There’s a New ‘Twilight’ Book Coming Out This Month, Here’s What You Need to Know

Now this is a surprise I didn't see coming in 2020

I have a confession to make. Although I claim to be a certified cool girl, I’ve got a few vices and one of them is “Twilight.” Now, I’m fully aware the franchise is nowhere near Oscar worthy and the plot hasn’t exactly aged well, but I’m okay with that. After all, there are some days you want to go all out on a fancy dinner and other days you’re just as happy eating a bag of popcorn for dinner.

As a woman in my mid-twenties, the first book came out in 2005 and as a middle schooler, I was basically the target audience. I was a voracious reader at the time and ate up those books throughout junior high. I was such a fan that I even made my dad go to a midnight book selling at Barnes and Noble to get “Eclipse” before everyone else. Thanks dad and I’m sorry for putting you through that.

Anyway, I was all about the films as well and was totally Team Edward (yes, I had his poster in my room). Eventually, I aged out of the hype of those movies as I went into high school, but I still saw them all in theaters.

Today, I love those movies for a different reason. They bring me back to a simpler time and now that I’m older, I can reflect on how corny they were. In fact, I highly recommend getting a little wine drunk or stoned and having a “Twilight” marathon. Trust me, it’s a good way to spend a Friday night with friends.

So when I learned there would be another book in this franchise, I was stoked. And I honestly never thought this day would come. Shortly after releasing the book “Breaking Dawn” and around the time the first film was gaining traction, excerpts of “Midnight Sun,” the fifth book, were leaked. Author Stephanie Meyer was horrified by this happening and shortly after announced that she’d be putting the book on hold indefinitely. Years later, in a 2013 interview with “Variety,” she swore she’d never return to these books, saying “I get further away every day. I am so over it. For me, it’s not a happy place to be.” Well, it appears she’s changed her tune.

Now, over 10 years later, that book is finally hitting shelves on August 4th. The book will finally give audiences Edward’s side of the story, narrating the events from the first book. And although many fans are excited to see this come out, some are skeptical to see how it will reflect the changing times and some of the negative messages the series projected.

As a preteen and early teen, I was naive to many of the messages “Twilight” shared with me and now as an adult, I can see why many people had issues with it. The relationship between Bella and Edward was unhealthy and toxic in many ways, particularly when it came to Edward’s control over Bella and Bella’s dependence on Edward. It will be telling to see how Meyer adapts the story in a #metoo world and how the relationship will pan out going forward.

It’s currently unknown if Meyer will continue to rewrite the series from Edward’s perspective or if this will be the last and final book in the Twilight Saga.

Now the question you’re all probably dying to know is if “Midnight Sun” will make its way to the big screen. And while I’d be all for this, I have a feeling leads Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson won’t be down. Both actors have taken their careers into new directions, with Stewart pursuing indie and action films and Pattinson set to play the next Batman. And we can’t forget to mention the gnarly public breakup these two had back in 2012, after Stewart was busting cheating on Pattinson with “Snow White and the Huntsman” director Rupert Sanders by paparazzi. However, we never could have imagined that Meyer would be publishing “Midnight Sun” over 10 years after she put it on hold, so we guess anything is possible.