Midnight Sun - The 12 Chapters

[Maira]

So, I think Jasper didn't approve of Edward leaving Bella. He knows the change the love of a good woman can bring into a man's life. He's seen with his own eyes that change that Bella has brought in Edward. In Twilight, Jasper says, essentially, as much when he tells her, "do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?" (Forgive me, no book handy to quote correctly).
So, those are my ramblings for the moment.

It was Alice that said that in Twilight.

And I agree with most of your thoughts, except for the running for weeks part.
I think he:
Left;
Freaked;
Started tracking randomly;
Decided to track Victoria;
Followed the wrong trail;
Freaked again;
Got the call from Rose;
Freaked worse than before;
Decided to go to Italy.

By 'freaked' I mean a mix of a panic attack, a self-hating session, and a... freaking-out. *shrug*

[MelEponine]

I have read the 12 chapters...sooo good. But now I understand why she didn't want her fans to read the unfinished book. There is parts that are wrong, do not coincide with Twilight book and Bella being the narrator. Such parts as when he tells her what he is...that was in the woods behind the school, or when they touch hands in the car and quickly pull them away because she noticed his hand was so cold...etc. there is many "errors" like this.

Have you actually read the book, or did you just see the movie? I assume you have read it, since you are reading MS..... but the things you are talking about were liberties taken in the film. In Twilight things happen pretty much exactly as they do in MS. I have a pretty good feeling that SM just took her manuscript for Twilight and just wrote Edward's POV in, using Bella's descriptions as a guideline and leaving the dialogue.

I am absolutely in LOVE with MS. I don't even know how many times I've read it! Didn't think it would be possible to love Edward more.... and then I read MS. I know Stephenie wants people to stop talking about it...... but I can't help but wish she would finish it!!!! Sorry, Stephenie. I'm obsessed with it.

My favorite parts:

All the same, I frequently amused myself by imagining
backhanding him across the room and into the far wall… It probably wouldn’t injure him
fatally…
(about Mike. Page 93)


“Why won’t you leave me alone?”
Believe me, I wanted to say. I’ve tried.
Oh, and also, I’m wretchedly in love with you.
(page 112)


“I’ll see you later then,” I said, trying for casual again, staring down at the
whirling lid. And, by the way, I adore you…in frightening, dangerous ways.
(page 125)

For one moment, the hag-faced fate I’d imagined, the one who sought Bella’s
destruction, was replaced by the most foolish and reckless of angels. A guardian angel—
something Carlisle’s version of me might have had. With a heedless smile on her lips,
her sky-colored eyes full of mischief, the angel formed Bella in such a fashion that there
was no way that I could possibly overlook her. A ridiculously potent scent to demand my
attention, a silent mind to enflame my curiosity, a quiet beauty to hold my eyes, a selfless
soul to earn my awe. Leave out the natural sense of self-preservation—so that Bella
could bear to be near me—and, finally, add a wide streak of appallingly bad luck.
With a careless laugh, the irresponsible angel propelled her fragile creation
directly into my path, trusting blithely in my flawed morality to keep Bella alive.
In this vision, I was not Bella’s sentence; she was my reward.
(page 215)

I read her eyes; though her mind was silent, I could perceive both trust and
wonder there. I realized in that moment that I wanted to answer her questions. Not
because I owed it to her. Not because I wanted her to trust me.
I wanted her to know me.
(page 189)

The long sweater was too big for her, unflattering. It masked her slender figure,
turning all her delicate curves and soft lines into a shapeless jumble. I appreciated this
almost as much as I wished that she had worn something more like the soft blue blouse
she’d worn last night…the fabric had clung to her skin in such an appealing way, cut low
enough to reveal the mesmerizing way her collar bones curled away from the hollow
beneath her throat. The blue had flowed like water along the subtle shape of her body…
It was better—essential—that I kept my thoughts far, far away from that shape, so
I was grateful to the unbecoming sweater she wore. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes,
and it would be a monumental mistake to dwell on the strange hungers that thoughts of
her lips…her skin…her body…were shaking loose inside of me. Hungers that had
evaded me for a hundred years. But I could not allow myself to think of touching her,
because that was impossible.
I would break her.
(219-220)

