It ought to seem redundant to dismiss the fourth and final Twilight novel as escapist fantasy-but how else could anyone look at a romance about an ordinary, even clumsy teenager torn between a vampire and a werewolf, both of whom are willing to sacrifice their happiness for hers? Flaws and all, however, Meyer's first three novels touched on something powerful in their weird refraction of our culture's paradoxical messages about sex and sexuality. The conclusion is much thinner, despite its interminable length. Everygirl Bella achieves her wishes quickly (marriage and sex, in that order, are two, and becoming an immortal is another), and once she becomes a vampire it's almost impossible to identify with her. But that's not the main problem. Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily-in other words, grandeur is out. This isn't about happy endings; it's about gratification. A sign of the times? Ages 12-up.
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Gr 9 Up

Meyer closes her epic love story of a human, a vampire, and a werewolf in this, the final installment of the saga. The story opens with Bella and Edward's wedding, and relations between Jacob and Bella remain uneasy. On honeymoon and unshackled from any further concerns about premarital sex, Edward fulfills his promise to consummate their marriage before he changes Bella into a vampire. An unexpected conception throws their idyllic world back into chaos as factions (both wolf and vampire) battle over whether or not to destroy the potential monster that is killing Bella from within. The captivating angst, passions, and problems manage to satisfyingly fill pages where surprisingly little action takes place, even after the powerful child's birth brings the Cullen family under the scrutiny of the Volturi. The international cadre of vampires who come to the Cullens' aid are fascinating, but distract from the development of prime characters at a pivotal moment. The novel begins and ends with Bella's voice, while Jacob narrates the middle third of the tale, much like the final pages of Eclipse (Little, Brown 2007). While darker and more mature than the previous titles, Meyer's twists and turns are not out of character. Fans may distress as the happy ending for everyone, including a girl for Jacob, lessens the importance and pain of tough decisions and difficult self-sacrifices that caused great grief in previous books, but they will flock to it and enjoy it nonetheless.-Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library

Praise for TWILIGHT:
A New York Times Editor's Choice
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Book of the Decade
An American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

This final novel in Meyer's popular teen vampire series is sure to satisfy fans, even with its somewhat fizzled-out ending. Unfortunately, narrators Ilyana Kadushin and Matt Walters do little to enhance the tension, romance, and excitement of the plot. Kadushin's voice is lovely to listen to when she reads Bella's sections, but she adds little inflection or vocal variation among speakers, resulting in whole sections where the listener is unable to identify which character is talking. Walters's performance is certainly more varied and more effective, but his characterization of Jacob's narration sounds contrived—a caricature of what an angsty teenage werewolf "should" sound like—gruff, angry, and loud. One wonders if the all the hype surrounding Meyer's series encouraged a rushed job on this audiobook. A.H.A. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine