Review: The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Click here to read the book blurb on Goodreads.

Available to purchase from: Amazon, Book Depository, Book Depository UK

Thanks to Melanie at Hachette Book Group Canada, I was able to review The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. So, when it arrived in the mail, my first thought was "Holy smokes! That's one heavy little book!" This is due in large part to the lovely paper used in the book, of encyclopaedic quality. It is a well produced book that appealed to me and my daughter (who was more into it for asthetics only).

This Guide has a Q&A with Stephenie Meyer, a chapter by chapter summary of all the books including a timeline starting at 1400 BC, character pages, family trees and so much more. There is even a section with fan art, which I thought was a fantastic tribute to Meyer's fans, displaying her attempt at connecting with them despite the difficulty she must have doing this now.

It's a stunning book on its own, as the book that ties everything together in a concise manner. But, really looking at it, you can see its potential for future writers as a resource, highlighting the kinds of elements that went into the novel writing process. From the locations, character sheets, types of vehicles, etc., you can see just how much background is needed to write a complete novel. It appears Meyer spent a lot of time getting things just right, which obviously paid off overall.

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide could quite as easily been referred to as 'The Twilight Encyclopaedia'. I'm very happy to have it sitting on my shelf, next to the four books that started the Twi craze. I also look forward to having something my daughter will enjoy more when she is just a little older. It's a true collector's piece.

In the news...

A while back it was announced that Little, Brown would be releasing The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide on April 12, 2011. Their description of the book includes:

This definitive encyclopedic reference to the Twilight Saga is the only official guide and is full color throughout, including nearly 100 full-color illustrations and photographs.

Now, there's more exciting news for the die-hard Twilight fans! Here is the Press Release:

TORONTO (January 12, 2011) – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group, will host a special International Fan Event, featuring Twilight fans from around the world. Ten fans will be chosen to have a once-in-a-lifetime intimate meeting with international bestselling author Stephenie Meyer. The event coincides with the upcoming release of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (April 12, 2011; $26.99).

Little, Brown is partnering with the Twilight Saga publishers in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Taiwan and the United Kingdom to bring together each country’s respective Twilight fan. The fan selected from each country will receive an advance copy of The Official Illustrated Guide and get to talk extensively with Meyer, who will answer their Twilight-related questions.

“The one thing I miss most about my first book tour was the chance I had then to spend quality time with my readers,” said Meyer. “At an event with just ten or twenty people, I was able to get to know everyone a little bit. I could also more effectively answer each person’s questions. I’m so excited to have that opportunity again, and to get to spend time with fans from many different places and backgrounds.”

“We receive hundreds of travel requests for Stephenie from our foreign publishing partners every year,” said Megan Tingley, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. “Since it is physically impossible for one author to be in so many places, we thought this would be a great way to bring some fans to her.”

The Official Rules for the sweepstakes to select the fan from Canada (as well as one from the US), including entry details and eligibility requirements, can be found on TheTwilightSaga.com.

Due to the intimate nature of this event, details regarding the location and timing are being kept confidential. Photos and additional details will be distributed upon the event’s conclusion.

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide provides readers with exclusive new material and everything they need to further explore the unforgettable world Stephenie Meyer created in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. The Guide also includes character profiles, outtakes, a conversation with Meyer, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more. Originally announced as “The Official Guide,” The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide includes illustrations from several artists, including Young Kim, the illustrator behind the #1 New York Times bestselling Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1.

In five years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. The Twilight Saga’s translation rights have been sold in nearly 50 countries and 116 million copies have been sold worldwide.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second-largest publisher in the world. HBG publishes under the divisions of Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, and Hachette Digital.

What an opportunity! Go check out the website for more info, or enter from here:
US residents or Canadian residents. Good luck!

Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (June 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031612558X
ISBN-13: 978-0316125581

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.

In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

I will admit right now that I had stopped reading for several years, while my daughter was young, and only got back into the swing of things with the Twilight series (which I devoured 3 times consecutively). I was curious with the release of Bree Tanner to see where Stephanie Meyer would take us. The "novella" format is one I was also interested in, with it being a joke in the Bridget Jones film as part of discussion with Salman Rushdie, et al. I assumed it was reserved for more proper literary works, but I went with the flow here.

Bree Tanner is a very small part of the Eclipse novel, but I remembered exactly who she was...and of course her ultimate outcome. Having said that, the title is totally fitting for her untimely demise.

Putting all of these elements together, I found that I was just starting to like Bree. If possible, her interaction with Diego was even more innocent than the entire Twilight series (which I thought would be hard to do!). But, despite this, I enjoyed reading it. Bree did not have the training needed to become a well rounded vampire like Bella Swan did, but, to me, her slow realizations of the "truth" were well portayed by Meyer. It was neat to see the character development aspect here. I would recommend this as a light read, and, of course, to any Twi-fan out there that hasn't already read it.