"This lively collection of essays explores the narrative riches of the Twilight stories themselves even as it looks seriously at the ways they have been marketed and taken up both by their passionate fans and by critics who see them as evidence of a range of cultural and political problems."---Janice Radway, Author of Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature; Professor of Communication Studies/Rhetoric and Gender Studies and American Studies, Northwestern University.<BR><BR>"Team Edward. Team Jacob. Twilighters, Twihards, and Twilight Moms. Merchandise from clothing to jewelry to Barbie dolls. Bitten by Twilight critically examines the extraordinary franchise of Twilight and pushes our thinking in new directions. In this diverse and engaging collection, we learn what it is about Twilight that both appeals to us and enrages us."---Sarah Banet-Weiser, Author of Kids Rule! Nickelodeon and Consumer Citizenship; Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication and American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California.<BR><BR>"Bitten by Twilight presents us with an enlightened look into the world of vampires, werewolves, and fan culture and romance narratives. The editors and contributors to this book appreciate the significance of the stories, movies, and artifacts as a culturally gendered phenomenon and present a variety of lenses through which to appreciate this popular franchise."---Norma Pecora, Author of The Business of Children's Entertainment; Professor, School of Media Arts and Studies, Ohio University.<BR><BR>Focusing on the wildly successful Twilight series, this collection of scholarly essays examines the phenomenon from diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives. Particular attention is paid to cultural, social, and economic aspects of the series and to the recurrent messages about youth, gender roles, romance, and sexuality. Essays discuss race and religion, and provide audience analyses of young adult, adult, anti, and international fans. Other chapters are political-economic examinations into celebrity, tourism, and publishing. With new research by established and rising scholars, this volume is a significant contribution to the growing field of youth studies and complements existing feminist cultural analyses of media texts.