“I could see how easy it would be to fall into loving Bella. It would be exactly like falling: effortless. Not letting myself love her was the opposite of falling – it was pulling myself up a cliff face, hand over hand, the task as gruelling as if I had no more than mortal strength. When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun. this unforgettable tale, as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his year as a vampire. As we learn we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thought, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger? In Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer transports us back to a world that has captivated millions of readers, and brings us and epic novel about the profound pleasures and devastating consequences of immortal love.”
What is the book about?
Edwards’s life in Forks has been normal so far – well as normal as being a vampire in a human world – but everything changes when Bella Swan, daughter of the Chief of Police, moves into town. At first Bella Swan seems like a normal teenage girl until being within a mile radius of her could compromise everything Edward and his family has built. Edward tries to resist but finds it impossible and hopeless. After a while Edward stops trying and a relationship develops between him and Bella. Bella doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of spending time with a vampire and only seems to get herself into more trouble. Edward wishes to always be around be around Bella, but could satisfying his own desires mean leading Bella into danger?
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
As always I was desperate to read Midnight Sun, however, I was worried that it would be boring to read a book that is almost identical to one I have already read, even though it is from a different perspective. Even though I was uncertain about Midnight Sun, I was still intrigued at the possibility of still enjoying this book as much as the original, Twilight. Once I started reading, I knew I shouldn’t have doubted my love for the Twilight Saga and that this book wouldn’t be as good as the others. After I had read the first few pages, I realised that even though a book has the same main events, they are still very different because they are told from someone else’s view and not everyone will have the same opinion or see things in the same way. Retold novels are also different because there are moments where a certain character goes off on their own so all the other characters will be doing something unknown to that character. Both of these things changed Midnight Sun and made it an amazing novel.
Who was your favourite character and why?
One of my favourite characters was Bella because of how her personality developed in a new light. Lots of people have said that Bella has no personality and that she was just a typical damsel in distress with no proper role until Edward came to save her. After reading Midnight Sun Bella’s personality was so much clearer and I think that one of the reasons Stephenie Meyer wrote this book was to show the readers that Bella did have a proper personality. In Midnight Sun, Bella showed she was selfless, brave, kind, protective, responsible and patient. I was shown how Bella was caring of others and made sure that they were happy even if it risked her own happiness. Even though a lot of her personality was implied in Twilight, everything was so much more explicit because Edward stated the obvious. My other favourite character was Alice also because of the new personality traits revealed in Midnight Sun. It was really interesting to learn about how impatient Alice was to become friends with Bella and how she helped and stood by Edward even when some of the Cullens didn’t trust his choices and thought he was being irresponsible.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
It was really hard to choose a favourite part as the whole book was amazing but I did really enjoy the ending. In Twilight the ending was also my favourite part but I think that liked it much more in Midnight Sun. The ending stood out to me because it was very trilling and exciting as Edward followed the tracker and tried to get rid of the danger to save Bella. A lot was going on during this section of the book and it was very interesting to find out what lead to the tracker discovering Bella’s location, and how Edward was able to realise this in order to rescue Bella before her time ran out. This part is particularly interesting because I got to follow Edward and what he was doing while Bella was hiding from the tracker so the last few chapters were very different. I also finally understood how the Cullens were able to trick people into thinking that Bella had fallen out of a hotel window instead of them finding out what really happened.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, Midnight Sun was a great book that I really enjoyed. It was really interesting to get an inside view of Edwards thoughts and understand everything that he did in Twilight that might have been a bit confusing. I really liked reading about Edward and his opinion and I sometimes used Twilight to try and understand both Bella’s and Edward’s thoughts. Midnight Sun answered a lot of my questions particularly about Edward and vampires abilities. I got to know more about Edward and the burden of his abilities and it was fascinating to read about how puzzling it was for Edward not to be able to read Bella’s thoughts. It also intriguing to learn about Alice and Edward’s relationship and the strange way they were able to inconspicuously communicate. I also got to learn more about Edward’s past and some information on the other Cullens. I found Midnight Sun very interesting and informative and really liked reading it.
Which book did you like best: Twilight or Midnight Sun?
I think that my favourite book out of Twilight and Midnight Sun is probably Midnight Sun. Even though Twilight is the original book, Midnight Sun was a lot more interesting and action-packed. I think that a lot more information was given and a lot of questions that were left unanswered from Twilight were finally acknowledged – though there are a couple I am still puzzled about. I also liked Midnight Sun because it was written from Edward’s perspective. Due to Edwards extra ability, mind reading, I was able to read about more peoples responses to his and Bella’s actions which meant I was capable of understanding actions and emotions of certain characters that seemed unclear in Twilight. In Midnight Sun I read about the Cullens pasts which I really enjoyed as I like knowing a person’s backstory so I am able to properly analyse their actions to recognise the reasons for their behaviour.
Would you recommend this book?
I would recommend reading this book, particularly for those who enjoy romance and fantasy novels. I think that Midnight Sun is most appropriate for reader 15 or older and that it is better to read Twilight first as it is the original story.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A new version of the incredible Twilight love story from a fresh new perspective.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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