Bella Swan is a seventeen-year-old introvert girl who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula to live with her father, Charlie Swan, the town's police chief. Her mother, Renée Dwyer, is traveling with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor-league baseball player. Bella is admitted to Forks High School, where she easily settles in with a group of friends. A somewhat inexperienced and shy girl, Bella is dismayed by several boys competing for her attention. On the first day of her school, Bella sits next to Edward in biology class, but he seems to be utterly repulsed by her, much to her bewilderment. He disappears for a few days but when he returns, he is unexpectedly friendly to Bella. Their newfound relationship is interrupted after Bella is nearly struck by a van in the school parking lot. Edward saves Bella, narrowly stopping the van with his bare hands. Bella questions Edward about how he saved her life but he refuses to tell her anything. During a campout, Bella meets Jacob Black, a local boy from the Quileute tribe. She learns from stories told at a bonfire with his tribe that Edward and his family are "the cold ones" (vampires) who consume only animal blood. Disturbed and riddled by recurring nightmares, Bella researches vampires. She compares the characteristics of the vampires in mythology to the Cullens and becomes convinced that Edward is a vampire. Bella is saved by Edward again in Port Angeles when she is almost attacked by a group of men. Furious, Edward drives Bella away and takes her to a restaurant for dinner and then back home. On the way, she tells him she knows that he is a vampire. Edward confirms her belief and confesses that Bella's blood is more desirable to him than anyone else's and he wanted to kill her on the first day of school. He tried to stay away from Bella to avoid hurting her, but over time, Edward and Bella fell in love. Their relationship is affected when a nomad vampire coven arrives in Forks. James, a tracker vampire, who is intrigued by Cullen's relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. Bella and Edward are forced to separate as Bella escapes with Alice and Jasper (Edward's brother and sister) to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. James calls Bella and claims to be holding her mother hostage. Bella sneaks out and hurries to save her mother. When she arrives, she finds that the hostage claim was a ruse. James attacks her, but before he can kill her, she is rescued by Edward and the other Cullens who kill James. However, James has already bitten Bella. Edward prevents Bella from becoming a vampire by sucking the venom out of her wound, and she is treated at a hospital, using the story that she fell out of a window as an excuse. After they return to Forks, Edward takes her to the school prom, as Edward did not want Bella to miss any normal human experience because of him. Bella says that she wants to become like him, a vampire, but Edward reiterates he is against this. Bella's desire to become a vampire increases throughout the series. Edward continues to refuse to turn her, as he thinks being a vampire is being a monster, and does not want Bella to suffer the same fate.

ISBN: 9780316015844