cover image Stephenie Meyer: The Unauthorized Biography of the Creator of the Twilight Saga

Stephenie Meyer: The Unauthorized Biography of the Creator of the Twilight Saga

Marc Shapiro. St. Martin's Griffin, $12.99 (211pp) ISBN 978-0-312-63829-0

Though the Twilight phenomenon is nearly half a decade old (the first movie released more than a year ago), this biography of series author Stephenie Meyer seems rushed to print, short on insight and long on secondary sources. With admirable breeziness, celebrity biographer Shapiro (J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter) culls Meyer's less-than-fascinating story from a mountain of (repetitive) interviews and articles: Meyer's sibling-filled Mormon childhood, her inspiration for the bestselling franchise (it came to her in a dream), and her present stardom, as well as the development of each book and the two movies so far released. With a fawning tone and a heavy emphasis on Meyer's family values and religion, this volume should appeal to avid fans, but even they may be disappointed by the lack of conflict or new info (""unauthorized"" status notwithstanding) outside of an interesting appendix of Meyer's musical influences and original interviews with several Meyer associates. 8 pages color photos.