 What is all the fuss about??? |
| Review Date: August 17, 2008 |
| Reviewer: BRANDY N. TALIA, Sinking Spring, PA USA |
I didn't get my book right away and my husband warned me that there was A LOT of negative feedback over Breaking Dawn. I was apprehensive to start the book because I loved the first three so much (Twilight by far my favorite!) that I couldn't bear to be let down. And now...here I am asking...What is all the fuss about???
I LOVED Breaking Dawn. I am a 35 year old woman with a 3 year old daughter of my own. I am not a 15 year old teeny booper who thinks that having sex, getting pregnant, married and not going to college is the ideal life style. I do not think that money grow on trees and we all live happily ever after...but that's why I read books!
I AM glad that Bella got everything. I still love Bella, Edward, Jacob, and the rest of the Cullen Clan. I have even fallen for baby Renesmee. I am glad that Bella was allowed to become a mother even when it wasn't something that she wanted. I think there was an important message that the book DID get across...with Bella marrying Edward...with her having the baby...that sometimes, things that we don't know or think we want can be the most wonderful and powerful and happy things in our lives.
I don't think there was anything wrong with Jacob imprinting on the baby. It was even noted how Bella needed him around while she was pregnant. That desire was because of the baby that was inside her...he hadn't even seen the child and the attraction between the two SOULS was already in existence. I don't see it as pedophilia at all. I think that is just ignorant and juvenile thinking.
I am happy with the way everything worked out. I enjoyed Bella finding out how her power worked. I loved that at the end she was able to show Edward her mind...I thought that talked alot about the bond between them...her strength, her trust, her love. I would have liked to see a fight and the end of the Volruri, but come on...she left us with so many characters and places for furture novels to go that even without Edward and Bella as the main characters, they can pop up all over the place. And we have the future of Renesmee to look forward to, too.
People...it is a fairy tale....it's about werewolves and vampires...things that go bump in the night. It is not meant to be realistic. It is not meant to convey some deep, meaningful message. It is a STORY...meant to entertain and thrill. It did just that for me. I get so wrapped up in Bella and Edward and their lives that I can't put the book down. And now that it's over and I have moved onto my next book, I keep wishing it was still Bella and Edward I was reading about.
I have read many reviews condemning Bella. People don't like her character, say she's weak, boring, etc. I thin she's a great character. Very human and real to life. Even in her vampire form, she's more HUMAN than some people I know. She is down to earth, sarcastic, witty, fragile and weak yet strong and determined. She is so niave and smart at the same time. Her nature is so dualistic, that's why it's so hard for her to choose between Jacob and Edward. But in the end, there is always that ONE that is yours...the one your heart...your mind can't do without and that is her Edward. And I have to admit....that I have read a lot of books in my time, and I have yet to come across a character tha I LOVE as much as Edward. His character is without any flaw, as I see it. He is loving, caring, fierce, determined, cold and calculated, yet one of the warmest characters ever. His tortured mind and heart make you love him all the more.
I can't complain about this book in the least. I will reread it over and over again, as all the other books in the series. I say "Well Done, Ms. Meyer! You can't make everyone happy...so don't try."
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Not what I expected but...
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| Review Date: August 14, 2008 |
| Reviewer: H. Bonales, seattle, wa |
Breaking Dawn was definitely not what I expected to end a series of books that I truly became engulfed in and loved. However, I wasn't disappointed. I honestly believe that Stephanie Meyer wrote a book filled with the happiness of writing something you truly enjoy. So it's not my place to quarrel what someone else has imagined. The fact of the matter is, is that this is a work of fiction. In the world that Meyer created where vampires do exist, Bella could only live for Edward, she could get pregnant, and she could have the ultimate happy ending. Via crazy twist and turns! The fact that people can get so worked up over meaning and tone and analyze a book to death is beyond me, especially when its a story about vampires, werewolves and becoming immortal! I'm amazed at how some people can't stretch their imaginations enough, who cares about Bella being married and having sex by 18. That world of fiction is not the tangible one we exist in. Meyer even makes that clear in Eclipse, when Bella mentions how in a normal world she would be with Jake. But she isn't in a normal world, under normal circumstances and so belongs with Edward. Besides, if all you're worried about is some crazy intention on the part of Stephanie Meyer to condone getting married and having sex at a young age, I think this book is the least of your worries. Bella and Edward may be young but they hardly fall into the category of horny uneducated teenagers who have sex because everyone else is. How about we take a closer look at the parents who are "parenting" these teenagers instead of pointing a finger at an author who wrote a book and gave you the CHOICE to read it. I chose to read this book, and just because Bella and Edward had sex, doesn't mean I'm running out the door with Stephanie Meyers encouragement. People can get so caught up in their virtues and ethics that they forget to think for themselves.
