On August 30, Stephenie Meyer posted a notice on her official website saying that someone close to her who she had given an early draft of her upcoming novel, “Midnight Sun,” had leaked it onto the internet. “It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I’ve decided to make the draft available [on her website],” she said in her statement. “This way, my readers don’t have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest.”
“So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue,” she wrote. “In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.”
After reading the draft of “Midnight Sun” that was posted, I only have three words for Ms. Meyer: Please finish it.
For those readers who are not familiar with the concept of the novel, “Midnight Sun” is a rewrite of Meyer’s first novel, “Twilight,” from its hero’s perspective: Edward instead of Bella. She has even said before that, once she started writing “Midnight Sun,” she realized that she should have told the story from Edward’s perspective all along. She was right.
What made “Twilight” so interesting was the dynamic between Edward and Bella. Edward was torn between his “wants” for Bella; he was in love with her, and yet he wanted to kill her. In “Twilight,” the reader got a confusing take on his confusion from Bella. She was unsure of his emotions and reactions towards her, and so were we. Did he want to kiss her or kill her? Was it lust or bloodlust?
“Midnight Sun” clears those up. Finally, the enigma that is Edward begins to make sense. Sure, the novel remains about a third completed (the draft is only 264 pages long), but even only telling the story until the drive home after the tense Biology Movie Class Scene, so many puzzle pieces fell into place: What Edward did when he went North to escape Bella. Edward’s hand in Angela and Ben’s relationship. Edward’s real excuse for following Bella to Port Angeles. The extent of Edward’s love for Bella, and the explanation behind it.
Sure, Edward still is a creepy stalker who can’t get enough of watching Bella sleep, but it works because we have an explanation for it. Just like writing Bella’s pregnancy in “Breaking Dawn” from Jacob’s perspective led to some confusion and irritation over Bella’s motives for giving birth to what Jacob thought was a monster, writing “Twilight” from Bella’s perspective led to confusion and harsh claims against Edward’s character. Edward’s perspective is much more fun than it should be as it shows how he rediscovers his 17-year-old side after being trapped in the same body for almost a century. And that includes hormones.
While Edward’s voice is a lot more interesting than Bella’s (and significantly less annoying), “Midnight Sun” is still very much a chick read. I can’t see 14 to 21 year old boys going to a book store and wanting to swoon over Edward’s endless monologue about his love for Bella, but anyone who enjoyed the Twilight saga will definitely enjoy this installment.
The part of “Midnight Sun” that was the most fun was reading everyone’s minds (except Bella, of course) alongside Edward. Meyer is able to include scenes that Edward was unable to see by having him watch it from someone else’s perspective. It is fun to see how all the pieces that were missing from “Twilight” fall into place, and of course we don’t have the same frustration Edward has because if a reader wants to know how Bella is feeling, they can just flip to that scene in “Twilight.”
It is almost funny to see how Edward’s bias of Bella is almost as severe as Bella’s is of him. To Bella, Edward is the most attractive, perfect man in the realm of existence. To Edward, no one else can anywhere near compare to how delicate, pretty, and selfless Bella is. Seeing their views of one another makes it clearer that the “perfection” they find in each other is mostly their mutual love and a decent percentage exaggerated.
“Midnight Sun” is nothing more than a companion piece; don’t think that you can just skip over the Twilight saga and just start from Edward’s perspective because there are a lot of missing details that were explained in previous books and did not need to be explained again. For example, Peter and Charlotte are introduced early on in “Midnight Sun,” while Bella did not know that they existed until “Eclipse.” “Midnight Sun” is a fun way for Twilight fans to re-explore the universe that they had come to love in a new way, a way that will lead to many, many “Oh, well that makes more sense” moments.
So please, Stephanie, please finish writing “Midnight Sun.” After all, you can’t leave us hanging by not sharing The Meadow Scene from Edward’s perspective with us.
i agree with u. please please please Stephanie please finish it. i’m begging u. i am really looking forward to it. after i heard about that, i got really upset. it’s not fair. please
All it’s done has left me with wanting more… more… more. Please finish Midnight Sun. As I was reading the draft I was hoping it would make it to the meadow scene…darn it…. Even as I am re-reading the other books, I’m constantly thinking, hmm… I wonder what this would sound like from Edwards point of view….
Amen!
OH!!!!!!!!!! Please Mrs.Meyer!!! You’ve got to got to got to FINISH IT!! Plz understand that there’re many many fans out there who are not responsible for the stupid person who leaked the chapters…and if we were?? Then It’d Be MERELY CURIOSITY ABOUT OUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES IN THE WORLD!!! SOo…please change your mind and publish a finished well written copy of Midnight Sun and our beautiful Edward’s point of view!!! =)
YES! I MUST KNOW THE MEADOW SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOPS i ment scene but ohwell! YEAH THE ROUGH DRAFT IS SOOOO CUTE! girls will def. enjoy it =)
pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase you have to finish it steph. i read the draft when u posted on ur website and i haven’t stopped thinking about it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( i cant stop)!!!
