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You’re coming out of a movie on another ordinary Friday night, when you’re eyes grace across the Barnes and Noble next to the theater. Inside, the lights are still clearly lit, even though it is well past eleven thirty. There are hundreds of heads crammed in the aisles of books, and you glance at your watch to see exactly what time it is, eleven fifty-nine. High pitched screams all of the sudden pierce your ears, when the time turns to
twelve.
What exactly is going on?  Ask any teenage girl on the street, and they will fill you in.

Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer, was recently released on Friday, August 2nd. It was awaited by thousands of devoted readers for months. The series was started with the original Twilight, followed by the sequel New Moon, then cliffhanger, Eclipse. The story takes place in rainy Forks, Washington, where young Isabella (Bella) Swan goes to stay with her father to give her mother and her fiancé space. What Bella doesn’t know is that she unexpectedly falls for mysterious classes mate, Edward Cullen. Their relationship becomes complicated though, when Bella is pulled into Edward’s world of the super natural… vampires. He thirsts for her blood more than anyone else, but that doesn’t stop them from falling in love and continuing their romance.

After reading Breaking Dawn, I can’t say I was completely pleased, nor disappointed. From my experience reading Breaking Dawn, I personally felt a little rushed, because I knew, in a matter of HOURS spoilers would be everywhere, so I had to complete it very quickly. So the whole event of Bella almost dying for a child that she well knew could be capable of killing her, and seeing Edward’s reaction to the situation, kind of surprised me. I never pictured Bella having children, and I never pictured Edward completely terrified as he was. Although I was pleased that every character had a happily ever after, it still bums me out that there will not be another book, where Edward breaks up with Bella, and just happens to come searching for me. Besides my fantasies, what I really enjoyed from the book was the final scene. We all expected there to be this humungous, gigantic battle between the Volturi and the Cullens that never happened. According to Stephenie herself, she said first hand that she wanted the ending to be more organized and smart like the cover of the novel, sort of like a chess game. I thought that was brilliant! The book also fulfilled my only hope, which was at least four pages all together describing Edward. Yes, that was my only requirement. Oh, and Bella changing into a vampire doesn’t hurt either. We’ve all been desperately waiting for it since book one. Although it was fascinating to read Bella go through the whole transformation, it did let me down a little bit that the old Bella was almost gone. I enjoyed very much reading her sense of humor and clumsiness. It made the book seem halfway normal if you took away all of the vampires and werewolves (oh my!)

But really, props to Stephenie for taking these huge risks. You can’t expect everyone to be completely happy with all of these twists and turns in the novel. I personally enjoyed them very much, because I already had a plot in my head on how the book would end. Instead, I got a totally different story. Even though I had to block the whole world out for days, because I am a slow reader, and transfer back into Twilight La La Land, after several months without it, I really was pleased with it. No one died, (I was getting ready to write Stephenie’s publishers a nasty gram if they ended up killing Alice off) and everything was all good, and a happy ending. Yes, I do miss the old days of Twilight in high school, but, we all have to grow up, and if Stephenie never got to the end, we would all be wondering what would happen later.

       In the end, we all should give Stephenie a big round of applause for completing such a fantastic and amazing series for us so well, under so much pressure in such a short amount of time. Stephenie, we thank you!

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I can suspend my disbelief right along with the best of them. This is why I consider Breaking Dawn to be an interesting, albeit twisted and bizarre, stand alone story.  

READER BEWARE. THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD.  

Supernatural beings thrust into soap opera bathos with Pacific Northwest woodsiness and home birth horrors tossed into the mix. Truthfully, my idea of a happy afternoon of guilty pleasure reading. However, as the final installment of Bella and Edward’s against-all-odds love story, Breaking Dawn barely managed to poke its head above the horizon. There were, indeed, many loose ends for Stephenie Meyer to wrap up and that’s why I told myself to harbor no expectations so I wouldn’t set myself up for disappointment. I think the best way to describe how I feel about the fourth book in the saga is underwhelmed. The love story around which the entire Twilight universe orbited made a cameo appearance. In its place, awkward contrivances nudged their way front and center, plunging the novel into parallel dimension/alternate reality territory. The most painful of these plot devices, which completely hurled me out of time and place, was Bella’s pregnancy and subsequent arrival of Renesmee. Why introduce an extra special hybrid baby to turn everyone’s world upside down when there were plenty of juicy obstacles already in place? Namely, the end of Bella’s humanity, the struggle to reconnect with her soul post transformation and severing ties with family and friends. In fact, the absence of a satisfying conflict and resolution to the pesky friends and family dilemma was a missed opportunity for Meyer to raise the stakes. The “need to know, only” plot pothole that skimmed over Bella’s newly acquired supermodel status (Va Va Vamp!) is a disservice to Charlie as well as the reader. A tidy way to get Dad to fall in step with all of the Big Time Kookiness? Sure. But even in the realm of fantasy, this rings hollow and false.  