Anyway, this is supposed to be a review for a book I did enjoy. I'm incredibly glad Bella got her incredibly perfect happy ending. The world and life can be so unbalanced and cruel that I don't need to be reminded of the "realities" of it. For once, for freaking once, someone had the guts to just give me what I wanted. A sweet ending, to an incredible love story. The end.
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Relax and Enjoy the Fairy Tale
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| Review Date: August 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: navyblue, USA |
Reading all these one star reviews is totally killing my post Breaking Dawn buzz, y'all.
--Please note: this review contains spoilers, as most of the reviews here do.
Bella's happily ever after is heart warming and tidy just like any other fairy tale you might enjoy from childhood, though with quite a bit more blood and (tastefully described married) sex. Many of these one star reviews criticize the happy ending, the early marriage, and motherhood in place of a college education, among various other complaints. I'm suspecting these reviewers would be much happier with an independent Bella who marches off in her human form to get a Masters degree in Psychology before marrying Edward. Or heck, not marrying Edward at all, and eschewing the idea of something so base and demeaning as becoming a wife or parent. Though perhaps it's more the youth of the heroine that causes their lament.
I however, like happy endings and am thrilled she gets to be a mother. Yes, GETS to be a mother. Many people I spoke to who were in "Camp Jacob" expressed their reason: "Because she could have a family with Jacob". Well surprise, she had a family with Edward.
Yes, Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter, but because imprinting on babies/children had previously been introduced in the series, I didn't find this at all unsettling. All this shouting about pedophilia is a little... intense for what really happens. Jacob makes it clear that it isn't a sexual thing at all while the object the affection is still so young. Jacob imprinting on "Nessie" means they all stay a family, which is what Bella wanted all along.
Which brings me to another common complaint: Bella gets everything. Goodness! After fighting for it, tooth and nail, yes, she does. Isn't that what makes most of us smile at the end of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?
Some have suggested that having Jacob imprint on someone else would allow Bella to make a sacrifice by finally fully letting him go as well as remove that feeling some reviewers have that she gets everything. I do see this point, and perhaps this happening would have made it a more critically acclaimed book, but as I was reading the story, I was fully involved in watching Bella's story unfold and these things did not negate my enjoyment of the book.
As for the complaint that Bella should have gone to college first -- good grief, does she not have the rest of eternity to obtain as many degrees as she wants? This isn't real life, folks.
For those worried about the impact this book may have on impressionable young teen fans, if you're allowing them to read the books at all (I know some parents aren't), why don't you read the book along with them and talk about the real life application of Bella's choices? Sounds like a great excuse for some good conversation.
One complaint I completely agree with, Bella names her daughter Renesmee, which is hard to read, hard to pronounce, and impossible to spell. I'm amazed that made it past the editors.
Critics argue that you can't shout "But it's fantasy" to cover gaping plot holes. Perhaps to a more critical, serious eye, plot holes exist and are bothersome. But I truly was lost in Bella's story and as I read, very little jumped out as completely unreal or impossible to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and consider this rating a 4.5 stars.
Stephenie Meyer has been able to create characters that feel intensely real. I was able to lose myself in the story through all four books. While the first in the series remains my favorite, the characters remained almost tangible people that I cared about and rooted for throughout.
Stephenie admitted herself that pleasing all of her fans would be impossible, but insisted that this was the story she wanted to write all along. I've been a happy voyeur for the ride, and remain a happy fan.
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Why do people bash books with happy endings?
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| Review Date: August 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Pheebers, Massachusetts |
It's true this book wraps up loose endings, but I can't imagine why so many people think that's a bad thing. It's done over the course of the entire book, not in the last chapter. I laughed, I cried with happiness. I read things I'd predicted and many I hadn't. And then, at the end, I sighed in contentment.