A wayward strand of her hair, slightly damp from the fog, draped across her
shoulder and curled around where her collar bone was hidden by the ridiculous sweater.
It drew my eyes…pulled them across the other hidden lines…
(page 225) It's just so fulfilling to finally read how attracted to her he really is! What a good boy he is. So controlled!

I did not pull my chair away from hers today, to give myself space to breathe.
Instead, I sat close beside her like any normal human would. Closer than we sat inside
my car, close enough that the left side of my body felt submerged in the heat from her
skin.
It was a strange experience, both enjoyable and nerve-racking, but I preferred this
to sitting across the table from her. It was more than I was used to, and yet I quickly
realized that it was not enough. I was not satisfied. Being this close to her only made me
want to be closer still. The pull was stronger the closer I got.
I had accused her of being a magnet for danger. Right now, it felt like that was
the literal truth. I was danger, and, with every inch I allowed myself nearer to her, her
attraction grew in force.
And then Mr. Banner turned the lights out.
It was odd how much of a difference this made, considering that the lack of light
meant little to my eyes. I could still see just as perfectly as before. Every detail of the
room was clear.
So why the sudden shock of electricity in the air, in this dark that was not dark to
me? Was it because I knew that I was the only one who could see clearly? That both
Bella and I were invisible to the others? Like we were alone, just the two of us, hidden in
the dark room, sitting so close beside one another…
My hand moved toward her without my permission. Just to touch her hand, to
hold it in the darkness. Would that be such a horrific mistake? If my skin bothered her,
she only had to pull away…
I yanked my hand back, folded my arms tightly across my chest and clenched my
hands closed. No mistakes. I’d promised myself that I would make no mistakes, no
matter how minimal they seemed. If I held her hand, I would only want more—another
insignificant touch, another move closer to her. I could feel that. A new kind of desire
was growing in me, working to override my self-control.
No mistakes.
Bella folded her arms securely across her own chest, and her hands balled up into
fists, just like mine.
What are you thinking? I was dying to whisper the words to her, but the room
was too quiet to get away with even a whispered conversation.
The movie began, lightening the darkness just a bit. Bella glanced up at me. She
noted the rigid way I held my body—just like hers—and smiled. Her lips parted slightly,
and her eyes seemed full of warm invitations.
Or perhaps I was seeing what I wanted to see.
I smiled back; her breathing caught with a low gasp and she looked quickly away.
That made it worse. I didn’t know her thoughts, but I was suddenly positive that I
had been right before, and that she wanted me to touch her. She felt this dangerous desire
just as I did.
Between her body and mine, the electricity hummed.
(page 250) It's especially good because we know the Bella was feeling EXACTLY the same!!!!! So good!!

Okay.... there are many more. Like when Alice says, "I love her, too, Edward!" And Edward freaks out... much like he does after his family "votes" in New Moon. I have many more favorite parts, but I will stop now before I copy and paste the entire manuscript!! Midnight sun may be the best thing I've ever read.

Edit: So, I'm reading it again, and I just found another line that made me utterly giddy. Right after he saves her from Tyler's van:

She struggled to sit up, but I was not ready to release her. It felt
somehow…safer? Better, at least, having her tucked into my side.
(page 60)

And then two lines I forgot to include last time:

...and I knew that the girl—I should stop thinking of her
that way, as if she were the only girl in the world—that Bella...
(page 32)

Except that the girl—the only girl in the world—was clinging to her seat with
both hands, staring at me, her eyes still wide and utterly trusting.
(Page 173)

How can anyone not love Edward Cullen?

