Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Isabella Swan is a plain, clumsy girl who moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to cold, rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father. She is miserable in Forks, but quickly finds herself drawn to the beautiful and mysterious Edward Cullen, a student at the small town's high school who, along with his strange brothers and sisters, seems to be an outcast in the town despite his extreme beauty.

Bella's first encounter with the gorgeous Edward is a strange one, as he seems to hate her upon first sight. From there, she is drawn into his mysterious world of cryptic answers, impossible acts of strength, and inexplicable behavior. What Bella doesn't realize is that Edward is a vampire, and the more time they spend together, the more they are moving toward an impossible relationship.

Twilight explores the most forbidden love of all. Can a vampire and a human girl truly be together, if his lust for her body always runs the chance of being overcome by his lust for her blood?

This book is one part vampire (although Stephenie Meyer's vampires do not follow traditional vampire canon at all...no fangs here), three parts angsty teen love. It's a guilty pleasure read, chock full of brooding glances and cheesy dialouge, and it is heavily recommended that you stock up on all the books in the series once you get started. Once most people get going, they don't want to stop.

The Twilight Saga
#1 - Twilight
#2 - New Moon
#3 - Eclipse
#4 - Breaking Dawn

As a bonus for Twilight fans, you can also read the first 12 chapters of Midnight Sun on Stephenie Meyer's website. Midnight Sun is the Twilight story from Edward's perspective. It was supposed to be Meyer's next project after Breaking Dawn, but in late August '08, the first 12 chapters were leaked onto the internet. Meyer was upset that her rough work was spread around without her permission or knowledge, released a statement saying the project was on hold indefinitely, and posted those leaked chapters for her fans on her website. You can read them, along with her statement, here.