While the idea for the release party came from Borders corporate headquarters, store general manager Ray Leone said that stores like his were free to do what they wanted to do in the hours before the midnight release.

So the store held a trivia contest, a costume parade and contest, and a balancing game called "Bella's Balance," named for the protagonist of the story, Bella Swan.

Mr. Leone said "This book is the hottest thing since Harry Potter."

The new book "Breaking Dawn" follows vampire Edward Cullen and non-vampire Bella, as they navigate high school, teen angst, werewolves, and Bella's desire to marry Edward and become immortal.

In the mix of the story is another boy, Jacob, a werewolf who befriends and falls for Bella while Edward is away. The story takes place in the town of Forks, just outside Seattle, Wash.

Of course, in the tug-of-war for Bella's affections, two camps have evolved: Team Edward and Team Jacob.

As people began arriving at the store around 9:30 p.m. Friday, Mr. Leone and his staff had the trivia contest all set up at the top of the stairs in front of the information desk. Winners won choice slots in the line at midnight to pick up their books before the rest of the crowd.

As the questions were called out, the hundreds of girls called out the answers. For example "One what penninsula does Bella live?" was the question. "The Olympic penninsula in Washington state," was the correct response.

Fans of the series - which began with the book "Twilight" published in 2005, followed by "New Moon" in 2006, and "Eclipse" in 2007 - seemed to know all of the details. Many of the girls in the store had read the books over and over again.

By 11 p.m., the costume contest got under way. Each contestant rode the escalator down to the first floor of the store and then rode it back up to the top. As they reached the second floor, the audience applauded. The level of applause determined the winner of the contest.

There was only one guy in the contest, Jacob Gessner, 17, a student at Archibishop Spalding in Severn. Jacob seemed to be dressed like a regular high school student. He is a fan of the series, and came to the release party with his sister, Katie, and her friend, Erin, both in their 20s.

Jacob portrayed Edward in the costume contest. As he came back up the escalator, the hundreds of girls in the room squealed and clapped loudly.

So, Jacob, as Edward, took first place and got the prize of being first in line to buy his copy of "Breaking Dawn" at midnight.

Other contestants included Lydia Olsen, 14, a freshman at Broadneck High School. Lydia dressed as character Emily, who is a mortalengaged to a werewolf. Unfortunately for Emily, her fiance, Sam, mauled her by accident.

Lydia's mom made ugly-but-realistic scars on Lydia's arms, neck and face using a mixture of flour, water, foundation and lipstick. Lydia said,

"I'm really excited for it," referring to the book being released. Lydia was clearly on Team Jacob. "I hope she picks Jacob," she added to her friends' approval.

Rachel and Candace Spicknall and their friend, Heidi Galeski, in their 20s, were on Team Edward and came dressed as participants in Bella's bachelorette party.

They wore matching black T-shirts embellished with red-glitter lettering that said, "Bridesmaids" on the front and had a listing of people in Bella and Edward's bridal party on the back.

Candace got the idea for their costumes when she was looking through Facebook for ideas. She said, "I saw a bridal party with matching T-shirts and decided that it was something we could do for the costume contest."

They took third place in the contest, and won the third slots in line at midnight.

As midnight approached, the party moved downstairs and everyone milled around waiting the last 15 minutes for the books to be released. Just before midnight a countdown began.

The store had received 900 copies of the book, smaller than the number of Harry Potter books they receive for a release, but not by much. They usually get around 1,200 copies of the Potter series.

As the customers received their copies, they held them close and raced out of the store. That was it. The party was over. These girls were going straight home to devour the last book in the series.

For most of the devotees of the "Twilight" series, the first reading of "Breaking Dawn" would be complete by Saturday morning, and the second reading of the book would commence immediately thereafter.

For the staff at Borders, being able to give young people an opportunity to stay interested in reading and books in the post-Harry Potter literary world was a good night on the job.

Mr. Leone said, "Teenagers get a safe, fun environment for the night, and it is a way to celebrate reading. I think doing these events is always fun."

The next event for young readers will be the release of "Tales of Beetle the Bard," by J.K. Rowling, the author of the ''Harry Potter'' saga. That release party is slated for Dec. 2.

Mr. Leone and his staff are already working on the theme for the evening, planning contests and fun for the patient young literary fans who are sure to show up.