Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer – Book Review
The Final Installment in the love story of Bella and Edward
May 12, 2009
Bella has made her decision about staying human or becoming immortal. Her decision causes a chain of events that again leads to a dangerous and life threatening finale, which puts those she loves most at great risk. Just when it looks as though Bella will finally get everything she wants, it appears as though she could lose it all.
Breaking Dawn Overview
Breaking Dawn begins with Edward and Bella’s wedding. Jacob and Bella’s friendship is strained because of Bella’s decision to marry Edward and eventually become immortal, and Jacob leaves town.
The honeymoon follows with Bella desperate to consummate the relationship with her new husband, and so begins the next lot of life threatening problems Bella must face.
Breaking Dawn Review
Bella becomes pregnant on her honeymoon and refuses to allow Carlisle to “take care of” the fetus, which is very strong and grows at a remarkable rate. When it kicks it breaks Bella’s ribs and sucks up all of Bella’s nourishment, leaving her weak and at death’s door. Edward begs her to allow Carlisle to help, but Bella is stubborn and makes a surprising ally for her cause, which splits the Cullen family in two.
Jacob is still hanging around and while in New Moon and Eclipse, he developed into a strong and interesting character; he is so in love with Bella that he is almost as love struck and pathetic as she was in Twilight. It seems less endearing coming from Jacob who is a werewolf and a killer of vampires to be this confused over Bella. It even causes problems within the pack. Readers will just want him to move on.
Meyers throws in several surprises in Breaking Dawn, some good, some bad, but all will keep the reader turning pages to see how things will resolve. Breaking Dawn is written in 3 parts, the first part in Bella’s point-of-view, the second in Jacob’s point-of-view, and the third in Bella’s again. Readers will enjoy Jacob’s take on the situation.
Edward takes a bit of a back seat in this book, which may disappoint the Edward fans, however, there are enough plot turns and surprises to keep the reader entertained even without Edward being in center stage. Both the devoted readers and Bella will get what they have been waiting for since Twilight.
While Breaking Dawn is an enjoyable conclusion to Bella’s story, some of the sub-plots were tied up a little too easily, particularly when they should have caused much more conflict between the parties involved.
Meyers has created a good book for adults and a great book for teens. Bella has matured and while she and Edward consummate their relationship on their honeymoon, Meyer doesn’t go into too much detail of the act. Disappointing perhaps for older readers, but suitable for the teens the story is aimed at. Worth reading.
Breaking Dawn was published in 2008 and reprinted in 2009 by Atom (ISBN 978-1-905654-29-1). The series began with Twilight , which was made into a movie, and continued in New Moon, which is also currently being made into a movie. The series continued with Eclipse and the final installment, Breaking Dawn. Meyer has also written a book outside of the twilight series called The Host.
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