Twilight fans on the road to Forks

FORKS, Wash. — My friend Alex and I had been talking about taking a trip to Forks since before school ended last spring.
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we actually went there?” she would say all the time. And I would get excited about the idea and agree.
Alex is the biggest Twilight fan I have ever met.
When I started reading the four-book series last year, she didn’t understand what was so good about it. Then I convinced her to buy the first book. And she was hooked.
We would talk about the characters and the storyline, and argue about the boys. She was an Edward fan. And I was rooting for Jacob.
When the first movie came out on DVD, we rented it. And we agreed: we liked the books better than the movie. But we still liked the movie. And she was still an Edward fan, and I was still rooting for Jacob.
Last summer, when she texted me an invite me to go to Forks — the rainiest city in the continental United States, logging capital of the world and setting of the Twilight series — I was shocked. And I immediately began planning the trip in my head.
It was awkward asking my parents because they didn’t really know what Twilight was. They’d heard of it. They knew it was about vampires. But they didn’t know it was also about werewolves, forbidden love and immortality.
I had to explain these things. And they still let me go in the end.

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series is a major phenomenon in today’s literature, entertainment and pop culture. The series has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. And it has been translated into 38 different languages.
When it comes to the books, I enjoy all of them. But between the first two books, I like “New Moon” more than “Twilight.”
In “Twilight,” you know the couple, Bella and her vampire boyfriend Edward, are going to stay together and live happily ever after. But in “New Moon,” that becomes less certain, leaving readers like me wanting to know more.
Overall, I like the entire series very much. The storyline is great, and Meyer’s wording is so clever. As you read her books, all the little details start to tie together and you wonder, “How would anyone think of that?”
Each of the books is written in first-person — from Bella’s point of view — and I think that is better. It’s more interesting when you know what the main character is thinking.
“Twilight” was made into a movie that was released last November. The movie based on “New Moon” opens Friday. And I can’t wait. It sounds like it’s going to have more drama, more action and more new faces.
It’s even more interesting when you’ve visited the real place.

When we left Yakima, the sun was shining brightly — as it usually does in mid-July — and my adrenaline started to kick in as we pulled out of town.
It was me, Alex Parsley and Alex’s mom, Amy Parsley. And we brought the Twilight books with us. We talked about what to expect in Forks, the upcoming movie and, of course, the boys in the books.
Alex and I have known each other since third grade. We’ve been close friends since eighth grade. We’re both 15 and sophomores at Riverside Christian School.
She was excited to see the Twilight shops. And I was excited to see the forests of the Olympic Peninsula, the Pacific Ocean and — most of all — experience the rain.
The rain is my absolute favorite. I love rain. It rarely rains in Yakima and when it does I’m thrilled.
The drive to Forks — about 300 miles from Yakima — seemed like the longest drive ever. But after a stop in downtown Seattle for some shopping, a ferry ride across Puget Sound, then another three-hour drive, we finally made it.
We spent the night in Sequim, hitting the road again early the next morning and arriving in Forks under an enormous cover of clouds and rain.

When we reached our destination, a sign declared: “The City of Forks Welcomes You.” A billboard said: “Welcome to the Twilight Zone.”
I had never seen so much green in my life.

I had heard Forks was a small town. And it really was. In fact, Yakima is more than 10 times bigger.
We drove for about 10 minutes, past some familiar scenes in the books — like the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, where Bella’s dad works — and then we were at the end of town. That was probably the most disappointing part.
The coolest part was seeing Forks High School. It looked nothing like it did in the movie, but it was still cool to see the sign that was in the movie. We took many pictures.
We didn’t see Bella’s house or Edward’s house. But that was OK because we had some more shopping to do.
The next stop was all the Twilight shops. The town has three or four stores packed with anything and everything Twilight. There was a ton of Twilight T-shirts, Twilight stickers, Twilight books, Twilight magnets, Twilight posters, Twilight candy, Twilight lotion and lip gloss.
I bought a book, sunglasses and T-shirts. Alex bought T-shirts, magnets and Forks High School sweatpants.

I thought we would be the only people there. But we weren’t. There were a lot of tourists walking around and taking pictures. I kept asking myself: “Do Forks residents ever get tired of all these Twilight fans?”
They seemed used to it, like it was a normal part of life. Everyone was very welcoming. But I don’t know if I — a huge fan of Twilight — would be able to stand so much Twilight in my life.

After a couple of hours in Forks, we headed south for La Push, another setting in the Twilight series. It’s the place where all the werewolves live.
La Push is located on the Quileute Indian Reservation on the coast. And it’s the fictional home of Jacob, my favorite.
As we were driving there, we caught glimpses of the gray beaches hiding behind the forest. I could not believe how beautiful this place was.

We had lunch at a small café, then walked around town taking many pictures before gearing up for our drive back to Sequim, then onto Yakima the next day.
La Push was definitely a highlight of our trip. It was breathtaking. The gray beaches, gray skies and evergreen trees made the perfect picture.
And it was exactly how I had pictured it in the book.

— Hannah Kivi is a sophomore at Riverside Christian School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Anticipating Twilight

By LISA GARRIGUES
NACHES VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer has everything you could ask for in a book: action, danger, romance and fantasy, all rolled into one.

So it’s no surprise the books can — and have — pleased a variety of people, including teens. The first three books of the series have sold nearly 8 million copies in the United States so far.

And the fourth book, “Breaking Dawn, is set to be released Saturday. (Aug. 2, 2008)

Like the earlier books, it’s sure to attract a broad range of readers with different interests and book preferences.

To catch readers up to date, here’s a quick recap.

In “Twilight,” the first of the series, Meyer quickly draws readers into Bella’s world and her troubles. The teen has recently moved from sunny Phoenix to the rainy, remote, small town of Forks, Wash., located on the Olympic Peninsula, to live with her lonely dad.

Bella gains immediate friends and popularity, which is a complete change from her outcast status back in Phoenix. But she is confused by Edward Cullen, who tries to avoid her the instant they meet.

Determined to find out why Edward hates her so much, Bella stumbles upon a secret: Edward and his family are vampires.

Eventually Edward and Bella fall in love and are forced to fight the perils of their doomed relationship.

In “Twilight,” Meyer creates interesting characters with an exciting plot. By the time vampires are introduced into the story, it seems perfectly natural for them to be there, almost as if they are a normal story element.

The series starts out on a high note: “Twilight” is a definite page-turner.

The next book is “New Moon.” It starts with the Cullen family moving away, leaving Bella in a heart-broken, zombie-like state. Eventually, she forms a friendship with Jacob, who lives on a nearby Indian reservation in La Push, Wash. He drags her back to the real world, and together they become happy.

But soon Jacob becomes detached and refuses to talk to Bella. This is definitely a moment of déjà vu. Jacob reveals the reason he has withdrawn from Bella: he is actually a werewolf.

The third book is “Eclipse.” This story consists of Bella’s attempts at convincing Edward to turn her into a vampire, Edward and Jacob fighting over her, and Bella once again being attacked by dangerous vampires. The suspense keeps building up.

Will Bella become a vampire? Will she stay with Edward or choose Jacob?

Bella experiences many problems teens can all relate to — and some that they can’t.

How will it turn out?

We’ll all have to wait and see. Just two more days.

— For more information, visit www.stepheniemeyer.com.