'Dawn' is breaking for vampire series
A few days ago, Laura Howard, 29, scrolled through her computer to make plans for dinner tonight. The Worcester resident wasn't identifying restaurant options; instead, she was combing through TwilightLexicon.com for Massachusetts fans of the Stephenie Meyer series of vampire novels. Howard, along with fellow fans dubbed "Twilight Moms," organized the dinner to mark tomorrow's release of "Breaking Dawn," the final installment in the series.
The response to Meyer's young-adult books has grown exponentially since the first novel, "Twilight," was released in 2005. Soon after, Meyer published two sequels, "New Moon" and "Eclipse." The series has gone on to sell more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.
The series follows the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moved from Phoenix to the cloudy town of Forks, in Washington state. Although Bella attracts much attention at her new high school, the one person she is drawn to is the elusive Edward Cullen. Unfortunately for her, he's a vampire. As the books progress, a second love interest is introduced: Jacob, Bella's best-friend-who-just-happens-to-be-a-werewolf.
"Stephenie Meyer's writing is amazing," said Colleen Stanley, 19, of Billerica. "Bella is the epitome of the average teenage girl. She's awkward and doesn't have much self-esteem. We get to see her fall in love for the first time and have to choose between two guys she loves."
"Breaking Dawn" will resolve many unanswered questions for fans: Will Bella end up with Edward or Jacob? Will she become a vampire?
"Two years ago, when I was a senior in high school, I picked ["Twilight"] up in a bookstore, read through the chapters, but stopped reading because it wasn't my usual type of book," Stanley said. "About a week later, I picked it up because I thought, 'I bought it, I might as well read it' and then read straight through the night. The next day at school I told everyone about it, but it wasn't too known yet. The rest is history."
Added Howard: "[The books] are addictive right from the beginning. I read all [three] of the books in, like, two days."
"Breaking Dawn" is expected to be the biggest book release of the summer, and bookstores nationwide will host midnight release parties for its debut. Borders in Braintree will hold a "From 'Twilight' Till Dawn" party for fans, featuring radio station WFNX (101.7 FM); the event will include a "So You Really Want to Date a Vampire?" game show and a "Root of All Evil: Who Should Bella Choose?" debate.
"It's great when works of fiction spark the imagination of kids," said Stacey Toon, the store's sales manager.
For each of her novels, Meyer was inspired by literary classics: "Pride and Prejudice" for "Twilight," "Romeo and Juliet" for "New Moon," "Wuthering Heights" for "Eclipse," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for "Breaking Dawn."
And on Dec. 12, "Twilight" will make its way to the big screen. "I saw the book as a film before I saw it as a book," Meyer said at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("The Nativity Story"), the movie will star Kristen Stewart ("Into the Wild") as Bella and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") as Edward.
Tonight, Howard and her group of fellow Twilight Moms will meet, gathering to watch the clock steadily tick away until midnight.
