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.
please, please, please dont make edward leave us again. it was hard enough being without him through 90% of new moon. when he left bella every reader who loves these books felt like he left us. we your fans support you and love you 100%. betrayal takes time to heal, trust me on this, i get what you are feeling. i would just hate to think that because of someone’s terrible decision and total lack of loyalty toward you that you would let them steal this away from you. from interviews and the way you craft your work we can all see how much you love these stories and the characters that you have created winthin them, fictional or not they hold a place in your heart. and denying yourself the pleasure of creating even more fascinating facets about them and even more fully living in their world i think is a shame. you are probably getting tired of hearing people be you but it is because you have shown your love for these works so much in your pages that we all love them just as much. we just want to keep living in their world with you. i pray that your heart heals from all of this, it is such a shame that things like this happen. we will stick with you though, take your time.
Stephanie: Please, please, please let Edward have his turn. If the portion I read is an unedited version I can only anxiously await the finished product. For whomever the idiot was who did this horrble thing to you please don;t punish the fans who sat innocently waiting for Midnight Sun. I have never begged for a book before, but I am now.
Thanks!!!
i think that she has already finished the book, think about it, she stoped right at the best part of the book with the meadow scene, you wouldnt just finish there, she would have had the itch to keep writing his point of view, i think she just aint publishing it yet…….. i think that’s it completed. if it isnt then please steph finish it for yourself and ur fans….. you have our love…….finnish edwards story. it was glorious to be ion his mind, when i read the other books i try to picture what edward would be saying in them so finish it for the suspense of your adoring fans, and for yourself give twilight it’s other half. twilight + midnight sun = partners like edward and bella, forever bound to be together.
please,please,please,please,please,please,please,please xoox
Fantastic review! Count me in as another who’s hoping Meyer will finish and publish this awesome book…
such an awesome book and awesome author
sad that some people doesn’t respect other peoples right
PS Ms. Meyer please finish the book my co-workers and I are realy dying to know what will happen next to the Twilight saga
Please Please Please
i am SOOOOO happy that you decided to write it!!!!!!!! I cant WAIT for it to be published!!!! This series beats Harry Potter by a LONG shot!!!!!
I hope that someone knows how to send Stephanie fan mail and all of our requests for her to finish it. I know how she feels about being violated. I never saw the bad draft online. I was excited and saddened to get to read the Midnight Sun Draft from her website. Please please let her know how much we want to read the rest of the story. Especially Edwards side of things while Bella was in Houston, the Meadow Scene, and the fight scene!
She is so talented and hopefully she will realize that her fans love her no matter what some idiot did.
I totally agree! I’ve always wanted to know why Edward was so in love with Bella, who seemed like such a normal girl–only because she thought of herself that way. Everything makes so much more sense in his perspective! I just have to know what he was thinking while he was racing to save Bella from James in the ballet studio. We all love you Stephenie and hope you return to Midnight Sun really soon.
I don’t think any of us understands how Stephenie Meyer feels. But i do understand why she did this. How could someone do this to her? She captivates minds of ALL ages and we repay her by illegaly posting Midnight Sun on the internet. How unpatient can someone get?! Couldnt they wait for her?? Give her the time she needs to finish it?? The book wasnt even finished!! Did they not comprehend how much BETTER the finished EDITED version of Midnight Sun would be?! Even though Stephenie Meyer aloud the draft on her site, im not looking at it. Personally, i think it would just ruin what the real book could have been. It would have out shone that draft any day.
Reading Twilight has changed me. Ive never been so addicted to reading in my LIFE. I have read 14 books over the summer. The Twilight Saga is something ive never read before, i love these books TO DEATH. I wouldnt give them away for anything.
When i heard Breaking Dawn was going to be the last book of the Saga, i was devastated. I was literally depressed. But then, after checing up on her site, i heard about Midnight Sun. I was ecstatic! Overjoyed!! I jumped around like a four year old getting a new toy!! I read and read the first chapter of Midnight Sun until i had it memorized.
But just a month later or so, i read about what happened. About Midnight Sun, how she stopped writing…That crushed me harder than Breaking Dawn being the last book of the Saga…Then that sadness was replaced by anger. Again, WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO HER???WHY?!?! I mean, they didnt only let Stephenie Meyer down, they let ALL her fans down with her. I hope they ae under a deep pool of guilt for what they did.
