Eclipse - Maghali Silva

Maghali Silva

English Period 6

November 16, 2008

Eclipse, the third book in Stephanie Meyer's series, is one of my all-time favorite novels. I've heard so much talk about the books and the movie coming out soon, that I was just desperate to figure out why every girl I knew liked them. One of my friends lent me the first book, Twilight, and I was immediately sucked in. It has all the concepts desirable in a book; mystery, adventure, peril, fantasy, drama, and romance. Now, I haven't able to stop and rest from this bewitching adventure.

Basically, the story revolves around Bella Swan, a normal eighteen year-old girl, who falls in love with a vampire, Edward. She had already been hunted down by a different blood thirsty vampire, James, but luckily, Edward got to the scene in the nick of time and killed him. Now, Victoria, James' mate wants to kill Bella for revenge. She has decided to take an army of newborn vampires to distract the rest of Edward's family. They decide to include the werewolves in their plan to overthrow the newborns but they aren't sure if there will be enough of them to win the battle. In the middle of this struggle to win, Bella must choose to live her life with Jacob, one of the werewolves and her best friend, or Edward, her one true love and turn into a vampire herself.

Pg. 504 -

"I really couldn't care less about that part. Can't you guess which character Bella would identify with?"

It took Jacob a minute. "Oh. Ugh. The third wife. Okay, I see your point."

"She wants to be there in the clearing. To do what little she can, as she puts it." He sighed. "That was the second reason for my staying with her tomorrow. She's quite inventive when she wants something."

I picked this precise quote (or in this case, quotes) because it shows that Bella wants to help out her new vampire family with what little advantage she has. She has been defenseless in the last books when other ferocious vampires confront her or try to kill her, that this time she wants to help. She doesn't want them risking their lives for her. Part of the story's scenario is that Bella needs to choose to be a vampire or not. She wants to become one because then she can live forever with Edward but she'll also be able to defend and protect herself. Sadly, her close relationship with Jacob, interrupts her dream and makes the choice even more laborious.

If I were to rate this book from one to five, it would definitely give Eclipse a five! I specifically picked the rating icon to be a bracelet with a heart stone and a wooden werewolf because of the passion in between the other conflicts in the story. Jacob was the first one to give Bella a gift, (the wooden werewolf charm), and Edward followed his foot steps giving her a beautiful heart-shaped crystal. Bella now considers Jacob a close friend, but soon realizes that he may be more than that. The drama the story exploits makes the book even more captivating.

I would recommend this book to any adolescent who enjoys reading of vampires and werewolves and another magic world that we don't even know exists. Particularly, I think teenage girls will be more engrossed into the books than boys because of the drama and romance mixed into the plot. Of course, if you are interested in novels with excitement and further conflicts around each corner, this is just the book for you. The story itself is so intriguing that it will mesmerize anyone who starts reading this book. Of course, once you have read, Twilight and New Moon, it's impossible to stop from reading Eclipse.

WARNING: If you're not fond of or not allowed to read about:

- Some foul language

- Some sexual innuendo

- Gory (quite mild though) violence

- A lot of kissing

- Agonizing deaths

....this might not be a good book for you to read. I don't recommend anyone under the age of eleven or twelve to read Eclipse, for it is a bit graphic and the topic in general is not for children and preteens.