By NATALIE SACKET
Feature Editor
“Twilight” is now a decade old, and its anniversary brings with it memories of past teenage angst and acne problems, curled up feasting on the tragic romance of Edward and Bella. The series, though mocked and parodied in every imaginable sense, was undeniably popular. Every young girl hung on to Stephanie Meyer’s every word.
And now, a new age to the reign of “Twilight” has dawned, with the release of “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined.” Vampires vanquish once more, and werewolves are welcomed onto the pages again.
“Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined” is not entirely what fans had hoped for. There had been chatter about a potential book telling the tale of “Twilight” through the viewpoint of Edward, rather than Bella. However, Meyer announced in a recent press conference that she views “Midnight Sun,” the potential sequel, as cursed.
“Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined” is completely unexpected. This novel is the exact same story as “Twilight,” except the primary characters have been gender swapped. Yes, Bella and Edward are now Beaufort and Edythe.
There has been much speculation as to why Meyer has chosen to rewrite “Twilight” with this one switch. Meyer stated that she no longer wished to have Bella portrayed as a damsel in distress. Some argue that she merely ran out of ideas for new stories, but still wanted to make a profit off of the ten-year anniversary. Perhaps she just desired to fix all the grammatical errors. Whatever the reason, people are freaking out that Meyer did a fan fiction version of her own work.
There’s currently a push for a movie remake in honor of “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined.” This probably won’t happen, but fans are already casting the film in their minds. Some popular choices for Edythe are Taylor Swift and Grace Kelly. (Though impossible.) For Beaufort, many readers joke that they could just keep Kristin Stewart in the role.
The novel does have its issues. Many fans complain that the book is merely a copy and paste version of the original novel, with names being switched. Others are excited to read the novel in this reimagined sense. If you’re curious about “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined,” you can already find the novel on shelves in many stores.