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Kendra
read and liked
Jen's
review of Breaking Dawn (Twilight Series, Book 4):
"**WARNING SPOILERS!!**
I was prepared to give this version one star about 250 pages ago, but the ending ironically redeemed this installment for me. After reading other comments and reviews, I see I'm in the minority with the ending, but in truth...more
**WARNING SPOILERS!!**
I was prepared to give this version one star about 250 pages ago, but the ending ironically redeemed this installment for me. After reading other comments and reviews, I see I'm in the minority with the ending, but in truth, to me, it was the better part of this book as I saw the rest of it being impossible cheese that was hard to stomach. But let me rewind to my critique of the entire book from the beginning.
I realize the genre of this book: teen romance/adventure? story. I don't, as a general rule, have the stomach for romance books of any shape or form. So after Twilight (which, in my opinion, was the best of the four), I had had just about all I could take of Bella pining for Edward and Edward's teasing (yes, I'll throw you on the bed and make out with you until you go TOO far, then gently chastize you that we just simply can't go there...gag). So, after the scmaltzy wedding and honeymoon (which was better done than I expected it to be, I'll give Meyer that), I was relieved that something else had finally taken the center stage of their relationship besides Bella's hormones.
AND THEN, we come to the wacked out pregnancy. Having been pregnant myself, I admit I saw it as a freakish parody of the human pregnancy experience. It just didn't work for me. It was in some ways downright funny (I realize that sounds cruel, as the main character was suffering, but I couldn't help it). I actually enjoyed hearing Jacob's perspective for a change in Book II, mainly because I always felt Bella's POV really injured her character. Again, I am in the minority on this, but Bella has never been my favorite character. I just got tired of the damsel in distress mode she was always in.
Here's what I couldn't stomach, no matter how I willingingly suspended my disbelief:
1. Jacob's imprinting. I realize this was introduced in prior books that a wolf could imprint on a child. It creeped me out then. It's the era in which I'm born, and I guess my paradigm can't envision a safe relationship between a grown man and a baby where the man wants "everything good for the girl" and yet in the back of his head, knows this girl is going to end up being his lover. It doesn't work for me, no matter how much it is explained. It's just creepy. C.R.E.E.P.Y.
2. I realize that explained why Bella needed Jake around all the time, but holy crow (to pull a phrase from Meyer's book), that was just sadistic and incredibly selfish of Bella to beg for Jacob to be around her, despite the pain it caused him. I guess the other vampires didn't give a crap about Jacob's feelings, but for Bella to not care either just seemed so self-absored it was a little repulsive. Again, I realize Meyer explained all this, I just didn't buy it.
3. Rosalie's interest with no dialogue or perspective from her on to what she was feeling about Bella (except as filtered through Edward's consciousness) seemed like a ball dropped by the author. Rosalie's role was key in the second half of the book, but then it just disappears in the latter half of the book, which pretty much lamed her character and left a huge, unfulfilled hole for me.
Okay, so I said I liked the ending. Here is why:
1. I liked Bella a lot more as a vampire. Finally, a main character with a backbone. She still had that lack of confidence in herself, but now at least I could see why everyone around her adored her (again, this is why I felt 1st person POV had crippled her character before...I just didn't get what Edward and Jacob saw in her). Now she could actually save someone else instead of everyone saving her.
2. Despite the creepiness of the pregnancy, the imprinting, and the stupid name (yes, I agree, it was distracting to read it...I usually stumbled over it as I read), the child added a new dimension for the book that I thought worked. I guess only a mother could appreciate this fully, but a child changes people's perspectives entirely (if they have normal, compassionate feelings). People think outside of themselves more fully than ever. So that part rang true for me. I ENJOYED the fact that it wasn't always about Edward and Bella, wondering how they could get each other alone for the umpteenth time. I was actually GLAD Edward took a backseat for once (no more totally unhealthy 'I control your world so you can't possibly hurt yourself' crap).
3. I really enjoyed getting glimpses of other vampires and their stories. I jut wish the core coven, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, could have had more "air time." Of all the vampires, those are the ones I always wanted to know more about. The Volturi are among my favorite villains, so I completely loved their return in the end. I suppose a fight with a few casualties would have made the drama of the ending more compelling, but of the four books' endings, without a doubt, this one is the best for me. The heroine actually saves herself and her loved ones, rather than being the one rescued, and that felt infinitely more satisfying to me than the other three endings combined. I can take the fantastical happy ending, if the main character changes, grows, and solves her own problem. Which is what happens in Breaking Dawn.
Last comment (I swear!). This one addresses another debate happening now about this series:
Meyer should be beaming right now. The heated debate happening all over the internet is whether or not this book is a divine ending or a damned one to an electrifying series. People love it, they hate it, and people who normally wouldn't care a whit (like me) are taking time to type epic novels about their opinions on it. I'd say that's success.
And, in that regard, she is indeed most like that other beloved children's writer, J.K. Rowling.
Forgive me, though, but when comparing their series, I regret to say, that's the only way. :) The Twilight series never made me cry, and I didn't feel the threat of wanting to write a hate letter to the author if she killed off the beloved main character. Harry Potter made me feel this way, and I'm a grown woman! While the characters in Twilight are intriguing and definitely not without backstory, they pale in comparison to the richly detailed history that exists for even the most minor of characters in Harry Potter. So the comparison of the two series will always be a superficial one, for me, at least.
Still, overall, I am impressed. It is worth reading Breaking Dawn and each of the books in this series. Actually, the reviews of this last installment may be even more worth reading. :) I love seeing a writing phenomenon ripple through society, touching millions of people. My hat is off to Meyer...she's created a stir of which I can only dream of doing....less
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Kendra said:
"I am always reading this book. A great source of spiritual guidance and how to improve your life a be a better person. It helps me lead a more Christ-like life.
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