Another story thread that I would have been most happy to snip was the dang imprinting fiasco. Now we know the weird but wolf-accepted soul mate at first sight vehicle was only created to continue the tiresome threesome. I’m sure I read some snippet about two enemies, a gorgeous girl and an adorable baby living together and the hilarity that ensues as part of this fall’s new line up of sitcoms. Enough has been posited on this unfortunate turn of events, so I’ll keep my contribution brief. Jacob lovers and loathers across the fandom, I believe, were united in wanting to see Jake and Leah carve out a relationship. Shared histories, both burned by unrequited love, both warm, furry and run real fast. For these two to retain their free will and to live and love on their own terms would have been a delight to read.  

And now a few words on Red Herrings. Or, why bother with foreshadowing in the first place? In order for me to process and understand the too easy and uninspiring ending to Breaking Dawn (I fear I’ll never fully accept it) I want to reference a couple of passages from two earlier volumes. I love the emotion and vulnerability in the writing and these examples best illustrate endings that would have worked for Breaking Dawn. First is Chapter 1 Party in New Moon. The scene where Bella mistakes herself for Gran in the mirror alongside beautiful, forever seventeen Edward. Exquisite. The second scenario is alluded to on page 529 of Eclipse, Chapter 23 Monster. You just know those kids running into the forest had to have been cute. Finally, who the heck is Embry’s father, anyway?  

Herein lies my uneasy peace with Breaking Dawn. The story didn’t follow the path that had organically taken shape over three books’ worth of character development and plot advancement. I understand from reading interviews in past days that Stephenie Meyer had the ending worked out for over four years, even before Twilight hit the bookshelves. I admire, and aspire to, that level of skill and discipline. However, my feeling is that Breaking Dawn drafts and outlines should have supported the characters and situations as we had grown to know them throughout the three book story arc. Not reinvent the world that was already thriving and vibrant, with its flawed characters, fantastical situations and tough moral questions. Another way I look at Breaking Dawn is that magic was definitely afoot in the green, misty forests of Forks and La Push. But the spell cast over my beloved characters has yet to be lifted, trapping them in a confusing, contrary, netherworld that I won’t be visiting any time soon.  

I am Team Trilogy. Breaking Dawn, for me, will always be a novel based on the Twilight universe and its inhabitants. Not the satisfying end to a lovely, thought provoking and sometimes frustrating epic tale. However, all is not lost. I will always have Stephenie Meyer to thank for making me smile at cloudy days, knowing that Bella and the Cullens are happily traversing eternity on the Olympic Peninsula.

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**Warning, if you are a fan of the Twilight Series, do not read below if you haven’t finished Breaking Dawn because there will be spoilers. ** 
 
I finished Breaking Dawn at 2am the Thursday morning after it was released and I absolutely loved it. It is by far my favorite of all four books. I was never disappointed at any of the twists and turns the plot and characters took throughout the cap stone of Twilight. 
 
From the moment Bella locked eyes with Edward as she walked down the aisle, to the first rib breaking kick of her bouncing baby hybrid, to finally the comedic duo of Stefan and Vladimir, I couldn’t get enough. I was mesmerized by how far Meyer’s had come since the first book. 
 
Unfortunately, I think I’m in the minority when I say this. Recently scanning through fan sites such as Twilight Lexicon, I have found VERY strong opinions about the book. Many felt that the book moved away from the traditional Twilight storyline into a weird science fiction horror show with underlying themes of borderline pedophilia, scenes from the movie Alien, and influences from Meyers faith all wrapped up in a pretty bow.

Now, I’m trying to carefully word my reaction to the posts I have read. I have to say I am disappointed to see so many fans turn so quickly on Meyer. I read one response that said and I quote “I hate Stephenie Meyer for this!” For what? For giving you exactly what you wanted? If I remembered right, fans have been boasting and posting for the past year of how they hoped Bella would marry her prince in glimmered armor, change into the most exquisite vampire, and live happily ever after, forever. Is that not what the fans got?

I read another post with a writer who was upset because Edward could procreate. She said that she had attended a book signing where Meyer stated that Edward could not produce seed. She called Meyer hypocritical. Well, I know she won’t come across my post but I still want to react to that statement. Of course his seed is dead IF he tries to procreate with another vampire. No one knew that he could procreate with Bella, in her human state.  I thought that it was a creative twist.  And I was excited because at one point with all my plot scenarios, the idea of Bella becoming a mother did cross my mind only because it was foreshadowed a bit in Eclipse when we learned of Rosalie’s past and her strong objection to why she didn’t want Bella to change into a vampire.   
 
