Booktalks Quick and Simple

Bella feels she is not wanted at home. Her mother has remarried and travels a lot with her new husband. So Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington. She doesn't really expect too much for the town. It isn't a big city and it is cloudy most of the time. But when she begins school, she is drawn to a handsome young man. Things might be looking up after all. But Edward seems to be repulsed by Bella. What did she do to offend him? She hasn't even talked to him yet. As she gets to know Edward and his family, she comes to understand why Edward reacted to her as he did. And she also comes to understand more than she ever imagined.

"My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I was standing by the back corner of my truck, when I heard an odd sound. It was a high pitched scream, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up startled. Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me staring in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.

A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.

Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a rag doll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt - exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.

It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low frantic voice in my ear.

When this accident almost ends her life, Isabella finds out the truth about Edward and his family, a group of benevolent vampires who have chosen the misty city so that they can blend in and live among humans without discovery. Edward, his siblings and their adoptive parents have disciplined themselves to feed on animals rather than humans. They are vampires of an unusual variety and Edward is obsessed with Bella. Isabella and Edward begin a courtship dance in which they are drawn closer and closer, knowing the danger of their being together. Isabella soon discovers that not all vampires are kind, and the book shifts into suspense mode with Isabella running for her life. Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2006-2007

"' I was afraid... because, for, well, obvious reason, I can't stay with you. And I'm afraid that I'd like to stay with you, much more than I should...' I looked down as his hands as I spoke...

'Yes,' he agreed slowly. 'That is something to be afraid of, indeed. Wanting to be with me. That's really not in your best interest... I should have left long ago... I should leave now. But I don't know if I can.' He sighed.

'Which is exactly why I should. But don't worry. I'm essentially a selfish creature. I crave your company too much to do what I should... It's not only your company that I crave! Never forget THAT, Never forget. I am more dangerous to you than I am to anyone else...'" (page 264)

Seventeen year old Bella moved to Forks, a small, rainy town in Washington to be with her father. The town of Forks was her personal version of Hell, until she me Edward. Edward is beautiful, seductive and dangerous. Edward had been able to keep his vampire identity a secret, until he met Bella. At first he seemed to hate her, or so she thought.

Twilight, by Stehanie Meyer, is a teen love story with a vampire twist. Life for Bella is both thrilling and terrifying, and irresistible as Edward.

(Sections of this Booktalk are shamelessly borrowed from the publisher's site for the novel.) By Tammy L. Welshon Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2006-2007

Booktalk #4

How many of you here have already read Twilight?

[Wait for a response: If no hands go up: "I can't believe it! You don't know what you're missing," if they do go straight to:]

Apparently, the good folks at Hollywood think this is a killer novel: Paramount and Maverick have optioned the movie and a guy named Mark Lord is writing the script!

Here's the story:

Isabella's parents are divorced, her mom has remarried, and so Bella finds herself relocated to Forks, WA. Does anyone know what Forks big claim to (Washington) fame is?

[Wait for a response]

Yep. Forks gets a lot of rain. As much as 160 inches—that's 13 feet, every year. Now, if you were a vampire, and had to stay out of the sun—and if nice grey cloud-cover was just as good as nighttime--where would you relocate?

[Wait for a response]

Right again. Forks second claim to fame, if anybody knew about it, would be the nest of vampires—the "Cullen family"—that live there—several of whom attend Isabella's new high school, and one of which, Edward, has taken a dangerous interest in Isabella's blood. Scary stuff, right?

[Wait for a response]

Yes. And no. It's not (quite) that kind of story. These vampires—the Cullens—have sworn off human blood. They only hunt wild animals. What Edward is, is deeply attracted to Isabella, and Bella can't believe that the most beautiful, irresistible guy imaginable has the hots for a seemingly-ordinary girl like her. Bella just has no idea how good she smells to a predator.

Edward may look 17, but he's older, a lot older. He knows how dangerous it is to get involved with a human. Bella and Edward are falling in love, and half the time Edward is trying to stay away from her—for her own safety.

But he may not have a choice. Because the Cullens aren't the only vampires around, and most of them--? Are a lot more old-fashioned about their menu choices.

Read Twilight: A hot story of dangerous, forbidden love.

(Booktalk by Kirsten Edwards, King County Library System for the Evergreen Young Adult Book award, 2007-2008)

Booktalk #5

There are three things that Isabella knows.
1. Edward is a vampire
2. There's a part of him—how big a part, she isn't sure—that truly thirsts for her blood
3. She is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Of course, Isabella never planned on falling in love with a vampire. It's not the kind of thing you put in your dayplanner. Tuesday, 4pm, fall in love with blood-sucking undead monster. Nope.

