Seeing as I think I have major insomnia at the moment…I’m going to post how I feel about the final book of the Twilight series.
MAJOR SPOILERS ALL OVER. Do not read unless you have already read Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.
Renesmee??? Hmmm… Renee and Esme. Saying the name out loud makes it sound *slightly* better…but seriously. I’m sure Bella (or Meyer, I guess) had good intentions and wanted it to be cute but… that’s just silly. I mean, she could have named her Renee and then middle name would be Esme. “I love both my mommies, so I’ll just mash up a name for my babeh!” Bleck. EJ was kind of sweet…but when I thought about it…naming your kid after your could-have-been lover? That’s just wrong.
I had a hunch Jacob would not get his Bella (seeing as it would probably be suicide to do that with so many girls swooning over Edward) but I had a TINY bit of hope…I was hoping maybe there’d be a little twist that would somehow let the world see that Jacob and Bella belonged together. Instead, Bella almost completely forgot about her feelings towards Jacob (except that one time after she had smex…how BIZARRE) and Jacob was *totally* over Bella after imprinting. Okay. I get the imprinting part…but I seriously didn’t think imprinting would erase his feelings for Bella so quickly and so easily. If there was even the slightest bit of struggle or confusion…that would have made it so much better. It’s like the novel is full of convenient coincidences.
Positive Note: I loved Jacob’s POV. It was a nice surprise. I was getting tired of Bella. The whole wedding ordeal was very rushed…but I didn’t mind because it was too happyhappy and made me cringe. I really liked the friendship between Jacob, Seth, and Leah.
Is there really no natural love out there in the world???? Almost all the wolves have to imprint (except Leah…which reminds me…unless I skimmed past it…why was there absolutely no mention of how her story ends? Not even a hint.) and Bella and Edward are just *drawn* towards each other, without really knowing why they were so in love with each other in the first place. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I actually like seeing people become friends and go through hardships together before they decide they’re madly in love with each other and are soul mates. I think what makes this series even worse than a chick flick is that everything is just so destined! The interaction I read between Bella and Jacob in New Moon was so fresh and lovely compared to Bella and Edward immediately and magically in love and never thinking about anything else other than sex and kissing. Sometimes I wonder…it would have been a wonderful story alone with just Jacob and Bella and the wolves, but I guess that would have eliminated the vampires and Cullens…who are very fascinating. *shrug* Guess you can’t have both.
Bella is *really* annoying! She’s both weak and strong. That part is normal…we all have good and bad things about ourselves, but her strengths and weaknesses are just all wrong. She’s weak in that she just can’t seem to quit Jacob or anyone she loves for their sake. It’s easy for her to be all loveydovey with Edward in front of Jacob, but apparently it kills her to not have Jacob by her side. She also just couldn’t leave Charlie behind. Did anyone else think it was really weird that Charlie would be so understanding? Realistically speaking, if I were Charlie, I would just think I was going crazy. Oh, and here’s another convenient coincidence! Charlie doesn’t want to know details. How very nice of him.
Bella’s strong in that she takes on whatever happens and brushes away just about everything. Very noble of her…however…doing it for almost everything is just not normal. There’s a monster inside her womb, literally killing her, and it’s fine? To make things worse, the [really bad] jokes she kept trying to crack while she looked like she had gone to hell were annoying. It really bugged me when she kept insisting she would be strong enough to have the baby and live. She was about to hurt everyone who loved her. It’s like she doesn’t think about anyone else’s feelings, but when she finally does, she goes into major self blame and saint/depression mode (which is super annoying). But of course, she didn’t die and had the most perfect baby in the world. Everyone loves little Renesmee, of course. Everything good happens to Bella Swan, I guess. I can’t see how this is the same girl who was intended to be relatable by all girls. How can you relate to her when she just has everything work out so perfectly for her?
Positive note: I did like Bella’s gift…shielding. It suits her and finally makes sense why Edward could never read her mind, etc.
Speaking of Bella’s perfect situations…how’d you like the confrontation with the Volturi?? Even though I wasn’t too fond of the overall story, I was looking forward to the fight. Meyer even described the vampires who came to witness for the Cullens enough for us to understand their skills and personalities. All for what? The Volturi turning back and running away? Wow. 🙁
Although I thought Breaking Dawn was *epic fail* like many others…one thing makes me happy: at least I get to continue my fanfic which was written before Breaking Dawn! haha. I haven’t written since November of last year….I feel guilty.
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And here is my Amazon review:
I think it is certainly worth buying if you already own the other three books. Might as well finish the series. If you can get away with just borrowing the book, you’d probably feel a little better after reading it, knowing that you saved money.
As a serious Twilight series fan, I feel terrible for disliking this book, terrible for criticizing Meyer, but I can’t like the book no matter how much I try.
Twilight has had a long battle between those who prefer the relationship of Jacob/Bella (Team Jacob) and those who prefer Edward/Bella (Team Edward). Breaking Dawn was going to be the big bang, and we were all ready and waiting. However, after reading it, I can’t help but think: Team Jacob never had a dying chance, and Team Jacob didn’t even have a chance at a *decent* ending. Team Edward got what they wanted, but it seemed to happen tastelessly and all too perfectly. I have two words for you: convenient coincidences. This book solely thrives on convenient coincidences.
The book certainly does have a few good points. The mystery of Bella’s half-breed child and Bella’s “shielding” gift was exciting. The relationship between Jacob and his wolf pack was heartbreaking and noble. The new point of view from Jacob was fresh. However, that is all I have to say for this book…and with it’s monstrous length (over 750 pages) you would think it would be very satisfying and thorough. In my opinion, it felt rushed but full of open gaps and loopholes at the same time. Not a good combination.
Fairy tales are supposed to be full of magic, good coincidences, and lovely endings. However, Breaking Dawn just seems to work out all too perfectly. Problems are solved by a simple coincidence or by simple perfection. May I list a few instances? Bella has a mutant spawn inside of her body, ready to kill her. Solution? The baby is able to talk to Edward and vice versa, and when she comes out she has super intelligence and she has the power to make everyone love her. There was a tragic love story between Edward, Bella, and Jacob. Solution? Edward and Bella have a baby together, Jacob imprints on that baby, and they get to be one big happy family.
Girls might have been able to relate with Bella Swan in earlier books…but with Breaking Dawn, I can’t imagine anybody who can relate to her. If you ask any girl who reads the Twilight series about Bella, there is a 90% chance that the girl will say “Oh, I LOVE Twilight, but I think Bella is actually kind of annoying. I read the series for [insert other person here, such as Edward, or Jacob, or the Cullens]. Who knew it was possible to love a series but hate the main character? I think Bella Swan needs a change in character development. Besides, who can relate to Bella Swan now, now that she has had every single desire (plus more) fulfilled so perfectly without any loss?
Also, you may hear from other Twilight fans that the final scene with the Volturi was extremely disappointing. Even though I wasn’t too fond of the overall story, I was looking forward to the fight. Meyer even described the vampires who came to witness for the Cullens enough for us to understand their skills and personalities. I grew to like these vampires. All for what? The Volturi turning back and running away? Wow. Perhaps she should have just cut out all the pages about the extra vampires. They weren’t really needed anyway.
On a final note: you will either be very satisfied with Breaking Dawn, or you will despise it. Ultimately, I think it is worth reading to know how the series ends, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be left with a better ending than the one in your head. And when fans are left thinking of better endings than the one the author provided…that just isn’t a good thing.
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