Twilight the Graphic Novel Volume 1 - Book Review

Twilight the Graphic Novel  Volume 1
by Stephanie Meyer
Art and Adaptation by Young Kim
Hachette Book Group
2010
ISBN: 978-0-7595-2943-4
$19.99
pp 160

What is one of the most requested books at the HHA Middle School Library in Baltimore City? 

Answer: Twilight the Graphic Novel Volume 1

When asked why do students say they want to read this book?

Answers:  "I ljust loved this book because I can relive the Twilight book in a whole new way! I would keep checking it out if I could but the request list is really long right now." - Jennifer, age 11

"I really enjoyed seeing my favorite characters from the Twilight books in this graphic novel...the pictures are beautiful." - Sarah, age 13

“I loved the Twilight movie, but never wanted to read the long books – until I read this version. It is the right Twilight book for me. – Heymi, age 13

This graphic novel is adapted from the very popular book Twilight by Stephane Meyer and opens with a ringing endorsement by the author herself:

" I love Twilight: The Graphic Novel. It's simply beautiful...The art made (the story) fresh again. I hope everyone has that same experience with it.".

Before one opens the book the cover art of the main character Bella truly seems to draw the reader in. The fairy tale like portrayal of Bella and particularly her flowing hair, make it hard to walk by without wanting to take a look inside. 

The story begins with a closeup of Bella's tear filled cheeks and her tousled locks and a very compelling opening line..."I'd never given much thought to how I would die - though I'd had reason enough in the last few months..."

The entranced reader is now introduced to Bella and her father that she had chosen to move back in with in 

"cloud covered Oregon." 

The tale continues as Bella struggles to fit in at a new high school.  At this point, I must comment on the "graphic" aspects of this novel. While I personally found the pictures themselves to be very appealing and according to many Middle School critics that I talked to - "the pictures are great in this book!"- I found the placement of the text bubbles to be very distracting. Many times, as seen in both examples both above and below, the bubbles cover the faces of the characters to the point of distorting the image. I assume that much time is spent placing these text boxes and I cannot help but feel that they could have been placed more appropriately.  Often in this book I found myself distracted by these bubbles when I truly wanted to just enjoy pictures!

As the story continues, and I got more comfortable with the awkward bubbles, Bella finally meets her destined love, Edward Cullen,  and is initially hurt and confused by his efforts to avoid her. Many of Kim's  drawings help the reader to feel Bella's pain, confusion, and conflict through her detailed facial expressions and strategically placed tears.  Edward's strange actions, evasive family members, and physical differences compel Bella to more and more about him.  As she innately knows, but confirms through investigations she confirms that he is **spoiler alert** that this boy that she is falling deeply in love is a true danger, a true freak, a true vampire.

This version of Twilight is obviously, purely from it's length of only 160 pages boiled down from a book that is 500+ pages, a synopsis of the original book. Many details from the book are left out and or combined. For trure Twilight fans, this short version may be a bit frustrating, but if taken as just an excerpt from the book, and as a chance to enjoy some beautiful illustrations of some favorite characters, it is very worth it!

10+ Do to the shorten story and the appealing pictures I would recommend this version of Twilight to even the younger Twilight fans.

Other selections that I would recommend to readers that enjoyed this are:

The original Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Twilight
Eclipse
New Moon

Breaking Dawn


















To  just learn more about this fascinating author enjoy the official Stephanie Meyer website.


A fun website to find a list of more teen vampire genre books check out the Monster Librarian. http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/vampiresya.htm


Other Graphic Novels that readers might enjoy try visiting the American Library Associations Young Adult list for top Graphic Novels for 2010 by clicking here.