Stephenie Meyer, please dont stop writing Midnight Sun. It was absolutley brilliant to make Twilight in Edward’s point of view. No on wants you to stop. We all love you. You can take your time, i dont care when you start writing it again. As long as you just dont quit
:(. Your my favorite author EVER. Just please…
We need Midnight Sun!! We love you Stephanie!! I always hoped that one day she would also write New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn from Edwards perspective too. Now? Who knows.
I agree with everything Blast magazine had to say. We need you to finish Midnight Sun it Clears up alot of things. I was really really upset when you said you were not sure about finishing it. You truly are an amazing author and writer and by far my faviorte author. I love all you novels (The host included). I love how you put Scifi and love together so all i have left to say is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STEPHENIE FINISH MIDNIGHT SUN!!!
omg stephenie,
if you dont finish it im totally gonna cry.
im suffering from twilight withdrawl
midnight sun is the only thing that keeps me going XD
Exactly. Especially about there needing to be the Meadow scene from Edward’s POV. It’s a huge turning point in the story that simply needs to be written!
PLEASE STEPHENIE, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the goos of all your fans, please keep writing it!!!!!! I can’t stnad it, I need it to be finished!!!!!! It is so good and the emotions are so deep, i love it just as much as i did Twilight, and New Moon, and Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, maybe even more!!!!!!!!! Stephenie, to over a million people (teenage girls especially!) You are their Idol!!!!!!!!! you cant let some stupid little thing/person ruin your career with this book!!!!!!! The fans are dying, just like myself, to read the whole story!!!!! Everything is critical!!!!!!!!! we need it, even when reading twilight i was thinking, now what is he tinking here, and here, and her, and there, ect. Please don’t let this stop you from finishing it, im beggin you, and i will keep begging you!!!! For the rest of my life!!!!!! PLEASE STEPHENIE, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, FINISH MIDNIGHT SUN FOR THE GOOD OF THE TWILIGHT COMMUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I absolutely agree with this article! I had no idea I would enjoy Midnight Sun as much as I did. It was truly enjoyable to read Edwards perspective on Bella and the things that happened when Bella wasn’t around. I especially enjoyed getting to know Edward. Scenes I had read in Twilight came across totally differently as I saw how Edward’s mind worked!
I will savor what I have of Midnight Sun for now, but selfishly hope Stephenie Meyer will reconsider finishing it for us
I completely agree!!! I LOVE Midnight Sun. I really hope she decides to finish because I think I will cry if she doesn’t. I loved seeing Edwards POV and knowing more about his family and their emotions toward Bella. I also agree that it would be awesome if she continued to write the remaining three books from his POV as well. Please finish Midnight Sun!!!!!!!
I agree, I think a speak for all the “Twilight” fans, when a say, we need to know what Edward feels the first time he kissed Bella. Sooooooooooooooooo Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeasssssse finish the book……………I think, and I’m still speaking for all the fans, that even if all lot of us read the draft, we’ll still buy the book. So again finish “MIDNIGHT SUN” Pleeeeeeeeeeeease……….
Please finish it! ill buy it still! please please please!!
im so sad about wat happened…please finish it!!!
Just a note, Eclipse is where Peter and Charlotte first are mentioned. This is during Jasper’s history lesson. I also can’t stand that someone was so thoughtless as to spoil Ms. Meyer’s progress on Edward’s version of the story. I hope that she does finish it. She hadn’t even gotten to Confessions, one of the most tense, passionate chapters in the first book.
i totally agree with you,stephenie please please please finish it.
it was so amazing to be in edwards mind,to understand more of the love he has for bella.
omg i love edward cullen.
please finish the book, I’m waiting for the 4th book, and I did even look for Midnight sun, but I know that you aren’t going to finish it, please, you still have fans who are waiting the original book, please please I want to know the Edward version!!! PLEASE PLEASE
The book must be finished!!! As I was reading the rough draft her website, I kept thinking of all the scenes I wanted to here from Edwards point of veiw in all of the other books. As for Midnight Sun I am dying to read Edwards view of finding Bella with James and his first taste of her blood. There are so many scenes I keep thinking about now I am obsessed!!!!!
what Terri Schwartz just said…. lol
PLEASE FINISH THE BOOK!!!!! i am dying to read it! i read the first chapter and i thought it was totaly awesome!
Please finish it!
Think of it as giving an addict a tiny piece of their drug and then holding it captive in their sight.
It’s so wonderful to see what Edward is thinking, and yes, the mind-reading thing is just about the dandiest thing ever. x)
I only started the series two weeks ago, and I’ve reread every book about 3-6 times, depending on the book. D:
I likes the Cullen drugz.