It’s been almost two decades since Stephenie Meyer published Twilight, the first book in The Twilight Saga. Like Bella Swan, readers were bitten by the forbidden vampire romance bug. And as the saga continued, and werewolves arrived, fans were split into Team Edward and Team Jacob.
The Twilight Saga was a major phenomenon in the way that it spawned a flurry of fan fiction, and made vampire fiction a craze amongst the younger demographic, with more novels being written in the sub-genre, some almost blatantly trying to recreate the Twilight craze. However, seeing how Stephenie Meyer’s books hold up after all these years might be an interesting reading experiment to conduct.
In fact, yours truly did conduct it! I reread all seven Twilight books in order and ranked them based on their story, the writing, and just the general enjoyment of reading them, 19 years after the first book came out. And here’s where they all stand.
7. Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined (Published: 2016)
Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined is a gender-swapped retelling of Bella and Edward’s story. There’s nothing new to dig into here, except that most characters (except Charlie and Renée) have swapped genders. Bella Swann is now Beaufort Swann, Edward Cullen is Edythe Cullen, Jacob is Julie, and, so on. It was cool to get a different perspective on these characters’ situations, like an introverted Beau being drawn to a supernaturally irresistible and mysterious Edythe.
However, Meyer doesn’t change the original Twilight story enough to draw you in. And the changes that she does make, due to the gender swapping, dilute the compelling arcs of these characters. Rosalie’s vampire origin story (she was sexually assaulted) was not the same for her male version, Royal, and the same goes for Jasper (Jessamine in this book).
With Midnight Sun giving us Edward’s POV on the same events, it felt like this story has been overused to make us care for this one. A for intent, but this required a fresh story, not just rewriting the original.
6. Midnight Sun (Published: 2020)
Stephenie Meyer had included a small glimpse of Midnight Sun chapters in Twilight. And if you were a Twi-hard obsessed with the books (I was!), getting to know the guy’s side of the story was an exciting prospect. However, by the time Meyer ended up publishing the complete novel, it was a different time, a different world, we’d seen the movies, our obsession had cooled down, and our media literacy had grown with us too.
Midnight Sun is a great alternative look at Twilight, but would’ve been more effective if Edward Cullen, despite finally showing his claws, wasn’t such a brooding presence. Remember the chapters we got from Jacob’s POV in Breaking Dawn? They felt raw and honest, even entertaining.
And having read the other books, the core issue with the series becomes even more pronounced in Midnight Sun. You’d think the book would offer more insight into why someone like Edward couldn’t find anyone to love in his long immortal existence until Bella. But the answer remains elusive—it still felt like Edward was too quick to fall in love with Bella, and only because she looked to him like some fragile damsel who needed protecting and her thoughts were a mystery. He’s just as frivolous then as Mike or Eric, who are obsessed with the first girl they meet who’s different than the ones they’ve known all their lives. When juxtaposed with Edward’s dismissive reading of Jessica’s thoughts, it felt even more problematic to see how Bella was thought of as “not like other girls.” (*Rolls eyes*!)
5. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Published: 2009)
This novella about the beginnings of the newborn vampire Bree Tanner, created by Victoria during Eclipse, was a breath of fresh air. Meyer published it after Breaking Dawn, in which Bella is a rather tame (and boring) newborn compared to the ones in the stories from Jasper and the other Cullens. So getting to read what being a newborn was really like for lesser mortals, from the perspective of Bree, was everything. It was a tragic story, and if you felt bad when the Volturi killed her despite her surrender in Eclipse, reading the novella and getting to know her and the other newborns, knowing how it ends, was heartbreaking.
That said, the book still ranks below the original books because it’s not essential reading. It could’ve easily been a bonus chapter at the end of Eclipse or integrated as parallel POV chapters to Bella’s showcasing the Seattle vampires closing in as the Cullens and the werewolves try to figure it out.
4. New Moon (Published: 2006)
New Moon is a partial hit-and-miss. This book is where you start spotting how problematic Bella and Edward’s relationship is, and it breaks the cozy illusion of the first book. Watching Jacob fall for her, you begin questioning Bella’s appeal beyond her looks and being a damsel in distress. To an extent, Bella’s depressing state over losing her boyfriend is understandable; if I had a mythical creature for a lover and I lost access to that whole impossible world overnight, I’d be pretty upset too! However, that doesn’t make reading about the self-destructive behavior easier, and her hurting Jacob over her selfishness makes you dislike Bella even more.