Amazing article! I really do hope Stephenie Meyer finishes the book. Hey! She might be doing that secretly for all we know. (note: being optimistic, haha)
yes, please finish the book. For us your fans!! we have dedicated alot of night and weekend to reading your books. We have put our lives on hold to see how they come out. so now we just look forward to the movie release. What have we to do after that.
please look at it from our point of view. one loser should not be the one to make it bad for the rest of us. please we would all love to see how edward thinks things should turn out.
I agree whole-heartedly with article. There were so many moments that were made much clearer by reading Edward’s perspective. I especially enjoyed learning that Bella’s father, Charlie had a strong mind as well. This helped to somewhat explain what made Bella’s mind so strong. Also, I really wanted to read the meadow scene from Edward’s point of view as well. I beseech Ms. Meyer to finish Midnight Sun, to end her readers anxiety, and to not let this one person ruin it for everyone.
I love MId Night Sun!!!!!!!!
I want Stephanie to finish the book sooooooooooooooo bad!
I NEED to read the medow from Edward’s point of view!!!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Stephanie.
Not just for me, but for ALL your fans!!!
i agree please finish the book!<33333333333333!
i really wannt to knoowww abouut edward’s point oof viiew, he’s side of the story! what he saw in the mind of the guys of port angeles.. i have an ideaa but i wiish i could know exactly, alsoo the thoughts of everybody.. because of the ability of edwarrd..i juust wannt too knooww mooreee<33! plleeeaaseeeeeeeeeee! i’m reallly begging yoouu!! if you read thiis i hope you doo..<333! i want to noow about the meadoow, when he saw her sleeping everythiinngg!! xoxo!:*
A-freaking-MEN!!!
seriously, I can’t agree with you more! Midnight Sun was just…amazing, incredible, astounding, etc. etc.
I loved reading just how much Edward loved Bella, how how much of a struggle it was for him to be with her, yet he does anyways.
And the Port Angeles scene is just…wow.
But, I felt like I almost died when I saw it ended JUST before the meadow scene!!! D:
PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy in the twilight world, Finish writing it, Stephenie!! *beg*
oh please please please finish it!
The only thing that helped me accept that the Twilight Saga was over was the knowledge that Midnight Sun would be coming out someday. I can’t tell you the last time I enjoyed any book as much as I have the Twilight books. These books have awakened a great interest in reading in many young (as well as older) readers.
Thank you Stephenie for the renewed passion and I hope someday that I will be able to read Midnight Sun – there is so much I still want to know and to enjoy!
OH please please please. i LOVED what i read of Midnight Sun. oh gosh i fell in love with Edward even more. why take it out on us fans and say its on hold? my heart broke! lol. but seriously Mrs. Meyer. Please finish it? Like soon? I need to know MoRE from that perfect vampire boy.
i totally agree. i nearly cried when i heard it was on hold “indefinently” it broke my heart. but for the sake of the fans, dont leave us hanging before the meadow scene! thats the best part of the book and she decides to stop there?! i need midnight sun….. the series is not complete without it.
~Lauren
OME. Perfect! Totally agree. Stephenie we all love you so PLEASE! Also in that medow scene I want to read about that first kiss. HELL YES!!!
I feel very much that she was wronged and can understand her feelings about this situation, someone breaking your trust. I do hope that when Mrs. Meyer is ready that she will allow us loyal fans to get to experience Midnight Sun the way she wanted us to. To see the story through Edwards mind. I do so hope that she will one day feel that she can finish it and choose to do so. I am absolutely in love with the saga. The idea to add one more book to the collection, there are no words! Again I do hope that she will finish and not allow this breach of trust to stop her from doing what she loves. I look and HOPE for the day when I can run out and buy Midnight Sun. So in closing please Mrs. Meyer please let us know the rest of Edwards side of the strory.
I think she will finish it eventually, after she’s had a chance to let it air for a while. I completely understand her frustration right now. But it is SO good, I’ve read it twice. I loved getting to be in Edward’s head for a day. – Tracy, Twilight Mom
You have spoken exactly how i feel. I had no idea about the leak till I read about it at StephenieMeyer.com. I was very sad to hear that but wish she would reconsider. I think i would love Midnight Sun just as much as Twilight. So I say please Stephenie finish the book.
I support Stephenie no matter what she decides to do. Hopefully someday she will feel the desire to revisit Midnight Sun and complete it. That would be great for us fans who loved all four Twilight books and I hope she takes any criticism towards her with a grain of salt.
We know you’ve been wrong Mrs. Stephine but everyone who love the Twilight Saga couldn’t wait for Midnight Sun. Edward’s side of the story deserves to be told…You said it yourself. PLEASE FINISH IT!!!!!!
WE LOVE YOU!!!!!
oh, please, please, please, please, please, please PLEASE finsih midnight sun, stephenie! it’s so good, i don’t know if i can wait for the rest!
I really hope Stephanie finishes this book <3 I’ve been anticipating it more than Breaking Dawn when it wasn’t out yet.