Meyer releases gender-swapped Twilight

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has written a 442-page “reimagining” of her vampire novel, in honor of the book’s 10th anniversary, swapping the genders of her two protagonists.

In the new novel, Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, the role of shy high school student Bella Swan is reassigned to a young man, Beau, while enigmatic vampire Edward Cullen is now a female named Edythe. Meyer said in an interview that the gender swap would make a big difference in the story.

“The further you get in, the more it changes because the personalities get a little bit different, but it starts out very similar and really, it really is the same story because it’s just a love story and it doesn’t matter who’s the boy and who’s the girl, it still works out,” she said in an interview on Good Morning America.

The author also indicated that the tale  is a response to critics of her Twilight series, who have claimed that Bella is portrayed as a weak, stereotypical “damsel in distress”.

Meyer’s first Twilight novel, published in 2005, spawned three sequels, as well as five blockbuster movie adaptations.