Now back to my first impression of Breaking Dawn.  The wedding at the beginning of the book was a bit of surprise to me.  I had plotted in my head that there would be more preparation for the wedding in the beginning of Breaking Dawn and that it would be stopped short by the impatient Volturi.  So I was confused as to what would constitute 700 more pages after the wedding bliss. 

Bella’s and Edwards honeymoon was a great start.  As the newlyweds arrived on the island, my thoughts were thrown back to my anxiousness on my own wedding night.  So through the remaining chapter of “Isle Esme,” I was squirming and squealing knowing what was ahead for the love birds.  I have to admit that when I learned that Edward had left his clothes on the beach and was *cough* in his birthday suit, I felt myself go flush.  I didn’t need any gratuitous sex scenes to follow.  The buildup alone was enough to make me flustered.

Then to follow with the honeymoon bundle of joy, some unlikely partnerships (Rosalie/Bella and Jacob/Edward), and a pending all out vampire massacre made it so hard to put the book down and get the minimum four hours sleep a person needs to function. 

Breaking Dawn’s overall theme to me seemed to be the epitome of the human condition.  And I say human condition because at one point or another all characters in story are or have been human at some point and the human condition never leaves a person whether classified human, shape-shifter/werewolf, hybrid human/vampire, or fully fledged vampire.  No one can deny in a moment of need, that people have a way of finding strength in joining together to defeat a common enemy.  It’s your classic good versus evil.  Good will always triumph over evil. 

Many may disagree with that statement but here is my case in point.  Bella was ready to give her immortal life in exchange for her daughters.  What true mother would not do the same?  The evil of the situation was the possible death of Bella and Edward but the good that would have came from their sacrifice they were ready to make for their daughter. Reneseme, a symbol of their love, would live on and in the same sense Bella and Edward would as well.  Good would triumph over evil. 

It makes me tear up just thinking about the third book in Breaking Dawn.  There was such a powerful message in there that I believe many failed to see because of being caught up with what wasn’t happening in the last chapters.  Our society is so caught up in instant gratification that we fail to see the beauty and simplicity in things such as compassion and sacrifice.  Instead there is a focus on Edward ‘tapping’ Bella and why Meyer spared the dirty details of the deed.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is more to life than sex.

I strongly urge those who did not enjoy reading Breaking Dawn to go back and re-read the story.  Try not to focus on the details of how inconceivable it is for Bella to be pregnant, or how wrong it is for Jacob to imprint on an infant, or how disappointing it is that the book didn’t end in bloodshed.  But try to see the witty humor, the maturing of character such as Jacob, and the overall theme that has continued from each book- unconditional love. 

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*Disclaimer:
1.) If you don’t want Breaking Dawn to be spoiled for you TURN AWAY NOW! You have been warned.


I do not say this because I am one of those people who just likes to tear down something that people seem to like just for my own sadistic pleasure. Quite the opposite actually. I’ve adored Mrs. Meyer’s series more then any others I have read. I tried to be a good fan and read through the entire book with an open mind. However, I cannot sit back and lie to people by saying that her last book, Breaking Dawn, was good. It was not.



(Listens to angry fangirls sharpening their pitch forks)



Now, you may have already started to say “You just hate it because part of it is in Jacob’s point of view!” or “You should just enjoy the book because it’s part of the series.” I have one question for those of you who are thinking such things. How could you consider me so petty and juvenile?

I do not hate books simply because they surround a different character and I do not enjoy books simply because they are part of a series. I have more respect for Stephenie’s prior work then that. Not to mention I have enough respect for myself then to be a mindless sheep and follow where ever I am told to go by the fandom.

For those of you who enjoyed the book, well that’s your opinion and I’ll respect it as long as you have reasons for liking it other then because Stephenie Meyer wrote it. And in turn I expect the same courtesy for my reasoning behind why I did not like the book. Fair? I think so.



Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty of this review shall we. What was your first reason for deciding to read this review? Was it because the title intrigued you? The title sums up, in a very pithy way, my main reason for disliking this book. All Breaking Dawn is is a published and bound collection of overly endorsed fanfiction.

”What!? How can you say that?!” I say it because it is true.



For those Twilight fiends out there who couldn’t bare to wait for the release of Breaking Dawn and and secretly indulged in the pleasures of Twilight fanfiction know what I am referring to. Coincidently, you are also probably the most likely people to hate the book.

For those of you who have never touched a work of fanfiction, here’s the low down on what most fanfiction has in common, though there are always exceptions. These are important because they will all be referred to later in this review.



