Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer

Author- Stephenie Meyer

Price- Rs. 395

Publisher- Atom

Find it at: Amazon (you can get the whole boxed set here)

I read this book less than a month ago, for the first time. Even though it was hugely popular a few of years back, when the first movie was released, I hadn't picked it up-mostly because I have a strange aversion to hyped-about things and because vampires were something I wasn't interested in. Ever.

My view however, hasn't much changed, even after reading the book. Based on the secret life of vampires in some towns in America, Twilight is the story of a human girl, Isabella Swan stumbling upon the mysteries of these 'secret' vampires.

Storyline

Bella's mom remarried and wanted to move to another town with her new husband. Seventeen year old Bella decides to stay with her father, Charlie in the cold town of Forks, a place she never liked to be, mostly because of its lack of sunlight, continuous rainfall, excess greens and forests. It was a place she found depressing and desolate, but she decides to go there anyway, for her mom's sake. Charlie gets her an old truck and she begins her new school, always wanting to be ignored. Kids at school however, knew her by name and took an interest in her, Forks being such a small town that everyone knew everyone! 

Sitting among the chattering group in the cafeteria on the first day, she notices a strange but extremely beautiful group of people, sitting silently, not touching their food. She's told it's the Cullens, who stay with their own family and hardly interact with others. She's fascinated by the elegant and smooth skin emanating a unique radiance and feels attached to them somehow, especially the youngest of them, Edward. However, Edward stares angrily at her and keeps his distance on the first day, much to Bella's surprise. But after a week he starts chatting normally and tries to interact. They become friends and Bella finds herself looking forward to school everyday. Forks doesn't seem boring anymore!

Some of Edward's activities perplex Bella, such as his speed, his aversion to blood and how they (the Cullens) never seem to eat. Charlie's got an old friend, Billy who sees them together and asks his son, Jacob to warn Bella to stay away from Edward. All this leads her to dwell on the mystery and she makes a guess- they are vampires. When she confronts Edward, he admits it to be the truth and tells her how they are trying to live a 'normal' life. They don't hunt humans, but animals, and it's a very unique and different thing about his family (which is actually not a real family, but kind of vampire parents with foster-vampire-kids!). 

It gets interesting where another vampire family visits the Cullens and one of them is a tracker. That's when the book picks up pace, since the tracker's after Bella and the Cullens set out a plan to save her. There's a race and everything happens with surprising speed. That's what put a smile on my face! Finally, some ACTION! The tracker however, tricks Bella and attacks her, but she's saved by Edward and Carlisle (Edward's 'dad' and a good-doctor-vampire).

My take

Bella seems to be a person without many feelings and her acceptance of every weird characteristic of Edward (which would make any normal person feel scared) as if it's an everyday thing, didn't make me happy. Not much. Maybe because I'm someone with an overflowing pot of emotions, having a view and thought for everything from people to soap, I found it rather depressing. Not having many feelings, I mean. But maybe that's what fascinates Edward, that despite knowing the truth she doesn't run away! Another thing I didn't enjoy much was the way Bella seemed casual about lying to her dad almost all the time! I mean, it's a story, but doesn't it give out a wrong message? 

The descriptions however are beautifully done, so much that one can create and visualize the whole scenes as if it's a movie running in your head, which is an exceptional thing in itself. I love such books, that have the ability to transfer you to a completely different fantasy world while you're stuck to its pages. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but there were parts where I felt irritated with the ridiculousness of it all. It isn't a hard core vampire story, not the scary stuff about them we read as kids, but the words sure don't fail to create a nervous lurch in your stomach. I don't know why it's compared to the Harry Potter series; HP is way better! But still, it isn't a job badly done. It's succeeded in grabbing a vast share of readers and followers and is an International Bestseller! I would read this book again- once. Or maybe twice. But that's it.

Recommended for teens, but if you're looking for a vampire story, back out! It's more of a YA love story.

