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Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined

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Life and Death:
Twilight Reimagined
AuthorStephenie Meyer
LanguageEnglish
SeriesTwilight series
GenreYoung adult, fantasy, romance, vampire
PublisherLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers (Paperback)
Publication date
October 6, 2022 (Hardcover)[1]
November 1, 2023 (Paperback)[2]
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint, E-book, Audiobook
Pages442 (Hardcover)
400 (Paperback)
ISBN9780316505451

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined is a young adult vampire-romance novel by Stephenie Meyer. The story is a gender-swapped retelling of the first book in the Twilight series, and introduces Beau Swan and Edythe Cullen in place of Bella and Edward.[3] The book was originally published on October 6, 2015 as part of an "oversized flip-book pairing" with Twilight to celebrate the original novel's tenth anniversary.[4] An audiobook (CD) was released by Penguin Random House on the same day.[5]

Plot

Mirroring the plot of Twilight, Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined follows 17-year-old Beaufort Swan as he leaves the sunny environment of Phoenix, Arizona where he has spent most of his life with his mother, Renée Dwyer, to the gloomy town of Forks, Washington to spend the rest of his high school career with his estranged father, police chief Charlie Swan.

As Beau walks into the class, a fan blows his scent towards Edythe Cullen. Beau sits next to Edythe in biology class on his first day of school, but she seems repulsed by him, hurting his feelings in the process. She disappears for a few days, but warms up to Beau upon her return; their newfound relationship is interrupted after Beau is nearly crushed by a van in the school parking lot. Edythe saves Beau, stopping the van with only her hand.

Even though Beau never had many friends in Phoenix, he quickly attracts attention at his new school, and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to his dismay, several girls in the school compete for Beau's attention.

During a trip to La Push, Beau tricks a family friend, Julie 'Jules' Black of the Quileute tribe, into telling him the local tribal legends and he finds out why, although the Cullens have lived in Forks for two years, they have never really been accepted by the townsfolk. Julie mentions the Cullens, and says that most of the reservation believes that they are vampires, though she doesn't think so. During a trip to Port Angeles, Edythe rescues him again, this time from a band of gangsters intent on killing him. Beau asks her if what Julie said about her family is true. Edythe admits that she and her family are vampires, but says that she and her family only drink animal blood to keep themselves from turning into the monsters, unlike other vampires.

Edythe and Beau's relationship grows over time and they fall in love. Their foremost problem is that to Edythe, Beau's scent is a hundred times more potent than any other human's, making Edythe struggle to resist her desire to kill him. However, despite this, they manage to stay together safely for a time.

The seemingly perfect state of their relationship is thrown into chaos when another vampire coven sweeps into Forks and Joss, a sadistic tracker vampire, decides that she wants to hunt Beau for sport. Edythe's family plans to distract the tracker by splitting up Beau and Edythe, and Beau is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. Beau then gets a phone call from Joss in which she says that she has his mother, and Beau is forced to give himself up to Joss at an old ballet studio near his mother's house. Upon meeting her, Beau discovers his mother wasn't at the dance studio and was safe all along. Joss attacks Beau, but Edythe, along with the rest of the Cullen family, rescue Beau before Joss can kill him. Unfortunately, Joss has already bitten him and the venom has spread too far into his system, resulting in Beau becoming a vampire. The Cullens fake Beau's death for his privacy, and he continues his relationship with Edythe.[6]

Sometime later, the Quileute wolves confront the Cullens, believing them responsible for Beau's death. Beau and the Cullens manage to convince the wolves to believe the truth after a conversation with tribal elder Bonnie Black. When the wind blows Bonnie's scent to Beau, he manages to stay in control of himself, much to Edythe and Carine's surprise. With everything resolved, Beau and Edythe are free to enjoy their love together "forever."

Reception

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined received mixed reviews.

Common Sense Media gave the book 3 out of 5 stars, saying, "This reimagined Twilight with swapped genders (Bella is Beau, Edward is Edythe) and most of the same content will primarily interest Twi-hards and anyone in a gender studies class."[7] Student-run The Yorker magazine gave the book a negative review, writing that "the stench of a quick money-making scheme was quite potent."[8] Book blogger Jessica at Books: A True Story awarded the book 4 out of 5 stars but noted "a lot of the book is copied and pasted" from Twilight.[9] Sara Dobie Bauer, writing for SheKnows.com, called the "recycled story" a "shameless cash cow."[10]

References

  1. ^ Rowley, Liz (October 6, 2015). "'Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined' Plot Details and How to Get Latest 'Twilight' Book". Mic. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined". Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Stephenie Meyer Announces New Gender-Swapped 'Twilight' Book". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. October 6, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  4. ^ White, Caitlin (October 6, 2015). "'Life And Death: Twilight Reimagined' Swaps Edward & Bella's Genders". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined". Penguin Random House. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  6. ^ "New 'Twilight' Book Doesn't Just Swap Genders; It Completely Changes Ending". The Hollywood Reporter. THR Staff. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  7. ^ Wheadon, Carrie R. "Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined". Common Sense Media. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ^ O'Brien, Liffey (October 16, 2015). "Review: Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined". The Yorker. University of York. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Book Review: Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer". Books: A True Story. October 20, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  10. ^ Bauer, Sara Dobie (October 6, 2015). "Stephenie Meyer's new Twilight book infuriates me". SheKnows. SHE Media. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
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