting her; instead they fell in love. 'And so the lion fell in love with the lamb,' he says. 'What a stupid lamb,' she answers. 'What a sick, masochistic lion,' he agrees. Then he shows her the truth of sunlight: in a meadow, his skin sparkles like thousands of tiny diamonds—the real reason vampires avoid the sun. He warns her, 'I'm the world's most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in—my voice, my face, even my smell.' They kiss for the first time. He starts spending nights in her room, watching her sleep—admitting he's done it for weeks—and tells her he was dying of Spanish influenza at seventeen when Carlisle saved him by transforming him. He won't make her a monster like himself.

3. 3

   Act 3

   The Tracker Picks His Prey

   Edward brings Bella home to meet the family in their house in the woods—Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie. Rosalie is cold; the rest welcome her. Carlisle explains the 'vegetarian' coven he founded so they can live ethically among humans, and tells her his own origin: son of an Anglican pastor in 17th-century London who hunted witches and vampires, bitten and transformed, then refusing ever to kill humans. Then the Cullens play baseball in a clearing during a thunderstorm—until three nomads arrive: Laurent, Victoria, and James. The moment they catch Bella's scent, they know she's human. James is a tracker, and the idea of hunting her becomes the biggest chase of his life. The Cullens split up: Edward, Carlisle, Emmett, and Esme lead James away while Alice and Jasper take Bella to Phoenix. She leaves Charlie with a flimsy excuse, hating the lie. In a hotel, the phone rings. James claims he's holding her mother hostage at her old ballet studio and will kill Renée unless Bella comes alone. Alice's visions can't help—Bella's decisions are unpredictable to her. Bella slips out, leaves a note for Alice and Jasper, and takes a taxi to the studio, where she finds only James and a video of her mother from years ago. The hostage claim was a ruse.

4. 4

   Act 4

   Venom and Prom

   James attacks. He throws Bella into a mirrored wall, glass shattering everywhere, bites her hand, crushes her leg, and films her screams to torment Edward later. Then Edward and the Cullens arrive, tear James apart, and burn the remains. Edward sucks the venom out of Bella's wound—fighting his own overwhelming thirst—to keep her from turning. She wakes in a Phoenix hospital with a broken leg, cracked ribs, and a head injury; her mother arrives, and the Cullens hold to the cover story that Bella fell down two flights of stairs and out a window. Victoria, James's mate, escaped and is still out there. Bella chooses to return to Forks rather than stay with her mother—choosing Edward, knowing exactly what that costs. Back home, Edward takes her to the Forks High prom so she won't miss a normal human experience because of him. He pins on her corsage; they dance in a gazebo under twinkling lights, Bella in a blue dress. She tells him, 'I want to be like you. I want to be a vampire.' He refuses: 'I'm not going to end your life for you,' and answers her with 'You are my life now.' She's still human, still hoping, and he's still refusing—while Victoria lurks, setting up New Moon.

Readers who want the source of a cultural phenomenon and don't mind swooning over danger. Skip it if controlling behavior dressed as romance will ruin the ride for you.

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