Runaway

Author: Meg Cabot

Price: Rs. 250

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

The title to this third book in the Airhead Trilogy can be deciphered in two ways- Runaway because that's how Em looks like in the beginning, a Runaway gone to South Carolina with Brandon Stark (though of course the real Nikki, her mom and Steven, Nikki's brother are with them too, but that's a secret) and Runaway because in the end Em runs-away, from her fake new life, from all the stupid contracts, from her secret identity. She has uncovered the dark truth about Robert Stark and exposed him to the media. Stark's arrested and she's back to openly living life as Em! I think this one is the best in the series. It has action, it has mystery, it has secrets!

Storyline

Em's been 'kidnapped' (at least that's what we say when she's been taken against her will) by Brandon, who takes Nikki's family and Em to his South Carolina home, in order to coax the truth out of Nikki- the secret that she knows, the secret that led to this tangled mess in the first place. However, Christopher, Frida and Lulu somehow sneak into the guarded house and try to rescue Em. In the process, they tackle down Brandon and blackmail him into keeping quiet and return to New York. Now Em knows why Stark wanted to kill Nikki, she has the secret but is still clueless; no one knows how tracking down young kids with zero health problems and retaining their info using their spyware could be useful to Stark.

 Just when Em's about to leave for a party before the Stark Angel Fashion show, Christopher calls her and asks her not to go anywhere since he found out that Em herself is called a 'Project Phoenix', a secret project by Stark that's tracking down young people. Em decides to find out the truth and heads for the party. With a bit of snooping around, she sneaks into a room filled with extremely rich, old people, carrying out kind of an auction of young people! That's the catch- they 'kidnap' such fit people and legally "kill" them to carry out brain transplants for the old rich ones so that they could live a longer, healthier life! An insane scheme! Em records it on her phone, but she's caught and threatened by Stark. She however, had recorded the thing on two phones, and at the end of the New Year party, she, along with Christopher, Felix and others, discloses this fact to the world! Stark is arrested and Em is back to living her old life (though she's still the Face of Stark, a newly revamped company led by Brandon, with Nikki as her agent and Christopher and Felix working in Stark's technical department).

What's special

Mystery, secrets, danger. Something usually not seen in Meg Cabot books, it has definitely made this book the best of the trilogy (I said that before, didn’t I?). The clever scheme to earn fat bucks by Stark, the scientific edge to it and the way the mystery’s unravelled; it’s all quite appealing and makes it an interesting read. I would call it a clean, simple and interesting book, recommended for teens!

(Other books in the series- Airhead, Being Nikki)

Being Nikki

Author: Meg Cabot

Price: Rs. 290
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Being Nikki is the second book of the Airhead trilogy and is mostly based on Em’s (the seventeen year old female protagonist) life as a teen supermodel. In an accident that seems quite plain, Em got her brain transplanted into teen model, Nikki Howard’s body, who apparently, died in the accident. The shocks and surprises got over in the first book and this one shows Em living the life Nikki would have, if she were alive. However, as we move on to the later half of the book, we start getting uneasy feelings, as if something’s going wrong. As the truth unfolds, it is a whole new direction the story takes!

Storyline

It’s a muddled life for Em, what with Nikki being the Stark Angel for the Stark Fashion show, her complicated love life, Nikki's (real) brother showing up and informing her that their mom has been missing since the "accident". Above all, Em's suspicions that her home as well as that of her parents' is bugged, turn true, much to her fury. One day she finds herself in Christopher's flat where she sees a framed picture of her old self! His flat too, was bugged. To add to it, Christopher had been planning to break into Stark Enterprises with the help of his cousin, Felix, and take it down. Apparently, to revenge Em's death. He offers Nikki to help find her Mom in return for a username and password belonging to someone at Stark. 

Meanwhile Nikki finds herself being accused of e-mailing ex-boyfriend Justin, by a fellow model, which wasn't true, because Em hadn't been e-mailing anyone. That seems suspicious and she's intent on finding out the truth. It is during the annual party at Nikki and Lulu's place that Christopher finds Nikki and tells her that he knows the truth, that she's actually Em! He had been able to use the information to get into Stark's system and had seen Em's file there and uncovered the truth about her. Suddenly, as if some stroke of inspiration hit her, she finds out Justin in the party and they track down the e-mails from "Nikki". They were coming from Dr. Fong's house! 