[suzyq248]

I LOVE YOUR QUOTES!!!! I want the rest of Dark High Noon so baaaddddd..... And also, I personally would really love to read the other books from Edward's perspective. I know Stephenie has said that she has no intention of doing that because she feels DHN would give us all enough of Edward's perspective to understand him more in the other books. But, I disagree. After reading the first 12 chapters, and then re-reading the other books, I am more confused about Edward's reactions. It also drives me crazy now whenever Bella says she thinks Edward is hiding something, or thinking something else. I just want to scream that I want his side too!! Plus he thinks so much faster that a lot goes on in his head when to Bella it seems like he responds right away.

[*Lamb*I*Am*]

I read the partial MS on SM's webby last night.
WOW....I loved it from Edward's point of view! I think I sat there the entire time, with this silly grin on my face. It was so good, I couldn't stop reading it!
But then it stopped before it got REALLY REALLY good! Noooo!!!!

I so want SM to finish it!!

[Movielover22]

What is really interesting for me is reading Twilight after reading Midnight Sun. Every time Bella is noticing a strange expression on his face or when he's trying not to laugh or when she's wondering what he's thinking, I can remember in my head what actually was running through his mind at this point and it's just so interesting. At some points, she's dead on about what he's thinking, but then there are other times that she's way off and it's interesting to see what those times are and the reasons for the differences. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that I enjoy analyzing literary things way too much, but it's like doing a very in-depth character study, and not having to make assumptions about the aspects of the person you don't really know about, but being able to know for sure.

Now, as far as my romantic side is concerned, I absolutely loved the different times when she would walk away or something and he would add in his head how much he loved her. It made me smile and yet made me very sad at the same time, because in those words in his head you can just feel how much he truly believes that he's not worthy of her and that there's only a very very small chance of him ever really being able to be with her.

"And by the way, I am wretchedly in love with you." If you really look at this, especially in its context, it's such a powerful moment and I just absolutely love it.

[navarre]

I have read the 12 chapters...sooo good. But now I understand why she didn't want her fans to read the unfinished book. There is parts that are wrong, do not coincide with Twilight book and Bella being the narrator. Such parts as when he tells her what he is...that was in the woods behind the school, or when they touch hands in the car and quickly pull them away because she noticed his hand was so cold...etc. there is many "errors" like this.

Have you actually read the book, or did you just see the movie? I assume you have read it, since you are reading MS..... but the things you are talking about were liberties taken in the film. In Twilight things happen pretty much exactly as they do in MS. I have a pretty good feeling that SM just took her manuscript for Twilight and just wrote Edward's POV in, using Bella's descriptions as a guideline and leaving the dialogue.

I am absolutely in LOVE with MS. I don't even know how many times I've read it! Didn't think it would be possible to love Edward more.... and then I read MS. I know Stephenie wants people to stop talking about it...... but I can't help but wish she would finish it!!!! Sorry, Stephenie. I'm obsessed with it.

My favorite parts:

All the same, I frequently amused myself by imagining
backhanding him across the room and into the far wall… It probably wouldn’t injure him
fatally…
(about Mike. Page 93)


“Why won’t you leave me alone?”
Believe me, I wanted to say. I’ve tried.
Oh, and also, I’m wretchedly in love with you.
(page 112)


“I’ll see you later then,” I said, trying for casual again, staring down at the
whirling lid. And, by the way, I adore you…in frightening, dangerous ways.
(page 125)

For one moment, the hag-faced fate I’d imagined, the one who sought Bella’s
destruction, was replaced by the most foolish and reckless of angels. A guardian angel—
something Carlisle’s version of me might have had. With a heedless smile on her lips,
her sky-colored eyes full of mischief, the angel formed Bella in such a fashion that there
was no way that I could possibly overlook her. A ridiculously potent scent to demand my
attention, a silent mind to enflame my curiosity, a quiet beauty to hold my eyes, a selfless
soul to earn my awe. Leave out the natural sense of self-preservation—so that Bella
could bear to be near me—and, finally, add a wide streak of appallingly bad luck.
With a careless laugh, the irresponsible angel propelled her fragile creation
directly into my path, trusting blithely in my flawed morality to keep Bella alive.
In this vision, I was not Bella’s sentence; she was my reward.
(page 215)