Imagine going to your boyfriend's house for dinner to meet his parents knowing that under other circumstances you'd be the main course.

Isabella knows that loving Edward is dangerous. She even suspects that she may be putting her family—everyone else she cares about—at risk.

But what Isabella doesn't realize is that Edward and his family aren't the only vampires in town.

Read a very different kind of love story, read, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

(Adapted from the back cover blurb for the Evergreen Young Adult Book award, 2007-2008)

Booktalk #6

The bad news is Bella craves light. Phoenix has it. Forks, Washington does not. Bella’s mom has found a new significant other, so she decides to join her father in Washington. It means changing schools and depriving herself of sunlight. One unexpected benefit of her new school is Edward, who is unnaturally attractive and aloof. Although the attraction seems mutual it seems like every time Bella gets close to Edward, he unexpectedly withdraws. As Bella and Edward’s friendship increases, he reveals his secret: he is a vampire—although not one that consumes human blood, only the blood of animals. Bella and Edward must tread very carefully since there is danger all around. Don’t check this book out on a night you have lots of school work because once you start it – you’ll have to finish it the same day! (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards nominee, 2008-2009)

Booktalk #7

This novel tells the story of Isabella Swan, a seventeen year old girl who moves from her warm, sunny home in Phoenix, Arizona, to the small, dank, rainy city of Forks, Washington, to live with her dad. Bella has never fit in with the girls at her high school, and never cared much either. She never expected to really fit in with anyone, that is, until she meets the mysterious and magnificently beautiful Edward Cullen. Edward is perfect, or so she thinks. Edward has a secret, a secret that only his family can know. Struck by Bella's beauty and dazzling personality, Edward falls in love, they both do. It was a match made in heaven. But as the two fall in love, Bella uncovers the dark secret behind those beautiful eyes, and her world is suddenly turned upside-down. Bella is thrown into a world of fantasy vs. reality that no one else can know. She can't tell anyone, not even her own father, about what Edward really is. Along with what seems to be surreal perfection, this utterly extraordinary world brings extreme danger into Bella's life. When Bella becomes an object of prey, they know that it is inevitable; they have to fight her "predators." Together they battle against incredible odds in this exceptionally riveting tale of forbidden love. (Sydney H., student)

Booktalk #8

Just in time for October, a book that really sinks its teeth into you! Bella Swan has just moved from sunny Phoenix to gloomy Forks, Washington to live with her father Charlie. Bella is in her junior year at high school and finds herself drawn to Edward Cullen, a mysterious boy in her class. Edward is-well-beautiful and dazzling, but his behavior towards Bella is hostile one moment and protective in another. As Bella gets closer and closer to Edward he warns her to stay away from him. This seems to be more and more impossible as Edward and Bella find themselves continually attracted to one another. What will Bella do? Should she ignore the scary story that her friend Jacob Black tells at the beach about the cold ones who used to prey on humans?

Dark, exciting and compelling, Twilight is book that casts its spell on you long after you have closed the cover. (Melissa Bowman, Melissa.Bowman@pisd.edu, Armstrong Middle School, Lone Star Book Award nominee, 2006-2007)

Booktalk #9

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

Bella means Beautiful, and that she was; Beautiful, pale, unique, and the new girl at Forks high School. Her first day is unlike any other, she meets Edward Cullen, and at that very moment her destiny is altered forever. His hands were cold, his skin pale, his eyes dark as night, and yet…she can not stay away. Follow with Edward and Bella as they conquer their completely addicting and never ending journey to nowhere soon. Can danger overcome passion? And can love truly outlast time..? (Amanda Glover, am-glover@wiu.edu, college student)

Booktalk #10

You may think that your world is full of dangerous monsters, but that only means that you haven't yet met the wondrously normal Bella. In this novel directed from Bella's point of view, everything seems overly average. From the moment she arrives in the dreary town of Forks, where it rains constantly and the sun shines on rare occasions, she has to deal with a father who doesn't hover over you while she tries to move on peacefully to her first day at school. At Forks High School, things get... busy. She is immediately the center of attention and everyone already knows her name. In a mix between unluckily and dangerous, Edward Cullen, our mysterious yet creepy friend, comes into play. Bella's first day at school goes from bad to worst when she gets the empty seat next to the starving vampire... (Becky Enders, ra-enders@wiu.edu, college student)