A doctor who had been in the team that operated upon Em, Dr. Fong confessed when they rounded on him, that he had saved the real Nikki's life! That's because the real Nikki didn't have aneurysm, as was told by Stark and Dr. Fong couldn't let anyone die; especially someone who didn't have anything wrong with them. He placed Nikki's brain into a donor body and took her home. Nikki's mother stayed with them at Dr. Fong's place to help Nikki recover. (Nikki was however infuriated with having to give up the life she loved and stuck inside the doctor's house). This dangerous situation arose because Nikki had overheard some secret and was blackmailing Stark with it. But then, Stark had tried to kill her! All the while this truth was unraveling, Brandon had been eavesdropping, and he decides to play a game on his own. He corners Em and threatens to tell his father the truth, unless she agrees to play along him in uncovering the secret Nikki overheard from his father (they shared a strained relationship) so that he could blackmail him on his own. Em tells Christopher that she loved Brandon and will go with him to his place in South Carolina, along with the real Nikki and her family. 

What's special

Em's wit and presence of mind, as she finds out bugs in her loft, her parent's apartment, in her Stark brand cell phone, everywhere. There's a sense of foreboding as Stark cleverly intrudes every aspect of her life. Gradually as mystery after mystery reveals itself and as the truth dawns upon them, the reader experiences increased pulse-rates! It's a lot more interesting towards the end when the whole secret comes out and slightly redundant in the beginning. The ending's sad though, Em having to leave Christopher moments after they knew the truth! However, it's a fun read; you'll not get bored (it's Meg Cabot, you can hardly get bored). If you've read Airhead, you'll automatically go for this one! I liked it :)

(Other books in the series : Airhead, Runaway)

Airhead.

Author: Meg Cabot
Price: Rs. 250
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Another one of my favorites!! It's hard for me not to like a book, if it's by Meg Cabot and this one totally rules! It's the first in the Airhead Trilogy. The story of seventeen year old Emerson Watts, a very normal teen, tomboyish (so like me, 'not-so-girly', I mean), with a cool IQ level and a fetish for computer games (particularly Journeyquest) and surgery shows on Discovery channel, this story is what you would say is about "turning life the other way round"!

Storyline

Em is forced to attend the grand opening of a new Stark Megastore (by a company called Stark Enterprises) because her Mom doesn't want Em's fourteen year old sister, Frida, to go there alone. Frida's a fashion maniac and wanted to attend the opening because of the star presence of singing sensation Gabriel Luna and teen supermodel Nikki Howard. While the three of them (Em's best friend, Christopher is there too) are waiting for Gabriel's autograph, some protesters create a ruckus, in the midst of which a TV panel from overhead drops on Em and Nikki's injured.

It's a month later that Em wakes up in a hospital. She discovers (after she's been 'kidnapped' from the hospital by Lulu Collins(Nikki's best friend) and Brandon Stark (Nikki's on and off boyfriend)) that she's been the recipient of a rare kind of Brain Transplant! Nikki's brain had allegedly 'died' and the only way to save Em's life was the transplant! So Em's brain in Nikki Howard's body! She's petrified! It's supposed to be a secret, because the transplant process is still not legal, but carried out anyway by a secret division of Stark Enterprises! Here's the catch- there's a bond. Nobody should know Nikki is not really Nikki, but Em. AND Em (in Nikki's body) would be fulfilling Nikki's duties as a model and the face of Stark. That meant that Em was legally, technically dead, just not literally. 

Em is heartbroken. She has to live Nikki's life. Covered with the excuse of amnesia, Nikki comes back to the world of fashion after a month (only now it's Em, of course). Em discovers a whole new side to her life. People in Nikki's life like her even more now, since she's not so mean anymore. However the person she missed the most was Christopher (whom she's always liked) and that's what made her get into TAHS, Em's school, she wanted to see him so bad. And of course to complete her education. Christopher's a changed person and that kills her inside. No matter how hard Em tries to befriend him, it's useless (why would he want to be friends with the face of the company that killed his best friend?).