1. All fanfiction features characters and story lines from works of published and copyrighted authors/writers.



2. It is written by fans, hence the name.



3. There are often female heroines in these stories called Mary Sues, which I shall explain the concept of later.



4. Because of the vast amount of people who write fanfiction and the very nature of fanfiction to be based off of someone else’s work, it is rare that there is a plot line that is original and has not been used to the point that it has become completely cliche’.



5. The writing style of fanfiction ranges from very poor (no punctuation, copious grammar errors, sounding like it was written by a thirteen year old with to much time on their hands, etc.) to the quality that it could actually be written by the author themselves.


6. The progression of a plot line is almost entirely absent (with some exception for a few skilled fanfiction writers) considering that many fanfic writers start writing their stories just to write and are not concerned the quality of their story.



7. Writers of fanfiction often write things that are contradictory to the rules and regulations that are set by the actual authors in their books, and wind up sacrificing the integrity of the original novel in order to indulge desires that they wanted fulfilled but never officially happened. This makes their story line unbelievable and giving then the name of “Bad Fanfiction” They also create loopholes in the original story to justify their own contradictions.



8. Fanfiction is a craft based off of indulgence. It is done by fans who want to see something so badly in the book that they decide to write it themselves. However, they lack the knowledge of the original author so they cannot keep the same pace. This leads to filler. Filler is often a group of scenes where nothing pivotal to the plot happens, but is designed to make the writer/reader feel all good in their warm gooey places. These are typically overly descriptive and have large usage of bad, random and unproductive writing (also tends to includes the introduction of extremely minor characters who do not move the plot along, long unnecessary tales about the backstory of a character, sex scenes, etc.).



9. The characters in fanfiction are almost always out of character, and stray from any established character trait they possess in the actual book.



10. The endings in fanfiction stories typically are brief, overly dramatized and are often built up to a climax that falls flat on it’s face.



What does this have to do with Breaking Dawn? Because Stephenie Meyer seems to have used the same logic in writing Breaking Dawn that many fanfiction writers intentionally use to write their stories.



Now, I am not condemning fanfiction writers. That would be quite hypocritical of me considering that I too have written several stories related to Twilight and various other fandoms to which I have been a part. Not to mention some stories are actually pretty good. Do I think they all deserve book deals? Absolutely not. Which brings up another question. Should the work of a New York times best selling author with Stephenie’s writing prowess, be compared to the lemming-like fantasy of a teenage girl? Most people would vehemently say “no”.



Then why, when I was reading Breaking Dawn, did I have to do a double take and make sure I was not in front of my computer screen reading the work of a delusional fan? Because Stephenie’s writing style in Breaking Dawn follows so closely to the rules/flaws of fanfiction that are mentioned above.

Reasons Why This Book Has Single Handedly Ended A Writer’s Career….



1. Let’s start out with the flaws of characters commonly known as Mary Sues. Mary Sues are female characters, or just characters in general, who’s perfection is to the point where it annoys you. These characters often have weird names, unusual appearances, unique powers that often give them the ability to advert a final catastrophe and over the top flaws (excessive clumsiness, shyness, etc.) that are designed to make them endearing. The writers who use Mary Sues often give them a martyr complex where they feel the need to sacrifice themselves (in very masochistic ways most of the time) to save those around them all the time. The martyr complex is supposed to conceal the fact that the character has no other redeeming qualities. Mary Sues are often self centered, crass, painfully trite or otherwise not appealing as a person. Therefore, they are made unusual in everything (appearance and action) so that you are intrigued by them and ignore the fact that you want to hate them. Very manipulative isn’t it?



Does this sound like anyone we know in Breaking Dawn, or several people perhaps? Bella maybe? She is the one who fits every single one of those Mary Sue traits after all.

Bella is by no means a good character, an opinion I’ve held since I read Twilight. Someone who continually ruins the lives of the men she loves, even after seeing the results of such destructive behavior, is not only selfish but also undeniably stupid. She makes the same mistakes over and over again without stopping to think “Wait. This is not going to end well for anyone. Perhaps, I shouldn’t do this.”

The emotional abuse she puts Edward and Jacob through in this series is enough to make any decent woman cringe. In Breaking Dawn you even begin to hate the boys for allowing Bella to continually ruin their lives and destroy their families. Helen of Forks strikes again and again, damaging everything she touches.



Perhaps, Stephenie realized ahead of time that Bella’s chronic clumsiness and social anxiety were not enough to make readers like her. The only thing that could salvage Bella’s reputation as a heroine was a raging martyr complex, which began in Twilight when she heads out to the dance studio in the attempt to save Renee from James. So what was the straw that broke the back of this series, if Bella has always had an irritating penchant for trying to off herself? What made Breaking Dawn Bella so different from the other books?

