When Twilight was published in 2005, it established a new kind of YA fandom. The book, which kicked off a four-part series and a five-installment film series, was everywhere, and its legacy is lasting. The story, which first came to author Stephenie Meyer in a dream, is at its core a tortured teenage romance between the sparkly and mysterious vampire Edward Cullen and ordinary girl Bella Swan. From the moment the two meet in a high school biology class in Forks, Wash.—and Edward catches a whiff of Bella’s all-consuming scent—the couple is inexorably drawn to each other. An intense and compelling love story ensues as Bella becomes swept up in Edward’s world, despite its encroaching danger. But the book is not without its controversy. Meyer’s portrayal of Bella and Edward’s courtship has drawn criticism for reinforcing puritanical notions of sex and glamorizing what some see as a toxic relationship in which a significantly older man (Edward is technically 104, but presents as 17) holds all the power.
Still, there was a reason millions of readers obsessed over Twilight. By the end of book one, fans of the paranormal romance saga seemed to be just as “unconditionally and irrevocably” infatuated with Meyers’ story as Edward and Bella were with one another. A global sensation, the Twilight series has sold over 160 million copies and spent over 274 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. The film adaptations also catapulted the careers of actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.
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