Opening Doorz

By Jiya Sharma | Opening Doorz Editorial | May 20, 2021

Book Review: Midnight Sun
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Rating: 3.5/5

Midnight Sun Book Review

Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer is like a breath of fresh air. The work retells the events of Twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen instead of that of the series’ usual narrating character, Isabella ‘Bella’ Swan. This is the first and the only book from the series written from Edward’s perspective.

Midnight Sun revolves around Edward Cullen meeting Bella Swan. This becomes the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a Vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. 

Through this book, Meyer transports us back to a world that has captivated millions of readers; it’s an epic novel about the profound pleasures and devastating consequences of immortal love.

Relationship status: complicated

The relationship between Edward and Bella is ‘out of this world’. If they were on Facebook they each would have updated their relationship status as complicated. Bella is human and Edward is a vampire! Bella is the new girl in high school moving from Phoenix to Forks. She is also the talk of the school. Edward being Edward is bored of the overly enthusiastic responses to the new girl catches her sweet blood’s scent. That is when the fight between his heart and mind begins. He fears that his uncontrollable bloodlust might kill her on the spot.

This is where his road to self-control begins. Eventually, he effortlessly falls in love with her. Bella’s protection is his primary concern. He wants to save her from the deadly vampires, keeping her as far away as possible from them. He fails to keep her away from him!

The plot thickens

Though there’s a long list of characters Meyer brings into the plot, the book mainly focuses on Edward, the 100-year-old vampire and also the narrator, and Bella Swan, the human who gets attracted towards Edward Cullen. In the maze of this complicated relationship and rare love story, Meyer also dwells on the Cullen Family—Carlisle Cullen and Esme Cullen, Edward’s adoptive parents and his siblings, Emmett Cullen and Alice Cullen. There’s also Rosalie Hale and Jasper Hale partners to Emmett and Alice respectively. 

Another twist in the plot is the introduction of Jacob Black, a werewolf. There’s a ‘cold war’ between these two as they fight over Bella. To top it, there’s also a human, Mike Newton, a popular boy in the school, who is competing for Bella’s attention.

Other books by Meyer and Movies 

As mentioned earlier, Stephanie Meyer initially started with the first book Twilight in 2005. This book and the next four in line have been written from Bella’s perspective. New Moon and Eclipse have followed the first book, followed by Breaking Dawn which remains my favourite. Reading through the first two books, I can say that Bella’s perspective can get really annoying. Why is she so confused, clumsy and keeps on falling anytime and anywhere! Having said that, these traits do make you laugh at times.

If you are not much of a reader, you can always watch the films. Five movies in total, having the same title, only the last of the series Breaking Dawn has been divided into two parts. The movie does bring out the story in a really good way. The three main characters as explained in the book have been beautifully portrayed in the films. The characters of Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black have been played by Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The actors have done justice to the characters written by the author. 

After you have read the book, to see some instances live are a treat to watch starting from Edward saving Bella from a near-death accident, almost risking the exposure of his hidden identity, to saving her from goons, to watching her sleep, to finally confessing his feelings for her. Oh yes, there’s also that dance at the prom! I watched the movies first, unaware of the fact that they are based on books. 

Midnight Sun has become one of my favourites and I recommend all to be a part of this compelling, supernatural teen love story.

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