The fact that when she has everything she, and every other woman on the planet, has ever wanted (a husband, money, love, beauty, immortality, a family) she all of a sudden changes her mind again and decides to put an unborn baby (who in return nearly kills her ) before the men she’s tortured out of love for three years. Now I’m not advocating the abortion of Renesmee because I am opposed to such things. I simply take issue that this conflict had been put in the book at all. It seems a rather cruel of Stephenie to add a plot twist that is so abusive to all of her characters. Though that may sound like a horrible way to think about it, how many people did Bella put through hell to save that one life? Let’s count them:



1. Edward (nearly goes crazy while watching Bella die and have her bones broken)



2. Jacob (who is torn between his hate for the vampires, but wants to save Bella bad enough that he disbands his werewolf family to make sure they don’t kill her to stop the baby, in turn making them suffer without him. )



3. The Cullens (who all have differing opinions over whether Bella should keep the child, causing a rift between members of the family)



4. The Werewolves (as mentioned above)



5. The other international vampires (who are put in danger by the Cullens bringing them in to testify against the Volturi)



6. Renesmee (Bella hurts her by having her because her existence is endangered at every turn because of the Volturi )



So let’s count…..that’s over 50 people that suffer for one Bella’s choice. It seems Bella does more damage then the Volturi, despite the fact that they are supposed to be the main antagonists in this story. Our supposed heroine is worse then the villains. Does that seem right to you?

And even before the conception of Renesmee and the whole diplomacy issue of her existence came up, Bella was ready to go back on her resolve to become a vampire, (after Edward had committed and spent all his waking hours worrying about it) just so she could have a few more months to have sex with him. There is two phrases I can use to describe Bella : “Opportunistic selfish bore” or “Mary Sue to the core.” Hey that rhymes.



Or perhaps her daughter Renesmee is the true portrait of a Mary Sue. The character who’s unnatural appearance, bizarre name and unusual super power ( I say super power because she is not technically a real vampire and therefore makes her no more then a comic book character in my eyes) make her a bit too corny. Not to mention, as Stephenie established (though denies now in recent interviews) in the earlier books and we’d come to believe as fact, it is impossible for vampires to have offspring. This makes dear sweet Nessie nearly one of a kind and even more unique, which in turn also makes her unbearably Mary Sue. You’re inclined to adore her because Stephenie made her so unusual that you cannot help but be drawn in by how different she is, despite your own natural feeling that she just shouldn’t be in the story at all.

In short Mary Sues are made special but aren’t really special at all. Do you see now how you are being manipulated?




2. Oh, how I could go on and on about about the plot line of this book, but I think these words sum it up nicely.

Cliche’. Unoriginal. Contradictory. Stagnant. Illogical.

Now let me explain before you send your man-eating hounds after me. Unlike the other three books, Stephenie used a plot line in Breaking Dawn that, not only rambles on in nonsensical order, with no plot progression I might add, lasting for who knows how many pages, but it also contains so many cliches, plot holes, and contradictions that you could fill an entire gymnasium with were they actually tangible objects.


—”Cliche. Unoriginal.”—



The biggest example of this (though it is by no means the only example in Breaking Dawn) is once again, the existence of Renesmee, (otherwise known as the girl who will be tormented about her name for as long as she lives). To understand why Renesmee was a huge mistake, in more ways then one, you’ve had to have some experience with the Twilight fanfiction that is dispersed heavily over the entire internet. There are many sites that have Twilight fanfiction on them. Fanfiction.net is my favorite of these and I have read many excellent stories that have been posted there.

There were some stories on the aforementioned site that I laughed at because I thought (oh how wrong I was) that the plot lines were utterly ridiculous and could never possibly happen in one of Stephenie Meyer’s masterpieces. Amongst these were Charlie finding out about mythical creatures, Jacob imprinting on vampires, and Jacob becoming a vampire/werewolf hybrid himself. Much to my dismay, there were an excessive amount of these types of stories written by fans who said themselves that they were ridiculous. They even went so far to admit that they had only written the story to make fun of the idea.



The idea of Bella giving birth to a vampire/human hybrid has been done time and time again by fanfic writers. Done to the point that every time you read the plot summaries of such stories you would screen for the words “Bella” and “Pregnant” and not read them. People grew tired of them. Yes, there were different variations with different titles, but they all operate of the same concept, “Bella’s Impossible Pregnancy”.

Many of the publishing dates of these fanfictions go back as far as “Twilight” and did I mention nearly all of these stories started with a disclaimer saying something in the neighborhood of “I know it’s impossible for vampires to have children, please don’t eat my babies because I wrote this story.”

