New York Bestselling author, Stephanie Meyer, is at it again.  In honor of the 10th anniversary of the release of her first Twilight book in 2005, Meyer has decided to mix things up by releasing a reimagined Twilight, leaving fans in shock.

In this new version of Twilight titled Life and Death, the main characters from the original novel, Bella and Edward, have swapped genders, becoming Beau (short for Beaufort) and Edythe.  This swap has come as a surprise to fans of the series, including Jasmine Grey, a student at Naugatuck High School.

Grey believes that Life and Death is  “a nice new spin to the story” and “it’s cool to see the story with a boy as the main character.”

Many fans were hoping for the release of the novel Midnight Sun which Meyer had been working on for years.  This novel would have been the story of Twilight told through Edward’s perspective.  However, after a draft of the book was accidentally leaked on the Internet, Meyer decided not to pursue the novel any further.

Instead of Midnight Sun, Meyer decided to write a new novel that was a bit more unexpected.  While the gender reversal of Edward and Bella was a creative gesture, Meyer also had a purpose behind her new novel.  

Meyer has been criticized in the past for portraying Bella as a ‘damsel in distress.’  “Granted, I was only 13 when I read the books, but I thought Bella was the luckiest girl in the world,” states Grey.  Many fans agree with Grey in the sense that Bella was a strong female character, however there are those that view Bella as a helpless girl.

In response to this opinion, Meyer decided to create and publish a version of the book that would show that the main character is not a ‘damsel in distress,’ rather a character stuck in an unfortunate situation, completely unrelated to gender.

Despite the fact that all of Meyer’s previous books have become major motion pictures, Meyer does not expect Life and Death to be on the big screen.  

“The romance that broke up the action” and “the relationships between characters,” Grey’s favorite elements of the books, will continue into the 10th anniversary novel, with the difference mainly in the change in gender.  Meyer also appreciates the opportunity that the new novel gives her to finally tweak some of the errors she made in the original book.