It's a roller coaster ride, with all cheerleaders crooning over her and trying to impress her, Robert Stark(owner of Stark Enterprises) not paying her any attention, finding out that Nikki's stark brand laptops were bugged with spyware (that the computer pro Em easily recognized), and modelling! What she is not aware of is, how much she's in danger unless she decides to just keep playing Nikki and not poking her nose in weird circumstances!

What's special

A scientific base on the story told with such imagination and humor, it's a book that keeps you hooked. I liked the way it portrayed the fun and the worrisome side of modelling. The moral was that you don't realize what you have till you've lost it, be it your home, family, or best friends; filled with the wonderful Meg Cabot style, humor and realistic portrayal of the protagonist. It's quite interesting actually, urging the readers to keep on guessing what dangerous motive could be behind such a clean story? The answer's in the second book to the series, Being Nikki! Em's experience actually living Nikki's life! A must read for teens!!! :)

Other books in the series- Being Nikki, Runaway

The Princess Diaries # 1

Written by: Meg Cabot
Find it at: Amazon
Publisher: Macmillan UK

I don't think this book needs any introduction, if you are a cool teen, who loves girly, princessy stories. If not, then I think you deserve at least one good kick! The first book of the Princess Diaries series, this is a fantastic story told in a 'Diary' kind of way. I admit I first saw the movies and TOTALLY loved them! Then I came across these books at the World Book Fair (Delhi), read and loved them instantly!

Storyline

This is the story of Amelia Thermopolis (call her Mia, or get on her hate list), a fourteen year old teenager living with her Mom in New York, attending Albert Einstein High School. Her life is already full of teenage woes, what with her dissatisfaction with her looks- her incredible height, long feet, hair that refuse to turn smooth and shine, her mother going out with her Algebra teacher (at which she's already flunking!), dealing with bullies like Lana Weinberger (cheerleader) and other similar stuff. Then one day her Dad (who lives in Genovia) comes up to "talk" to her about something. 

This is when Mia comes to know that she's actually a PRINCESS! Of a small principality, Genovia! Her Dad is the Crown Prince and her Grandmere (French, totally!) a queen! She's dumbstruck and so NOT happy with the news. What's going to happen to her now? Then comes the worse part. Her Grandmere (whom Mia doesn't like very much) would be in town to take her 'Princess Lessons'. She even gets Mia to undergo a makeover!! Mia tries to hide this 'fact' from everyone, including her Best friend, Lilly Moscovitz (someone with an extremely high IQ and who has her own cable access TV show, Lilly tells it like it is). 

BUT her Grandmere isn't going to take things this way. She somehow leaks information to the media about Mia because 'a princess must know how to handle publicity'. This brings another turn of events, when everyone in school starts noticing her and tries to be friends. She gets into an argument with Lilly and they don't talk for a long while. She makes a new friend Tina Hakim Baba, daughter of a rich Arab man and they get along pretty well. She's also taking help in Algebra from Michael, Lilly's brother (whom she secretly likes since forever!). In the midst of all this, she gets invited to the annual Cultural Diversity Dance by none other than the most popular guy in School, Josh Ritcher (a jock, and according to me, a total jerk too). 

It is at the dance that she comes to know that Josh is only trying to get publicity for himself, and this is when Lilly comes up to her aid. They become best friends again! The book ends with Mia and her family, peacefully watching a rare sunset sight in New York and envisioning the future. What will it be like? Mia will be trained to rule a small country!

What's special

Everything??? The best part is that it's so unique! Pure 'Meg Cabot' style- conversational, funny and absolutely wonderful; written in a diary format, so that the readers feel that it's Mia's personal diary that they're reading. The story emanates a sense of being connected, with the book, with Mia and her life. It talks of friendship, of the quarrels and misunderstandings that generally happen, of love, of happiness and family. Meaningful and enjoyable. :)