Stephenie chose one of the most cliche’, overused plot twists known to Twilighters to be the center of her novel. By doing this she’s contradicted her own rules and refuses to fess up to what she’s done. Which brings me to “Contradictory”


—-”Contradictory”—-



Fanfiction is known for it’s contradictions from the original plots of the book that they are based on. The original plot is called “canon”. When the writer of a fanfiction deviates from this plot it becomes classified as “Alternate Universe” or “Non-canon”. In Eclipse, Stephenie makes a simple statement. Vampires cannot have children.



Vampires, according to Stephenie’s personal correspondences she has had with various fansites, have no fluids, with exception of venom, and their bodies will never undergo any physical change, making them effectively sterile. Now she attempts to justify this fact in Breaking Dawn and several interviews since it’s release by saying that because human men don’t really change physically after puberty, once they become vampires they are as fertile as the day they were changed. Their little men, even after centuries of living, are perfect and capable of impregnating unsuspecting woman at will. Breaking Dawn is a condom ad waiting to happen. “Girls watch out for the Incubus! He’ll give you babies that will be named after the Loch Ness Monster! Protect yourself with Trojan!”

Now children, here is the time where we commence the “Sex Education” lesson and apply them to fictional vampires.



Woman are born with all our reproductive cells, and gradually lose them over time until we are infertile due to old age. Or as Stephenie Meyer puts it, our bodies continually go through changes with menstruation and pregnancy until we are menopausal. Therefore, if your a woman and decide to become a vampire you’d better come to the realization that you’re going to be as frigid as an icicle for the rest of your days.



But men don’t go through change with their organs right? Wrong! What Stephenie didn’t factor into her little fantasy world before ruining her story is how men are fertile and can create babies. The correct logic that should be used is of how “spunk” is made. I don’t like having to go into this, but Stephenie made mistakes that contradict science itself, so I feel no guilt for telling you about the birds and the bees.



Needless to say, men need human (I emphasize the word HUMAN) hormones to be fertile. Time and time again, Stephenie mentions that vampires do not have bodily fluid. Fluids are needed to keep “the army of little men” alive and to create more of them. The production of the swimmers depends on glands secreting blood-born hormones. No hormones, no flowing blood, no tadpoles. Coincidently enough, such hormones and flowing blood (accompanied by a beating heart) are also necessary for a man to……. well let’s just say it makes certain enjoyments possible. Oops! That means Edward should not only be infertile but impotent as well. Sorry if I have ruined your fantasies ladies.



I supposed you could argue the fact that he brought, like his mind reading ability, his little Edward Junior’s with him into his vampire life, but that just brings up the question of what would they live in to keep them from being dried up husks. They need bodily fluids to live remember. Now you may say, “Vampires have venom as bodily fluid. The little men could be floating in that.”

Well you see children, when a man and woman love each other they have intimate relations that involve exchanging of such fluids, which is the equivalent of having a blood transfusion. It’s how people get blood born STD’s (you can google this if you wish). If the little men were floating in venom, then Bella would not have been screaming in pleasure on their wedding night and come home from the island a newborn vampire.



Sorry folks, Mrs. Meyer’s loopholes aren’t loopholes after all. You can’t break the rules you set for yourself in your own book without having it labeled as fanfiction.

–”Illogical. Stagnant.”–



If you’ve read a fanfiction, you know more times then not that the plots never seem to really progress because they can’t keep up the pace of the original author. To compensate for this lack of progression, a writer tries a different angle and goes to increase the amount they write. Instead, they fill the chapters with scenes that are the products of indulging in their deepest literary fantasies.

For example, they’ve never seen Edward go hunting so they think “My story isn’t really going anywhere and nothing important is really happening. Oh I know! I’ve always wanted to see Edward wrestle with a mountain lion. I’ll put that in and then maybe I’ll think of something poignant and important to write in later.”



This however, only hinders the plot because the inspiration to write something important never comes. The reader is then stuck with a piece of work that makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside for awhile. That is until they realize that they’ve read nothing of substance and the characters are still in the same place they were two chapters ago. This was what Stephenie has done in Breaking Dawn. It’s is filled with volumes of useless filler that does not move the book along (the copious amounts of detail of Bella and Edward’s sexual exploits on Isle Esme for example) and only serves to indulge in the fleeting whims of Stephenie’s imagination.



Without a logical direction to go, the plot becomes a stagnant composition of random scenes that have no meaning and is empty of any of the substance it was capable of. The analogy of having a decorative drinking glass comes to mind. It may be the most beautiful drinking glass in the world, but if there’s no water in it what good does it do you? You’re still as thirsty as you were before you picked up the glass. That was the experience of reading Breaking Dawn. Thirsty for more but not in a good way.