I read her eyes; though her mind was silent, I could perceive both trust and
wonder there. I realized in that moment that I wanted to answer her questions. Not
because I owed it to her. Not because I wanted her to trust me.
I wanted her to know me.
(page 189)

The long sweater was too big for her, unflattering. It masked her slender figure,
turning all her delicate curves and soft lines into a shapeless jumble. I appreciated this
almost as much as I wished that she had worn something more like the soft blue blouse
she’d worn last night…the fabric had clung to her skin in such an appealing way, cut low
enough to reveal the mesmerizing way her collar bones curled away from the hollow
beneath her throat. The blue had flowed like water along the subtle shape of her body…
It was better—essential—that I kept my thoughts far, far away from that shape, so
I was grateful to the unbecoming sweater she wore. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes,
and it would be a monumental mistake to dwell on the strange hungers that thoughts of
her lips…her skin…her body…were shaking loose inside of me. Hungers that had
evaded me for a hundred years. But I could not allow myself to think of touching her,
because that was impossible.
I would break her.
(219-220)

A wayward strand of her hair, slightly damp from the fog, draped across her
shoulder and curled around where her collar bone was hidden by the ridiculous sweater.
It drew my eyes…pulled them across the other hidden lines…
(page 225) It's just so fulfilling to finally read how attracted to her he really is! What a good boy he is. So controlled!

I did not pull my chair away from hers today, to give myself space to breathe.
Instead, I sat close beside her like any normal human would. Closer than we sat inside
my car, close enough that the left side of my body felt submerged in the heat from her
skin.
It was a strange experience, both enjoyable and nerve-racking, but I preferred this
to sitting across the table from her. It was more than I was used to, and yet I quickly
realized that it was not enough. I was not satisfied. Being this close to her only made me
want to be closer still. The pull was stronger the closer I got.
I had accused her of being a magnet for danger. Right now, it felt like that was
the literal truth. I was danger, and, with every inch I allowed myself nearer to her, her
attraction grew in force.
And then Mr. Banner turned the lights out.
It was odd how much of a difference this made, considering that the lack of light
meant little to my eyes. I could still see just as perfectly as before. Every detail of the
room was clear.
So why the sudden shock of electricity in the air, in this dark that was not dark to
me? Was it because I knew that I was the only one who could see clearly? That both
Bella and I were invisible to the others? Like we were alone, just the two of us, hidden in
the dark room, sitting so close beside one another…
My hand moved toward her without my permission. Just to touch her hand, to
hold it in the darkness. Would that be such a horrific mistake? If my skin bothered her,
she only had to pull away…
I yanked my hand back, folded my arms tightly across my chest and clenched my
hands closed. No mistakes. I’d promised myself that I would make no mistakes, no
matter how minimal they seemed. If I held her hand, I would only want more—another
insignificant touch, another move closer to her. I could feel that. A new kind of desire
was growing in me, working to override my self-control.
No mistakes.
Bella folded her arms securely across her own chest, and her hands balled up into
fists, just like mine.
What are you thinking? I was dying to whisper the words to her, but the room
was too quiet to get away with even a whispered conversation.
The movie began, lightening the darkness just a bit. Bella glanced up at me. She
noted the rigid way I held my body—just like hers—and smiled. Her lips parted slightly,
and her eyes seemed full of warm invitations.
Or perhaps I was seeing what I wanted to see.
I smiled back; her breathing caught with a low gasp and she looked quickly away.
That made it worse. I didn’t know her thoughts, but I was suddenly positive that I
had been right before, and that she wanted me to touch her. She felt this dangerous desire
just as I did.
Between her body and mine, the electricity hummed.
(page 250) It's especially good because we know the Bella was feeling EXACTLY the same!!!!! So good!!

