First film coming soon!
Most of the attention for young readers has been on Harry Potter and author J.K. Rowling over the last several years, but there has been a new powerhouse arising called "Twilight," a series of vampire novels talking of young love, by Stephenie Meyer.
The story centers around the relationship struggles between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella (Isabella) Swan. It is especially popular among young ladies. Facebook alone has about 500 Stephenie Meyer fan groups.
Just last year the third book of the series, Eclipse, pushed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" off the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) bestseller list, with 150,000 copies selling on the first day of release.
Similar to Harry Potter the Twilight series is now about to become movie franchise, with the first film "Twilight" in post-production, and set for a December 12 release.
This story isn't the usual vampire story, only focusing on the "thirst" for human blood, although it does deal with the struggle Edward has in conquering that thirst while pursuing Bella. He also has to deal with a romantic rival who moves into town.
Twilight Trailer
Instead of feeding on humans, Edward and a few of his vampire friends go into the wilderness to feed on various animals; something unusual among the vampire culture.
What makes the story so compelling to so many is the strict moral code of Edward, which has drawn female readers to the series in droves.
Meyer said in a recent interview: "It's seen as olde-worlde charm, people miss the fact that people are no longer considerate. Edward goes to great lengths so nothing bad happens to Bella, she is cared for so much. A lot of the book's appeal is the thought of being loved to that extent.
"There has been some antagonism from men about Edward. They are jealous because they don't want to try that hard."
Meyer added that "The idea of a man being a gentleman has gone out of style."
Second Trailer
The response of the female readers to the story and Edward shows that is far from the truth.
Playing the part of Edward in the film will be Robert Pattinson, who played the role of Cedric Diggory, and died near the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Kristen Steward (Into the Wild) plays the part of Bella.
The final installment in the series, Breaking Dawn, is scheduled to be released on August 2. The biggest question fans are asking is whether Bella will become a vampire in order to spend an eternity with Edward.
P.S. The demand for the story is so great, Meyer decided to write another book in relationship to it called Midnight Sun, which tells the tale from Edward's viewpoint.
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