Reviews Young Adult

Review | Midnight Sun

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Author: Stephenie Meyer.

Length: 662 pages.

“There was always a choice.” 

Goodreads Synopsis.

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

My Thoughts.

I want to start off by saying that this is a book for fans of the Twilight Series. If you don’t like it already, Midnight Sun won’t make you appreciate the series more. At all. So, if you already know that you don’t enjoy this story, then don’t bother. So, if you are a fan or, at the very least, you’re not a hater of this series, let’s get right to it!!

This is a book that we have waited for for a really long time. Because of that, expectations may be a little high, which can result in disappointment. I didn’t have very high expectations. Not because I didn’t have any faith or I wasn’t interested. It’s simply because it’s Twilight (not in a bad way). What else could we expect? This is a story I could tell you backwards, so there is not much room for change or new things, which means that you should keep in mind that not much is different from what we already know. However, I love Edward so I was very excited to read from his point of view.

Suddenly, as she ate, a strange comparison entered my head. For just a second, I saw Persephone, pomegranate in hand. Dooming herself to the underworld. Is that who I was? Hades himself, coveting springtime, stealing it, condemning it to endless night.

I think the author has made an incredible job in making us understand how Edward’s mind works. Not only with his thoughts, but with the frequency of those. We know that a vampire’s mind works faster than a human’s. And it is evident. This book is so much longer and has a lot more of internal dialogue, and that’s all because it’s Edward’s perspective.

Thanks to all this, we got a lot more insight into the Cullen family (which I didn’t think would be possible). However, pairing all of the years Edward has had with his family and the fact that he can read minds… I don’t think we could’ve gotten to know these characters any better. Particularly, I love that we got to read the story of how they became a family (one of my favorite things of the book). But don’t get me wrong, all of the details were amazing: how the family got together, the Quileute’s reaction to the Cullen’s coming back, the journey to Bella at the end of the book. So much content!! And it all filled me with joy.

Similarly, while reading this book I was able to remember how much I actually love these characters. Carlisle and Esme are amazing and I constantly gushed over them. I learned to appreciate Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper in a new way, because I was able to put myself in their shoes and understand their personalities even more. I also really liked that now we understand better how Alice’s gift works.

Her scent hit me like a battering ram, like an exploding grenade.

It was very interesting reading about vampire thirst and how much they all struggle to maintain control. It really shines a light on how good they can be and how much they value human life. All the other details the author included were very nice as well. I particularly liked the fact that Edward struggled to read Charlie’s mind and how it was so different to Renee. By learning about all this, I could picture both characters as vampires and what their gifts would be (just me pondering possibilities). I just felt as if Stephenie Meyer was trying to tell us that everyone has particular abilities, even if they are unaware of them, and these are simply the ones that are heightened once you start your ‘new life’. I know we knew this already, but I understand it better now. For example, if Renee were a vampire, I think she would be able of convincing or influencing people into doing what she wants.

Finally, the ending really pissed me off. I know that it’s insight to how Edward felt in New Moon (which is my least favorite book of the series) and why he made the decision of leaving, but still. It was very annoying.

My life was an unending, unchanging midnight. It must, by necessity, always be midnight for me. So how was it possible that the sun was rising now, in the middle of my midnight?

Overall, I loved Midnight Sun. I did a marathon of the movies after I finished reading because I missed all of the characters (even though I recently reread the series). If you’re a fan, I recommend it. It is extremely nostalgic and it filled me with joy.