cover image Twilight

Twilight

, , read by Ilyana Kadushin. . Listening Library, $48 ( , unabridged, 11 CDs, 13 hours, $48 ISBN p) ISBN 978-0-307-28090-9

Kadushin takes a bite out of Meyer's debut novel, reading the suspenseful vampire romance with gusto and conveying a range of adolescent emotions. When 17-year-old Isabella Swan moves to perpetually rainy, small-town Forks, Wash., to live with her father, she accepts that it will be much duller than life in Phoenix with Mom. But Bella gets more excitement than she bargained for when she falls hard for Edward Cullen, a beautiful, pale boy with a disturbingly deep gaze and eyes that change color. It turns out that Edward and his adoptive family are all vampires, and Bella has entered mysterious, dangerous territory just by associating with them. The drama of everyday high school entertainingly blends with the supernatural as the plot thickens. And Kadushin makes listeners believe Bella's intense feelings of love, confusion and fear as Meyer's tale takes a gripping, unexpected turn toward a somewhat-rushed ending. This enticing production will definitely leave listeners wanting to hear more in this planned trilogy. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)