3. What’s my third reason for giving Breaking Dawn the Fanfiction Seal of Disapproval? The fact that all the characters, without any exceptions, were shamefully out of character.

You walk into room that is filled with nothing but strangers, and it’s your job to get to know them. You go around talking to each one of them, learning their life stories and you begin to like them as people. Then suddenly the lights go out and come back on. The room still has people in it, but you realize that they are a completely different set of people. You become uncomfortable because you are once again surrounded by people you don’t know. Only this time they’re all wearing terrifying Halloween masks and you don’t want to even try to get to know them.

No one would want to experience something like the scenario above, but that’s exactly what Stephenie Meyer subjected her most loyal of fans to by making her characters become strangers. There was not a single one I could recognize as the characters I had come to adore from the other three books.



There was Edward, once the paragon of manly virtue and integrity, reduced to bargaining with Jacob to save Bella from death by offering to let the dog be her man toy and advocating abortion of his own child. The Edward we all know and love would do no such thing because of his own personal integrity, even if he was slightly insane from grief at the time.  He might as well be dead, because he will never be seen as the same person ever again. He has been tarnished forever.



There was Alice, once beloved by everyone who read Twilight, reduced to nothing more then a rabid shopaholic wedding planner for most of the book. She then bails with Jasper when the Cullens need her the most only to show up later like nothing had ever happened just to save the day. She might as well have said, “I’m going to put you through all this hell of being without me, just to come back at the very moment your going to die to save your sorry behinds. Isn’t it so good that I’m your savior? Better late then never right?”



Jasper, all his struggles to be a vegetarian vampire are undermined when we realize that Bella (the most self indulgent addictive personality in the book) has better control of herself in one day of being a vampire then he has had in centuries of living. Talk about an unfair and cruel twist of fate.

No one in this book was familiar to me. Maybe I’m resistant to change, but why would you mess with something that works? Breaking Dawn does not even seem to belong in the same series as the other books, because it’s not the same world that we all love. Instead it’s filled with strangers in Halloween masks.



By now you’re probably wondering where all this hate for Breaking Dawn came from. What is my motivation for writing such a long review over what Stephenie Meyer wrote? I plan on answering that question for you right now. Here’s a scenario for you all to make you understand my angle.

Imagine yourself scanning through the “New York Times” which is filled with informative stories that you believe. Then all of a sudden you find a page in said paper that claims that a human woman has given birth to a three headed alien baby and claims she had it in the natural way. What do you do? Most sane people would laugh slightly, call the author of said article a hack, and then never read the New York Times again because you know now that they print lies. “The New York Times” will be nothing but a trashy paranormal tabloid to you forever.

That was how reading Breaking Dawn was for me only much worse, because, unlike The New York times, I have an emotional attachment to the Twilight series. It’s changed everything because I will never be able to look back on the Twilight series and be as in love with it as I was when I read the first book. The magic is gone and along with it, my passion.




So yes, I am angry. I’ve read the book, and I wish I hadn’t. I felt just as unfulfilled when I finished as I had before reading the book. Even now the empty decorative glass sits on my computer desk, making me wonder how a 756 page book could have nothing of real value written inside of it. I guess the real moral of this story is that you can’t have any hope that your expectations will be met, because they never will. The empty glass with always be joined by another, till your entire life is filled with useless glasses that have no water. Pretty sad outlook on life isn’t it?



What did I think of the ending of the book? It was one of the weakest endings I have ever seen. The way Meyer wrote the final confrontation with the Volturi made the readers think that there would be some kind of battle at the end where Edward and Bella would have to fight to earn their life together for the last time. A battle where characters would be lost yet they would gain their freedom in the end and a new life for them would begin. No such thing happened.

Rather we were forced to read through approximately three very tense chapters waiting for a epic climax that never comes. The whole thing ends with everyone walking away without so much as a scratch and the Volturi fleeing to save face. There is no impact, nothing for Bella and Edward to have earned their happiness. They live happily ever after without having to work for it and their victory was hollow. Sure, there was an ending and closure to the Twilight series, but that final journey to the end was empty. I felt nothing.

It is the duty of a storyteller to make their audience feel something at the end, even if they are their only intended audience. Not only that, but the audience wants to feel something. They want to feel happy, sad, excited or depressed with what happened to the characters in the end. Books are supposed to be entertaining, and it is human nature to be entertained by something that makes us feel. You wouldn’t want to watch a TV show where everyone talked in monotone, so why would you enjoy a book that left you empty inside? You wouldn’t.



