Cover your ears, take cover. Save yourselves from the high-pitched squeals of pre-pubescent fangirls screaming “Edward! Edward!”

If you haven’t caught on to the latest craze in the young adult-fantasy literary world since Harry Potter, Twilight, the first of 4 books, is about a 17-year-old girl who falls in love with a century-old vampire (who coincidentally looks 17 himself).When Isabella Swan decides to move from sunny Arizona to Forks, where the sun doesn’t seem to ever shine, she meets an Adonis by the name of Edward Cullen. With his cold, black eyes and stoic face, Edward seems completely put off by Bella and her presence.

But little does she know, Edward harbours a dangerous secret and they begin a relationship that probably shouldn’t exist in the first place.

As a novel, Twilight seems no different from other fantasy- romance novels.

It screams cliché at every turn of the page.

A clumsy, helpless heroine who needs saving from her vampire of a boyfriend in almost every chapter doesn’t really give you a compelling need to read on.

But strangely enough, Twilight, seems to have created a phenomenon that has its readers begging for more. Though the plot isn’t exactly the most original, Stephanie Meyer’s characters are interesting enough and their development in this novel leaves readers to question, “What happened there?” and “How could that happen?”. The irresistible effects of this dark romance haven’t gone unnoticed, just ask any female fan.

Being a New York Times Best Seller, the novel has realistic (though cheesy) dialogue and subtle humour in its favour.

In fact, the demand for the Twilight Saga is so popular right now, a movie adaptation is already out with great success as well.

With its just as cheesy plot and over-the-top interpretation of Edward as the Byronic hero (imagine Batman as a vampire in love), Twilight may not be your first pick when you enter the bookstore but no one can argue with its cult status when the American Library Association names it “Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers”.

If you’re thinking of getting this book for your girlfriend for Christmas, it’s probably not a bad idea if she’s into the romance genre (and if she hasn’t already read it). Ladies, you just might want to get something else for your boyfriends because while he might just be curious about it in a “just-what-has-he-got-that-I-don’t” way, there really is just too little action and too much Edward in there for them.

This book is available in all major bookstores.

ISBN: 190423365

This piece is part of the UrbanWire’s Christmas New-Year supplement.