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57. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer...

March 28, 2009
I did it. I finished the Twilight series. *phew* Picked it up at the library on Thursday, and read it. Cover to cover.

I'm not sure what I want to say about Breaking Dawn, and the whole series. Bella's still a self-absorbed teenager. Sure, she "suffers" so that Jacob & Edward don't, but they still do. It's like she's playing with her own head, martyring herself in her own head. Because nobody deserves her - she's not good enough, pretty enough, whatever enough. Ugh.

Breaking Dawn concludes the angsty series. Bella & Edward get married, finally. And then stuff happens (can't say - it's VERY spoiler-ish), and the Volturi come to visit, as promised. Good drama, even if it was predictable.

Out of all 4 books, I liked Twilight best, because it was the beginning. The other 3 books almost seemed like too many. And Breaking Dawn is LONG! I almost didn't finish it. I kept going "yeah, okay, what next?"... This series has so much of Bella's absorption with looks and beauty (or her lack thereof), that to have her "turn" into a beauty herself (with powers! wow!), was kind of a letdown. What are we telling our daughters? That it's ok to want to be beautiful, at whatever cost? Because giving up life IS a cost. A huge one. Hmm... And not having a daughter myself, I guess I can't really say this with any backing. But, uh... WHATEVER!

So yeah. Guess I could say I didn't like it. But I did, somewhat. The characters are well-drawn. The story has enough drama & plot to keep moving. Slowly, but even a lazy river gets to its end, right? I just didn't care for Bella. And with her being a HUGE part of this story, I guess you could say I didn't like it. Final verdict: eh.

Title: Breaking Dawn
Author: Stephenie Meyer
ISBN-10: 0-316-06792-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-06792-8
Hardcover: 754 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2008

11 comments:

Astaryth said...

I'm on the second book, and I find that I feel about Bella much like you do. Sometimes you just want to say "Get over it!" LOL! Still, the writing is good, the world building interesting, and I find myself already halfway thru Book 2. AND, I suppose I will finish the series just to see how it all turns out ;p

I was a little late to the party, I just read the first book about 2 weeks ago, but I find myself liking Meyer's voice and I think I will have to add her 'adult' book The Host to my TBR list.

Shelley said...

I would only have been happy if Bella had chosen a mortal life, so I guess it was doomed for me! I did find them entertaining, though, until this last book.

kalea_kane said...

Well, I haven't read any of them, but I do like your summation. :) Very cool Drey. And I do not have a daughter, but as a former youth worker, I saw a lot of girls give up a lot in life in order to be what they thought of as beautiful.

:)

Jo said...

I haven't read any yet (I have the 1st two waiting on my shelves)... I'm nervous and a little put off by the hype... not to mention the Twilight movie advertisements. After reading this, I think I'll wait a little longer. Maybe until it isn't so popular.

Anyway, I have an award for you! For details, please visit: http://ponderingthelibrary.blogspot.com/2009/03/proximidade-award.html

Penny said...

I'm with you. Twilight was the best one. Although I have to confess, I haven't read Breaking Dawn yet. I heard many of the spoilers, and I have to say, I'm disappointed by them. I have no interest in reading it. Oh well!

Anonymous said...

You are so right. Bella seems to exemplify the worst insecurities that teenage girls experience, and the fact that she never outgrows those insecurities makes her a horrible heroine. I'll admit, I found the whole set of books fun reads, but not if you put any thought into it.

Unknown said...

I honestly managed to get through 'Twilight' only. I have to say also that it was pure torture to me. I just couldn't stand Bella, her whiny attitude mixed with running after Edward like she's a dog and he's the master is really off putting. I hope that young girls don't take her example to heart.

Tina said...

I hated Bella and did not Twilight so I did not read the other books. I thought it felt contrived and shallow. But, I'm not the target marget. I love to read books and really like your blog.

Heather Wardell said...

I read all four just so I could say I had. I did like Twilight, in spite of my desire not to. :) But the second and third were too much of "blahblahblah omg major battle, the end" for my liking, and Breaking Dawn was dreadful from my perspective as a reader (continuity, anyone?) and a writer (way to change point of view at the worst possible time!).

I haven't watched the movie yet but I hear it's hilarious. Unintentionally. :)

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I like Bella... most of the time. Probably because I remember feeling totally enveloped by love before. But she did whine...a lot. Did get annoying. I liked the series though, definitely glad I read them (=

SueB said...

It's ok that you didn't like it - you gave it a shot, and have valid reasons for not liking it (vs. "everyone else likes it so I won't - I hate those people). I liked it, I liked the happy endings all around, but I'm not going to say it's a story for everyone. There are plenty of similar story lines that are as good - or better - so who needs to love them all?

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