New Moon is still a good read (and an even better movie) because it takes you deeper into the mythology of this world, with the werewolf legends, the Volturi, and the arguments about vampires’ souls. Bella with Jacob and without Edward shows a different side of the character which had begun to seem one-note.
3. Breaking Dawn (Published: 2008)
It’s fair to dislike Breaking Dawn for the anti-climactic ending, Jacob imprinting on Renesmee, and Bella being an uninteresting newborn, once again playing into the “she’s not like others” trope. However, it has its appeal.
For one, Breaking Dawn is the most fun book in the series, especially when vampire Bella acts impulsively, like when she wants to maul Jacob for naming her daughter Nessie or get into a wrestling match with Emmett. The Jacob POV chapters show us this world and its complicated relationships in a new light that is more interesting, insightful, and entertaining than anything Bella has been able to say throughout these books, making you wish we got more Jacob POV than either Bella or Edward. I loved the banter between Jacob and Rosalie and the reluctant friendship between him and Leah.
Bella’s POV, where she was so perfect, without a toe out of line and no conflict in her transition, was frustrating. Apart from the obvious immortal child problem, everything else is too neat and falls so seamlessly in place. The dynamic between the two wolf packs should’ve undergone some tussle, and even if Jacob imprinted on Nessie, she was still an unknown threat and it would’ve been great to know what the Quileutes thought about one of them imprinting on a half-vampire child. All conflicts in Breaking Dawn were too easily resolved for a final book, even the matter about the werewolves not being werewolves but being shapeshifters!
Meeting the new vampires was still fun though. And while the face-off with the Volturi that never happened felt like a letdown, with no major character deaths (other than Irina, which was again easily brushed off) to sink in the stakes of what had just happened, it still felt smugly triumphant that it didn’t come to an all-out war because the vampires chose to stand up to the Volturi’s abuse of power. We love a silent revolution, even if it was an easy win. Besides, there was no way the Cullens could’ve won if this went to war, and it would’ve been an outrageous stretch if they did, or if somehow Bella was able to protect them all.
2. Twilight (Published: 2005)
Twilight is the OG, the book where it all began, and despite the basic (and sometimes just bad) writing, the story of a human girl and a century-old vampire falling in love in high school remains inexplicably addictive. The blurb at the back of the book (“About three things I was absolutely positive…”) is irrevocably imprinted on the collective psyche of all Twihards.
Even rereading it harkens you back to the dark fairytale appeal of the story that doesn’t get any less potent but draws you into Bella’s world and makes you want to feel love (and be loved) this strongly. Edward was THE book-boyfriend for a whole generation because of Twilight! Moreover, all the problematic notions about Bella and Edward’s characters don’t quite register yet in Twilight, so you can blissfully enjoy it.
1. Eclipse (Published: 2007)
Eclipse is the best book in the Twilight series because the love triangle is peaking, charging it with a different energy than the other books. The characters break their carefully drawn molds. When you’re done reading Eclipse, you’ll most likely know if you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob. I know I did.
Since Eclipse is where Bella has to figure out her feelings, the resulting angst and the way all three lead characters’ flaws are out in the open make for an interesting dynamic. You realize Jacob seems a healthier choice for Bella, especially after her problematic behavior in New Moon. Jacob is Bella’s equal in every way; she calls him her personal sun, and Bella’s belief that she “never fit in the normal world” isn’t true. Bella would’ve done just fine with Jacob, whose life is less dangerous than the vampires’. Then again, Jacob forces Bella to kiss him, or he’ll go into battle with a death wish. And it’s uncomfortable.
With Edward, you see a pattern of Bella shielding her true thoughts. He is neurotically obsessed with Bella’s safety, owing to his guilt, to the point where Bella has to run away with Jacob to spend time with him as a friend! Bella might be empathetic to Edward’s reasons, but as a reader, it is hard to ignore the toxic suffocation of such a relationship. He also manipulates Bella into marrying him at 18, so you realize this love triangle is extremely problematic and Bella is a lost cause. But at least these characters are finally acting human instead of some perfectly written characters on paper! The book might not be self-aware of how toxic this whole situation is, but Eclipse offers the reader some great perspective.
Meyer’s writing sees a steady improvement after Twilight, and the book’s climax features a battle that, unlike Breaking Dawn, does take place, rolling the friendship between the coven and the pack, and Edward and Seth. All in all, Eclipse simply has more character than all the other books!
Do you agree with the ranking? What’s your pick of the best Twilight book?
Published: Sep 3, 2024 05:30 pm