By: Ivy Dahl

Summary:

The first chapter of ‘Twilight’ begins with 17-year-old Bella Swan moving from Arizona where she lives with her mom, to Forks, Washington, to live with her dad, Charlie. Her dad picks her up from the airport and takes her back to his house, the one she used to stay at every summer until she was 14. He gives her an old truck that he bought from his friend as a gift, so she can drive herself to the new high school she’s going to be attending. Charlie also shows her to her room, which is decorated nicely. He leaves immediately to let her get settled in and she appreciates this. She unpacks all of her stuff before going to bed.

Bella starts her first day at the Forks high school the next day, and to her horror, is the talk of the school. As she tries to find her way to classes, everyone is staring at her, as new students aren’t common. She meets a boy named Erik, who also seems enthusiastic about her novelty and is eager to show her around the school. She also meets a boy named Mike who seems just as interested in her novelty. She meets a girl named Jessica who she shares many classes with, and although friendly, she seems jealous of how much attention everyone (especially Mike) is giving her.

She’s eating lunch in the cafeteria with her newfound friends when a group of mysterious looking students sitting at a table catch her eye. They catch her eye because of how breathtakingly beautiful and different they look. She asks Jessica who they are, and Jessica explains that those are the Cullens, the adopted children of the local doctor Carlisle Cullen, and how they don’t interact with others often, so Bella shouldn’t get her hopes up. The one who catches her eye the most is a boy that Jessica points out as Edward Cullen. He seems to chuckle to himself as Jessica is speaking, although he is all the way across the cafeteria and it would be impossible for him to hear what she was saying at that distance.

Bella’s next class is biology. She walks in and notices the lab partner sitting at her table is Edward Cullen, who looks disgusted beyond belief. She sits down next to him, feeling insecure and uncertain of what’s making him react like that. He sits as far away from her as possible and holds a clearly disgusted expression for the entire class period, not speaking or looking at her. As soon as the bell rings he gets out of the room as fast as possible.

She goes through the rest of her classes puzzled about Edward’s mood in biology, ending the day by walking through the school office where she happens upon Edward arguing with the lady behind the counter about switching out of biology class. The lady refuses, and he storms off obviously upset, muttering that he’ll just have to withstand it. This causes Bella even more anxiety and she fights back tears for her whole drive home.

Review:

The first chapter of ‘Twilight’ holds many scenes that are iconic in pop culture history such as the cafeteria scene and biology scene. It sets up an interesting question of who Edward Cullen is and why he reacts the way he does to Bella. The worldbuilding has a comforting atmosphere which is communicated through simple, yet effective writing by Stephanie Meyer, the author. I would give it 10/10. You can buy ‘Twilight’ on Amazon.