Twilight

As the Twilight saga begins, 17-year-

old Isabella Swan moves from sunny
Phoenix to rainy Forks, Washington
to live with her father, Charlie.
School-smart and mature beyond her
years, Bella does her best to blend in
with the kids at Forks High; because
she’s clumsy and shy, Bella can’t see
her own beauty and strength --
though her classmates clearly do.
When Bella locks eyes one day with
the impossibly handsome Edward
Cullen, her life changes forever and
she realizes she’s falling for a
vampire, literally putting her life at
risk just to be near him. As a series
of events put Bella in harm’s way,
the super-powered Edward becomes
the protector of her fragile human life
-- though their increasing closeness
tests Edward's ability to control his
thirst for her sweet-smelling blood.
The inhumanly handsome Edward Cullen
has been 17 years old since 1918, when
his adoptive father Carlisle Cullen turned
him into a vampire as he lay dying from
influenza. Since then, Edward’s been the
odd man out in the Cullen clan, comprised
of couples like his “parents” Carlisle and
Esme and “siblings” Alice and Jasper, and
Rosalie and Emmett -- all of whom have
chosen to live as “vegetarian” vampires,
like him.
Like all vampires, Edward possesses ice-
cold skin, super strength and speed, and
razor-sharp teeth (but not fangs); unlike
most vampires, Edward also has the
ability to hear the thoughts of those
around him -- with one exception: Bella
Swan.
When Edward realizes he’s falling in love
with Bella, whose tantalizing blood smells
sweeter than any other human, he must
fight his twin impulses of eternal love and
vampiric thirst in order to ensure that Bella
remains safe – not only from himself, but
from Others of his kind.
Because their fathers Charlie
and Billy are longtime friends,
Bella Swan has known Jacob
Black longer than almost anyone
else in the town of Forks. Two
years younger than Bella, Jacob
goes to school on the Quileute
Indian reservation where he
lives with his father, a respected
elder in the close-knit
community.
For years, Jacob has paid no
mind to the tribal stories of wolf-
men and their bloodsucking
nemeses, the “cold ones,”
although his close friendship
with Bella Swan might reveal
that the Quileute tales may just
be more than the stuff of legend.
Pixie-like and vivacious, Alice
Cullen is the adoptive sister of
Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett,
and the mate of Jasper Hale.
Like Edward’s unique ability to
hear people’s thoughts, Alice
can look into the future of
humans and vampires, a rare
super power that her vampire
brethren value highly.
Destined to become friends with
Bella, Alice welcomes her into
the Cullen family despite the
apprehension of some, including
Jasper, who struggles to control
his blood-lust in Bella's
presence, and Rosalie, who
disapproves of Edward’s choice,
and loves Bella like a sister.
Jasper Hale is the newest
addition to the Cullen family,
having lived for years among
more “traditional” vampires.
Leaving behind his clan of
morally-ambiguous blood
drinkers, Jasper found his way
to Alice, his soul mate, who had
foreseen him in one of her
visions. The pair then sought
and joined Carlisle Cullen and
his family to live as peaceful
vampires.
As the most recent Cullen to “go
vegetarian,” Jasper still
struggles with his vampiric
desires to drink human blood,
but is committed to the family’s
choice to feed only on animals in
order to protect human lives.
The stunning, blond sister of
Edward, Alice, and Jasper,
Rosalie Hale is the “wife” of
Emmett and the vocal
contrarian of the family.
Immediately disapproving of
Edward and Bella’s
relationship, Rosalie makes
no secret of her displeasure
at Bella’s intrusion into the
heavily-guarded Cullen
lifestyle. As vain and beautiful
as she was in life, and having
been involuntarily “saved”
from death at the age of 18 by
Carlise, Rosalie questions her
identity as a vampire and is
envious of Bella’s humanity.
The brawniest of the
Cullen kids, Emmett is
most intimidating even to
humans who do not know
his vampire secret. In
contrast to his mate,
Rosalie, Emmett is good-
natured and supportive of
his brother Edward,
though initially wary of
Edward’s attraction to a
human girl. Like his
favorite snack, Emmett
possesses a bear-like
strength and size that may
prove useful to the Cullen
clan in a fight.
As a senior police officer in the
sleepy town of Forks, Charlie
Swan has few preoccupations
other than fishing and watching
sports on TV -- that is, until his
teenage daughter Bella moves in
after leaving her mother Renee in
Phoenix to enjoy a second
marriage. Charlie’s bachelor
tendencies lend themselves to
Bella’s grown-up impulses and
she ends up playing the role of
caretaker with him, as she had
with Renee.
Not one for talking, Charlie is
quiet-natured and guarded – traits
he passed on to Bella. But he is
also fiercely protective of her, in
his own way, and might not be as
quick to welcome Edward into his
home if he knew what he truly
was.
Like her husband, Esme
Cullen became a vampire in
her twenties, having been
transformed by Carlisle on her
deathbed in the 19th century.
Esme loves all of their
children passionately, but
especially worries for Edward,
for whom she wishes the
same romantic happiness that
the rest of the family has
found. When Edward falls in
love with Bella Swan, Esme
embraces her son’s choice
and welcomes Bella into the
family.
Dr. Carlisle Cullen is the patriarch,
founding member, and moral bedrock of
Edward’s family, having instilled a sense
of responsibility and compassion into his
vampire clan along with his wife, Esme.
Sealed forever in the body of a 23-year-
old, Carlisle nevertheless commands
the respect of his peers, human or
vampire, as befits a man of his age:
about 368 years, give or take. Thanks to
years of training, Carlisle is the only
member of the Cullen family with almost
no reaction to the smell of human blood.
Putting his immortality to good use,
Carlisle studied and practiced medicine
for many decades, earning an esteemed
reputation in Forks for his tireless
dedication -- though his family must
obey a strict treaty with the Quileute
people, who know and warily keep his
family’s secret.
Although Bella is the only human
who knows the Cullen family
secret, not all of her friends are
vampires; on her very first day at
Forks High School, new girl Bella
meets a friend, a frenemy, and an
admirer.
Shy, quiet Angela Weber
becomes one of Bella’s best
human friends, thanks in great
part to the fact that she doesn’t
want to use her for her own social
agenda. Not so for Jessica
Stanley, a chatterbox who
befriends Bella despite being
secretly envious of the attention
Bella gets from their classmates.
And finally, there’s Mike Newton,
who harbors a not-so-secret crush
on Bella and coincidentally can’t
stand a certain Edward Cullen.
While Edward and the Cullen
clan are committed to sparing
human life, not all vampires
share their philosophy. Enter
James, Laurent, and Victoria --
a nomadic trio of human-
hunting vampires who stumble
upon the Cullens and Bella
during a friendly game of
baseball.
While Laurent may prove open
to the Cullen’s peaceful
lifestyle, his associate James is
another matter; a “tracker” by
nature, James enjoys the thrill
of the hunt, and will stop at
nothing to beat Edward and his
family in order to taste Bella’s
sweet blood for himself.