Midnight Sun – Stephenie Meyer

This book was kind of incredible. It did take me practically forever to get through, but it was worth it. Midnight Sun takes us back into the Twilight universe, but this time, through Edward’s eyes. In my opinion, this book was more interesting than the original Twilight which was from Bella’s point of view. It was so interesting to see Edward’s take on everything that was happening, as well as his struggles to keep Bella alive. Along with all of this, I see him in a completely different light now that I know what goes through his mind, and I definitely like him a lot more. 

Plot

This book has the exact same plotline as the original twilight book, however, it is from a different point of view. Bella showed us what it was like to fall in love with a vampire as a human, and Edward showed us what it was like to fall in love with a human as a vampire. Edward brought a whole new light to the story and made it a lot deeper, and a lot darker. 

The book starts as a usual day for Edward Cullen in the Forks High School cafeteria, at a table with his vampire siblings. Edward can hear everyone’s thoughts around him, and they’re all directed at the new girl, Bella Swan. The new girl eventually walks into the cafeteria, but, Edward finds that he cannot hear her thoughts like everyone else. After lunch, he heads to biology and finds that she is seated next to him. Edward is unexpectedly taken over by the “monster”, a creature controlling his thirst and vampire side. Bella’s scent is so attractive to him that he struggles to maintain his pretend humanity and fantasizes about killing her for the next hour of class. Meeting Bella is one of the most enticing events in his one hundred and eight years as a vampire. 

Edward realizes that he has to stay away from Bella, for her safety and his sanity. The only problem with that is that he has developed a sort of protectiveness over her. Edward is constantly conflicted between saving Bella from himself or being there to protect her until he finally gives in and can’t stay away from her anymore. 

Bella and Edward develop a complicated, deep, and intense relationship that gives his life a new meaning altogether. 

“I knew her well enough to see that the sight of so many books in one room was something of a dream to her”

Characters

Edward Cullen is our main character in this book and as we follow his story of falling in love with Bella it gets more interesting each page. Edward is used to his skills growing stronger as the years’ pass, his mind-reading has always been there, but when he meets Bella, it is the most frustrating thing he’s ever had to deal with. Bella’s thoughts are completely hidden from him, and while this adds a ton of mystery, it’s a new experience for Edward. Along with this, her blood is so tempting that he struggles to maintain his composure around her. While this is a very strong temptation for him, he also feels an urge to protect Bella from everything and anything that could possibly hurt her. I really think this gives a lot more insight into Edward’s character. In Twilight, it was a bit creepy how he would just watch her sleep, and how protective he was of her, but this shows why Edward feels like he needs to be there. His pain when he is separated from her is incredibly strong, and he ultimately feels as if it’s his job to keep her alive while also struggling with not killing her himself. 

Bella was a different character than in Twilight. I feel like Edward sees Bella as a totally different person than she described herself in the books and it was really cool to see what Edward thought of the clumsy girl. She was also kind of mysterious in this book. Edward can’t hear Bella’s thoughts, so a lot is left out to the imagination, just like Twilight for Edward. 

I have to mention how Rosolie was portrayed though. Rose was shown as someone who only cares about herself, and while she is super vain sometimes, she is also a really good character that adds a lot to the entire story and universe. I think that she was shown really poorly in this book, and while that might be because it’s Edward, and they’re siblings, it kind of ruined some of the book for me. I feel like Rosalie shouldn’t be portrayed like she only cares about herself and nothing else when it’s clear that her family is important to her too. 

Setting

Forks, Washington. I’ve always been obsessed with this setting. It’s just perfect! You can’t blame me for loving it. The aesthetic of the rainy days, and the grey bleakness of it when there are shiny dazzling vampires living there is just so amazing. I will always love Forks, Washington!

Writing

“Could a dead, frozen heart beat again? It felt like mine was about to.”

The writing in this book made it clear that it was Edward’s point of view. Edward’s complex language was portrayed perfectly, and while it was sometimes super old-school, it was also really easy to read. 

In Conclusion… 

I definitely recommend this book! It was so cool to see Twilight from Edward’s point of view and get the vampire aspect of it. Any fans of Twilight will absolutely love this book and the storyline. 

Rating: 4.5/5⭐