“Midnight Sun” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers , $27.99) — the new and much-anticipated fifth book in Stephenie Meyer’s hugely popular “Twilight” series — focuses on the vampire-human love affair through the eyes of the vampire, Edward Cullen, instead of through his love, Bella Swan.
Here are six things the nearly 700-page novel brings fans of the “Twilight” saga that are new or noteworthy:
The other side of Edward/Bella romance is revealed
That would be Edward’s side. The conversations and big moments of Edward and Bella Swan’s love story in “Midnight Sun” mirror those in ”Twilight” — but this time from his perspective.
One key theme: He recognizes he’s dangerous to her, but he can’t stay away.
The Cullen family history is made clear
We get a deeper look into Edward’s non-biological family — including details that he leaves out in his explanations to Bella — including a scene in which he simplifies the early stages of his adopted father Carlisle Cullen’s adjustment after becoming a vampire.
Edward’s internal struggle is constant
It’s not quite Jekyll-and-Hyde, but, as he gets closer to Bella, Edward frequently refers to “the monster,” a version of himself that could — and often wants to — hurt Bella.
He struggles with the notion of an internal monster he has had to “beat back” over the decades without Bella, and it becomes harder to do so in her presence. When he realizes his love for her has become more powerful than his vampaire instinct, the joy he expresses is immense — though not enough to conquer the internal struggle.
Jacob Black’s presence might foreshadow future books
Jacob Black, a family friend of Bella’s who becomes a werewolf in “New Moon” and is romantically interested in Bella from the get-go, doesn’t emerge in Edward’s world as quickly as he comes into Bella’s life in “Twiligh.”
He’s more of an annoyance to Edward than anything. But his interactions with Bella that Edward knows of allude to past and future tensions between the Cullens and the Quileute tribe of which Jacob’s family is a part — perhaps foreshadowing future books from Edward’s perspective.
We see Edward before he met Bella
We also get to see him when he was a new vampire in the early 20th century and to learn how the Cullen family began to come together.
