I just finished Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, a book that I had been waiting to read for several weeks. This one was worth the wait; I devoured all 498 pages in a matter of hours. In this haunting, almost heartbreaking love story, we meet Bella, a high school junior in a self-imposed exile in Washington. Bella longs to return to her mother in sunny Phoenix, and hates living with her father in the small, rainy town of Forks, where she is the lone new kid in school. But as she begins to settle in, she meets Edward, an unusual boy from a respected but strange family. Although forced to be lab partners, Edward is intent on keeping his distance from Bella, and makes it clear to her at every opportunity that they should not be friends. Nevertheless, Bella finds herself helplessly fascinated by his cold beauty and mesmerizing eyes, and despite his warnings, the two gradually become close. As they come to know each other, Bella begins to understand that there is something special about Edward…and that he isn’t quite human. As Edward repeatedly saves Bella’s life, they are pulled deeply into love, but face complicated circumstances: Edward must constantly fight his predatory nature, which compels him to kill her, and Bella discovers that she would rather die than be without him. They manage to delicately make their way together, but just as she grows closer to his incredible family, an unexpected danger throws them all into chaos.

This book was mesmerizing, and I am eagerly awaiting its sequel, New Moon, due out in August!