Okay.... there are many more. Like when Alice says, "I love her, too, Edward!" And Edward freaks out... much like he does after his family "votes" in New Moon. I have many more favorite parts, but I will stop now before I copy and paste the entire manuscript!! Midnight sun may be the best thing I've ever read.

Edit: So, I'm reading it again, and I just found another line that made me utterly giddy. Right after he saves her from Tyler's van:

She struggled to sit up, but I was not ready to release her. It felt
somehow…safer? Better, at least, having her tucked into my side.
(page 60)

And then two lines I forgot to include last time:

...and I knew that the girl—I should stop thinking of her
that way, as if she were the only girl in the world—that Bella...
(page 32)

Except that the girl—the only girl in the world—was clinging to her seat with
both hands, staring at me, her eyes still wide and utterly trusting.
(Page 173)

How can anyone not love Edward Cullen?

Wow, you really have read that manuscript coming and going!! I have read it twice and it is beyond beautiful to me.
It is so hard to go back to Twilight because MS has truly ruined that book for me. She really/i] needs to give us that book - quickly!!!

[isaella swan]

What is really interesting for me is reading Twilight after reading Midnight Sun. Every time Bella is noticing a strange expression on his face or when he's trying not to laugh or when she's wondering what he's thinking, I can remember in my head what actually was running through his mind at this point and it's just so interesting. At some points, she's dead on about what he's thinking, but then there are other times that she's way off and it's interesting to see what those times are and the reasons for the differences. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that I enjoy analyzing literary things way too much, but it's like doing a very in-depth character study, and not having to make assumptions about the aspects of the person you don't really know about, but being able to know for sure.

Now, as far as my romantic side is concerned, I absolutely loved the different times when she would walk away or something and he would add in his head how much he loved her. It made me smile and yet made me very sad at the same time, because in those words in his head you can just feel how much he truly believes that he's not worthy of her and that there's only a very very small chance of him ever really being able to be with her.

i really agree with you...but i think it is a reciprocal thing between edward and bella: he often wonders why she reacts/acts/thinks/looks the way she does and we -having read twilight- know exactly what's going on...reading midnight sun really opened my eyes cause now i understand much better why edward left her in new moon...as you said getting to know his perspective was a bittersweet experience...on the one hand it made me smile how he realized her affection and how it flattered him, his jealousy because of mike newton (i never thought of that in twilight) and so on, but on the other hand i can't grasp how he could think her love wan't equally strong as his!!

[scarlet_forever]

Yes, I read it. Alot of ppl say it ruined there view of Edward. It helped me understand him more. He is still mysterious to me even w/ that back ground info.It coincieded(sp?) w/ Twilight really well. SM did a great job. Sorry it had to happen that crappy way. I hate that for her b/c I think she wanted more to twilight. If Bella only knew what he went throught in those early days.

[xSophiexx16]

I am so extremely happy that Stephenie had his point of view. You could finally feel and understand the pain he goes through. I love understanding every wink or nod edward makes that Bella just can't seem to get. Edward's love for Bella is so strong but now I know how strong her scent is to him, too. I also love knowing where he went when he left Bella and what he did there. I wish so hard that the meadow scene could've been included. It unluckily wasn't but I'm hoping for the Midnight Sun published book!

[scarlet_forever]

I am so extremely happy that Stephenie had his point of view. You could finally feel and understand the pain he goes through. I love understanding every wink or nod edward makes that Bella just can't seem to get. Edward's love for Bella is so strong but now I know how strong her scent is to him, too. I also love knowing where he went when he left Bella and what he did there. I wish so hard that the meadow scene could've been included. It unluckily wasn't but I'm hoping for the Midnight Sun published book!

Yes, I was hoping for the meadow scene too!! I bout cried when I got to the last page and it wasn't there.