By: Ayesha Faruqui, FW Writer63

NEW MOON
Stephenie Meyer.
New York. Little, Brown and Company; 2006. 563

Bella is celebrating her 18th birthday at the Cullen family residence. Dr. Carlisle Cullen, his wife Esme, and their five adoptive children, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice (who can see the future), Jasper (who can control anyone’s emotional climate) and Edward (mind reader) are the attending guests. Seven vampires (who have sworn off Human blood) and an accident-prone girl in very close proximity, with no other witnesses can be an iffy situation and here is why. Bella gets a paper cut while opening her present and Jasper, who is having the hardest time adjusting to this life of abstinence, attacks her (think sharks smelling blood scenario).
Edward protects Bella yet again but also realizes that she will never be safe in his world so he tells her he cannot see her anymore and he and his family leave Forks. What follows are a few pages with the name of successive months on them (indicating time lapse, thank god we didn’t have to hear Bella whine some more). But in comes Jacob Black. Jacob is the son of Quileute tribe chief Billy Black, who in turn happens to be a very close friend of Bella’s father. Jacob brings Bella back to life by being a good friend, all the while falling slowly in love with her. Bella, however, realizes that every time she does something reckless Edward materializes before her eyes and warns her to be careful and so she does it all the more till the point she decides to cliff dive. Alice sees her falling and misinterprets her vision as Bella’s death so Edward decides to kill himself too.
Bella rushes to save Edward and faces the Volturi (Vampire Royalty and Law upholders). Victoria plays hide and seek throughout the book and oh yeah…Jacob has a secret other than his feelings for Bella! Jacob Black is a Werewolf! If u could stomach the first one, the second is definitely a breeze compared to it. Do not give up my friends, read on!

Eclipse
Stephenie Meyer
New York. Little, Brown
and Company; 2007. 629

This one is going to be short (to make up for the very long one I am about to write). Eclipse is a Love triangle. Edward, Bella and Jacob. Bella has taken Edward back, or to be more accurate, has returned into Edward’s life, no questions asked, even though he had left her high and dry in New Moon. In fact, upon his return Edward thinks it’s fair to forbid Bella from seeing Jacob again (Vampires and Werewolves are sworn enemies), without considering the fact that it was Jacob who put back the pieces together that were Bella. Bella is split in two, because as much as she loves Edward, she needs Jacob in her life also. This is the first main element of the book, the second is Victoria. She is back and that too with an army of newborn out of control vampires. The Cullens and Quileute Werewolves fight side by side in a battle against the newborns and Victoria and emerge victorious. Bella and Jacob have some intense moments together, which will surely make the readers (team Jacob readers) sigh and hope for something more between the two but alas! Edward wins yet again. Eclipse, despite its lack of substantial action, is positively an up turn from Twilight and New Moon. Our protagonists are becoming complex human beings with emotions other that love and pain. Oh and Bella is finally growing a backbone too!!

Stephenie Meyer. New York. Little, Brown and Company; 2008. 756

Breaking Dawn is split in three volumes. The first book is narrated by Bella (as are all the other previous books). Here she describes her pre-wedding jitters (yes, Edward and Bella are finally tying the knot). They are doing this because Edwards only condition before changing Bella into a vampire himself, through his own venom, is that she marries him first. Jacob is not in the scene because after Bella entirely rejects him in the end of Eclipse Jacob phases in his wolf form and runs away to gain some peace of mind. The wedding takes place and off they go Isle Esme (the island Dr. Carlisle has gifted his wife Esme…didn’t I mention the Cullens are filthy rich?) for their honeymoon. Bella’s only condition for getting married is that she and Edward consummate their marriage while she is still human. All the conditions are met and more…Bella gets pregnant.

The second book is narrated by Jacob, which is a refreshing change after all of Bella’s whining. Well, actually the only change really is that it’s more of a boyish whining now. But still the change in the whiny tone is very welcome, plus Jake is funny! Jacob is looking for a reason to attack the Cullens. He and his Quileute pack brothers will have a good reason to do so if any of the Cullens change Bella into a vampire because of the long standing treaty between them and the Cullens (they are not allowed to hunt or change any human in Forks). When he hears that Bella has returned from her honeymoon and is too sick to meet her father he immediately assumes that she has been turned into a vampire, however when his pack brothers refuse to attack on the basis of speculation, Jacob reaches the Cullen’s residence alone and gets the shock of his life. In just a few weeks Bella is already full term pregnant and seems on the verge of death because her fetus (no one knows what she is carrying) is too strong for her fragile body. They are all devastated, especially Edward.
Jacob’s pack decides to attack the Cullens for this but Jacob resists and thus becomes the leader for his own pack of three. He protects Bella till she almost dies giving birth to Renesmee (Renee and Esme put together). Edward does everything in his power to save Bella, and all his efforts eventually do work. After this, Jacob’s reason for living is no longer Bella, he leaves dejected, and soon finds another reason for living. Jacob finally moves on!
The third book is Bella again, however, this time we are listening to Bella Cullen, the Vampire mother. She is astounded and astounds the reader with her incredible description of her vampire senses. And at long last, she feels she is strong enough, smart enough and most importantly, beautiful enough for her Edward. She takes to motherhood with great aplomb too. Her world is perfect, she has Edward, Jacob is sticking around being just her friend for a change, and she has the most beautiful, most perfect child. But all good things must come to an end, or almost an end. And this happens when the Cullen family is threatened directly by the Volturi for creating an immortal child. But Renesmee is not an immortal child, a hybrid perhaps but not any danger to the only Vampire law – secrecy. In this book we get to meet a lot of new vampires who have a lot of super powers of their own, which is quite interesting.
Meyer has done a good job of describing individual talents of the vampires but at the same time a lot of them seem like they are done before. For instance Jane and her offensive weapon of inflicting torturous pain on her opponent with just a look is a lot like the ‘Cruciatus Curse’ from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling). However, the final scenes of the book; the fight against the Volturi, the unexpected witnesses and the overall ending is absolutely fantastic and a definite must read.
Meyer has told a story of great intrigue and excitement. It should definitely be read, especially by romantics because of the loving and intricate relationships created by her. The movies are always a plus and so far very true to the matter (if not emotion) of the book. Go out, get yourself a set of these or put it on a wish list, and get ready for an action packed romantic journey of an ordinary girl to an extraordinary destination!

PRADA

For all you fashion lovers this book may as well be your holy grail. Featuring
fashion, architecture and film of over three decades by the Prada
legendaries, this book is an art piece in itself. Flipping through one can review over 4000 photographs, photo essays, blogs, celeb coverage and the breathtaking advertisement campaigns. It’s a collector’s piece that can be a great gift, an excellent conversation piece on your coffee table and an archival encyclopedia of information and knowledge for the fashion junkie.

Books do Furnish a Room
by Leslie Geddes-Brown

This book is a catalogue of all the different ways book lovers live. There are those who decorate a room with accents of books to make the room look sophisticated and classy. Others choose to dedicate entire walls to books, entire rooms to books and their entire household with books. Seeing these images in the digital age of today is uplifting- the book lover still lives on through their dedication and admiration for books. When decorating a room, the books become a part of the design concept – Geddes-Brown has just simply showed us what is out there This book is yet another great read to add to your collection!