Book vs. DVD: New Moon

With the movie version of the book Eclipse due to hit theaters any day now, everyone is checking out what came before it to get pumped up for the film’s release.  After the mega-success that was her first book, Twilight, Stephenie Meyer penned its sequel, New Moon.  This book starts off with a bang:  while celebrating her 18th birthday, Bella gets a papercut, and her blood fuels an attack by Jasper.  This attack leads Edward and the rest of the Cullens to decide that it is time for them to leave Forks, and Bella cannot come with.  Bella spirals into a depression, which she is only brought out of through her blossoming friendship with Jacob Black.  Bella once again finds herself caught up in supernatural occurances that she never expected to face, including finding out that her new best friend is a werewolf and racing through an Italian city filled with celebrating vampires.  This book is a good follow-up to Twilight and contains a bit more action, though Edward fans might not enjoy his limited appearances in the novel.

Following the success of the movie version of Twilight, production was immediately started on the next film.  New Moon follows along very closely with the book, including the birthday party, Sam rescuing Bella in the forest, and and the confrontation between Bella and Laurent.  One of the biggest changes from the book is that not only does Bella hear Edward’s voice when she is doing something dangerous (as she does in the book), she also sees him.  This was no doubt done to keep Team Edward fans happy, since his character didn’t really appear in the book much.  The movie includes some very intense fight scenes, especially once Bella, Alice, and Edward reach Volterra.  The special effects have greatly improved over the first movie, likely the result of a higher budget due to the massive success of Twilight.  As in the first movie, some of the dialogue comes across a bit cheesy, but true Twilight Saga fans won’t mind.  Overall, I think that fans of the book, and even those who wish Edward had been featured in it more, would enjoy this movie adaptation.

Though the book and its companions are often found in the Young Adult section of the library, this series is not just for teens.  People of all ages are engaging in heated debates of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob, and they’re all clearly invested in who Bella ends up with at the end of the saga.  This series is guilty pleasure reading at its best, and the movies have so far stuck to what is in the books, making them a lot of fun to watch.

YA Spotlight: Twilight, The Graphic Novel Vol.1

Hey there, Twilight fans! Are you waiting patiently for your hold on the New Moon DVD to come in?! Well, why don’t you spend that waiting time by reading the just released Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim!

Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young KimIt has been awhile since I read the first book, so I cannot make a judgment call on how faithful the graphic novel is to the original text, but there was one big change that surprised me: I actually liked Bella! Although a big fan of the books, I have always found Bella’s attitude towards other females a bit annoying and unsympathetic (although appreciated as part of her character). However, whether due to less internal monologue or just lovely illustrations, the graphic novel Bella feels like a friend who happens to have really gorgeous hair. Unfortunately, I find Edward less likable when in graphic form; he kind of just looks like a jerk who thinks too highly of himself…but no worries! The chemistry between Graphic Bella and Graphic Edward still made my heart race!

Overall, Kim’s work is fantastic: the variation in line texture, the soft photo-realist backdrops, and the subtle, poignant color changes give the graphic novel incredible feeling. Swoon, can you hear my heart beating?! I can’t wait for Volume 2!

Twilight isn’t the only book to go graphic. Check out these other popular titles that have had an illustrator’s touch:
book cover image for A People's History of American Empirebook cover image for The Hound of Baskervillesbook cover image for The Picture of Dorian Graybook cover image for Jane Eyrebook cover image for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptationbook cover image for Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptationbook cover image for The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumbbook cover image for Pride and Prejudicebook cover image for Coraline