Stephenie Meyers “Reimagines” Twilight for its 10th Anniversary
In honor of the 10th anniversary of Twlight, Stephanie Meyers has published another book, Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, to add to The Twilight Saga. No, the book is not Jacob and Reneseme’s love story, but is rather Bella and Edward’s all over again. However, there’s an odd twist. Their genders are swapped: Bella is now Beau and Edward is Edythe.
Inside our inner pre-teens are jumping with joy, exclaiming, “Yes! Another Twlight Story!” However, our now more grown-up selves are asking, “what?” Perhaps, it is because we were really hoping if another book was to be published it would be about Jacob (sigh), but it’s more likely to be because this plot just sounds out right strange. It’s odd to think the Bella and Edward we all know and love will be opposite genders. Edythe Cullen just doesn’t have the same ring as Edward Cullen, the mysterious and unattainable (well, he was a vampire) heartthrob the girls of Forks swooned for. The title seems awfully misleading too, “Twilight Reimagined?” Is it really all that reimagined? It’s still the same story, except now expressionless Bella is Beau, and the melodramatic Edward is Edythe.
Meyers has published several spin-offs of the original Twilight Saga, including The Short Life of Bree Tanner, The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, and graphic novels of both Twilight and New Moon. A few years ago the incomplete rough draft of Midnight Sun–a novel she was working on, which was Twilight entirely in Edward’s perspective–was leaked online and never published. The question is, why so many spin-offs?
The Twilight Saga has sold over 100 million copies, and the movies have made over $3.3 billion worldwide over the last 10 years, thanks to Team Jacob and Team Edward mothers and daughters everywhere, but is this last novel finally Twilight overkill? The books have been inspiration to the fame of vampires and werewolves (who were way hotter than the vamps, may I add) in popular culture and created a massive “Twilight Fandom,” but when is enough, enough?
Meyers faces criticism online constantly, mostly from the Harry Potter fandom, saying that her books are horribly written and the actors from the movie (mainly Kristen Stewart) are the punchlines to jokes all the time. Many accuse Meyers of being a one trick pony or incapable of getting over her claim to fame. However, I think Meyers is actually brilliant. Maybe not a brilliant writer, (that hurt my thirteen year-old self in so many ways) but a brilliant business woman? Absolutely.
The entire Twilight franchise has made her billions of dollars, between the novels, movies, and apparel. You can find pretty much anything with a twilight logo: cups, notebooks, folders, etc. So, why shouldn’t she keep writing? She doesn’t even need to come up with new material, just new ways to say it, and she’s making bank doing so.
So, I will not be reading this 10th anniversary novel (though my younger self would have jumped at the chance) but I know tons of people will be. Kudos to you Stephenie Meyers on your 10 years of making billions off a story about a girl falling in love with a vampire and a werewolf, and all the versions of that imaginable.