I personally, will never pick up my copy of Breaking Dawn again. It will either continue to collect dust until it is time for me donate it to a library, or I will simply throw it away once I grow tired of it taking up space in my bookshelf. You may think me cruel and a very disloyal fan, but I feel betrayed by my favorite author. I cannot in good conscience show loyalty to someone who betrays my trust in them. That would compromise my own integrity and that is something I will not do, for you can see the harmful results of losing one’s integrity in Stephenie’s characters. They’ve lost their integrity and therefore made themselves suffer for it.



Sincerely,

Kayla

[Please note that the author had originally posted this review as a blog entry on a personal webpage.]

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Spoiler Alert: Events and characters included in Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn are discussed below.  If you have not completely read Breaking Dawn and do not want to know about such, stop reading now.

I didn’t instantly fall in love with Breaking Dawn.
 
As Stephenie Meyer has said, the fan expectations for Breaking Dawn were unrealistically high.  My expectations were unrealistically high.  Like most fans, I was eager to read it.  (How eager?  I was #2 in line, wrist band #9, just behind the lottery winner of the #1 spot, at my local Borders Bookstore during the count down to the midnight release.)  So, I was willing to love it, sight unseen.
 
However, I was mentally prepared for massive disappointment.  (See my poem at http://twilightnovelnovice.com/twi-works/ .)  I was not expecting to be disappointed by Stephenie Meyer.  I knew that there would be a major clash between what Breaking Dawn delivered and my expectations.  I knew Stephenie Meyer would surprise me.  I knew there would be unforeseen plot twists and unforeseen characters.  I hoped, sort of, that there were red herrings and/or foreshadowings that everyone misunderstood.  I knew carefully crafted, lovingly invested, precisely presented and ardently defended theories would be ripped to shreds.  My theories would be ripped to shreds.
 
So, I started reading with a great deal of anticipation mingled with a bit of sorrow (the capstone and final installment of Bella’s story) and a bit of trepidation.
 
Frankly, the discovery of Bella’s pregnancy emotionally soured the remainder of my initial read through of Breaking Dawn.  I was so thoroughly convinced by Stephenie Meyer’s artful evasions, definitive statements regarding the nature of vampire bodies and her “debunking” of traditional vampire lore that the possibility of Edward’s altered semen being viable was non-existent.  My feelings ranged (and raged) from merely jarring through shocking to betrayal.  Yes, I felt that Stephenie had betrayed my trust as a reader and violated the author/reader relationship.  I felt that I had been lied to.  I wondered if I could ever trust her, as an author, again.  As I said, this tainted the experience of the remainder of Breaking Dawn.  I turned a rather jaundiced and suspicious eye toward what should have been rather straight forward but very special events, Bella’s conversion and blossoming, Jacob/Renesmee’s imprinting, Alice’s departure and the confrontation with the Volturi.
 
I am still unsure if Stephenie was smart, or too smart for her own good.  Coy or clever.  It has the feeling of someone being acquitted on a technicality.  The accused clearly did the crime, but there was a deadline missed or a non-material breach in police conduct, so they walked free.  But they still did it.  Yes, I know that succubi (the Denali sisters), and, although unsaid, by association incubi were included in canon.  Yes, I know that she was extremely careful how she phrased things when talking or writing about the reproductive potential of vampires.  And yes, I recognize that it was literarily necessary to keep readers in the dark (as well as Bella and Edward).  So technically, Stephenie Meyer is in the clear.  It still feels like a partial-truth lie.
 
However, Stephenie Meyer has gaily discarded vampire genre lore left and right as she has made her way through the saga.  So, unless something was specified in canon or where she spoke ex cathedra, many fans, myself included, were unwilling to adopt those elements from traditional lore into our expectations and theories, let alone, Twilight canon.  This included incubi.
 
The rest of the story, tainted as it was, was satisfying.  By the time I started my second reading of Breaking Dawn, I had calmed down enough to be merely disgruntled.  I was able to accept the pregnancy and enjoy the reading experience.  Each time I have read Breaking Dawn, I have enjoyed it more than the previous time.  (I have read it four times in the first 10 days.)
 
The emotional satisfaction in experiencing Bella’s journey compensated for the emotional investment, especially in New Moon, in these characters.  Stephenie Meyer’s post-release comments notwithstanding, her “stories” do have meaning and significance.  “Stories” always reinforce or undermine our values, what we believe, how we will act.  Even the most mindless “entertainment” we chose, shapes us.  She has helped us see the possibilities in family, in determination, in facing impossible odds for the sake of those for whom you would lay down your life, and in love.
 
I have no doubt that I will read and re-read the Twilight Saga many times.  I do not doubt that I will discuss Breaking Dawn with family and friends who share the interest.  Perhaps, I’ll post again on the forums from time to time.
 
Ultimately, I love Breaking Dawn.
 
NovaAlbion

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