Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

A week ago, I'd never heard of this book. But, then my friend Raz told me it was all the rage - and suddenly I started seeing mentions of it everywhere. Jake's 15-year old cousin Emily confirmed that it was a good read, so I went and checked it out from the library. I did know going in that this was from the Young Adult section, and that it featured vampires. The main character is 17-year old Bella who has recently moved to dreary Forks, WA to live with her father. She finds herself inexplicably very popular with the boys at her new school - and in particular with an eccentric and beautiful boy named Edward. She falls immediately under his spell, and it isn't long before she discovers that he is a vampire. Not much else happens in this 570 page book. Bella and Edward have inane conversation after inane conversation about their love for each other, constantly frustrate each other, get mad and apologize - basically the typical high school relationship. There is a little action at the end involving another vampire coven, and a few interesting tidbits about the lives of Edward and his vampire family. This is by no means brilliant prose, but it's a fun story - and something I can see teenage girls falling absolutely in love with - after all, what 17-year old wouldn't want to imagine herself in a romantic relationship with a gorgeous vampire? There are two more books in the series, and a movie featuring the kid who played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter films on the way. Definitely a fun diversion - I'm already in the queue at the library for the second book in the series.