The Twilight-reading world would be screaming if we hadn't had details of the wedding, honeymoon, transformation, and Jake's resolution. We got to see the Denali clan, the Volturi make a nicely threating appearance, and everyone gets a happily ever after. Is that so bad?
As a society we are programmed from middle school to consider anything with a tragic ending "literature" and anything with a happy ending a trite fairy tale. I LIKE reading books with happy endings. Sometimes I'm in the mood to read Doctor Zhivago, but I also appreciate well-written books that don't end tragically. That's Breaking Dawn.
Reviewers are complaining that Stephenie Meyer is encouraging marriage at 18. Hello? She spent a great deal of time explaining that, to most people, early marriage is ewwwwwww. She also spent three books leading up to the circumstances that led to the marriage. Bella and Edward are not typical. Unlike most 18-year-olds, money is not an issue. They intended for Bella to continue her education (even if it were going to be delayed) and there was no expectation of pregnancy. I think it was a POSITIVE message, well argued on both sides.
Also, why do people say it's anti-feminist for Bella to choose to keep her baby? Feminism is about allowing choice and not judging the mother. We were shown both sides -- Bella's unconditional love for her unborn baby, even at the risk of her own life -- and Edward's anguish and desperation at the thought of it killing her. If anything, Bella is more assertive in this book than in any of the others. Edward's always been possessive and protective. Remember him not allowing her to do things, like seeing her friends at La Push or even just being alone? He did it for love and because he was protecting her, but no one could say it was feminist.
I highly recommend this book. It's meaty, satisfying, and well-written.
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Saved the Best for Last! (No Spoilers)
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| Review Date: August 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Brandon Witt--redbirdboy, Denver, Co United States |
I don't remember the last time I have felt so passionate and angry about a novel. I enjoyed Twilight, I liked New Moon, I loved Eclipse, and now I am completely infatuated with Breaking Dawn. Each one got better and better.
It will be hard to give complete specifics of what I loved about Breaking Dawn without using spoilers, but I will do my best, without ruining the details for someone who has yet to read the book.
I was one of the ones waiting in line at midnight with a bunch a preteen girls in prom dresses. It would take a lot for a book to be worth that experience. Before I started reading it the next morning, I hopped on Amazon to see the soaring ratings of five stars and was shocked when the vast majority of what I saw was one and two stars. I didn't read any of them at that point so I wouldn't ruin the book's surprises, but I went into it afraid that I would hate it too. At first I thought I was going to, I thought I saw where Meyers was taking it and I kept pleading with her to not go there. She did. And, she pulled it off beautifully. What easily could have been cheesy and contrived kept me in awe page after page and made me fall more and more in love with characters that were already dear to me. The aspects of Bella and Edward's personalities that I always found flat and dormant, I saw grow and mature in this final installment. Ever since I finished the book, I have been sad, simply because I miss it. I want to still be lost in Bella, Edward, and Jacob's world. I am going to re-read all of them immediately, something I didn't plan on doing.
The complaints I have read on here, I find laughable. The book was too long. It was too happy. It has bad morals. It is weird. It grosses me out. It is contrived, blah, blah, blah. We have spent three books with very little else but angst and stress and tears. It is not a betrayal of the series that the characters don't all slit their wrists at the end. Plus, this book was filled with stressors and tears. And giving a book low rating because you don't like a new character's name is insulting to everyone's intelligence. As for bad morals and a bad message for teenage girls. Get a grip. We are talking about vampires and werewolves, lighten up! If that was your concern, you should have been worried from the beginning about all these lemur-like girls who you believe have no minds their own. They should have been out trying to drink their neighbors' blood years ago! I am teacher, an I can attest that I have seen more girls involved in reading and dreams of writing as a career thanks to Stephanie Meyer's books and her constant encouragement through interviews than any other motivator.
I wish I had another seven hundred pages to read. Every question I had been dying to know since the very first book was answered, some in ways that I guessed and some that completely shocked me. Having your series wrapped up in a completed way is not a sign of poor or safe writing. When done well, as here, it shows the amount of thought, planning, and detail that was given to these beloved novels.
I hope that Meyers can take the low stars as a compliment. Anything done well, anything that takes risks, and anything that makes people uncomfortable enough to think is something that has immense value, and it is always controversial and condemned.
Amazing work, Mrs. Meyers! Thank you for the awesome ride and adding gleaming gems to my library and irreplaceable characters to my heart! |
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