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Coming Soon:
~Review: The Killing Woods
~Review: The Waiting Sky
~Review: A Certain Slant of Light
~Review: Timepiece
~Review: Infinityglass


Saturday, May 30, 2009

Breaking Dawn



Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Age: 15+

Synopsis (From Amazon)

In Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final installment in the series, Bella’s story plays out in some unexpected ways. The ongoing conflicts that made this series so compelling--a human girl in love with a vampire, a werewolf in love with a human girl, the generations-long feud between werewolves and vampires--resolve pretty quickly, apparently so that Meyer could focus on Bella’s latest opportunity for self-sacrifice: giving her life for someone she loves even more than Edward. How close she comes to actually making that sacrifice is questionable, which is a big shift from the earlier books. Even though you knew Bella would make it through somehow, the threats to her life, and to her relationship with Edward, had previously always felt real. It’s as if Meyer was afraid of hurting her characters too much, which is unfortunate, because the pain Bella suffered at losing Edward in New Moon, and the pain Jacob suffered at losing Bella again and again, are the fire and the heart that drive the whole series. Diehard fans will stick with Bella, Edward, and Jacob for as many twists and turns as possible, but after most of the characters get what they want with little sacrifice, some readers may have a harder time caring what happens next.

Review
Before I started reading Breaking Dawn, I had heard from numerous people that it was either a book you loved or hated. I have found this to be pretty much true. The book had its flaws but I basically loved it.

To start with, I really enjoyed the overall plot of this one. Breaking Dawn was exceptionally refreshing in comparison to the other books in the saga. It was very exciting and always held my attention, but I also felt it had a slightly more mature aspect to it. I thought it was interesting that she wrote part of the book in Jacob's point of view. I loved getting to see everything from his perspective. Different, but I liked it.

As for the characters, I felt they were all much better developed in this final installment than in the previous books. Bella was far less whiny and more realistic. I loved her character so much more in Breaking Dawn. Before, I had always felt that Jacob was the more well-rounded character of them all. Meyer voiced Jacob's perspective exactly how I would have hoped. I also enjoyed getting to know the wolf pack a little better. Especially Leah. Her snide and sarcastic remarks were written so well that I was even annoyed by her at times. However, I also pitied her because I knew her bitterness was her way of coping with the hurt of a broken heart.

The ending left somewhat to be desired. How do you rush an ending in a 768 page book? I just don't get it. Leave it to Stephenie Meyer to do it though. I also would have liked the ending to have been slightly bittersweet rather than the fairy tale "Happily Ever After" she decided to give it.

Series Review
Personally, I don't like Stephenie Meyer's actual writing technique. From the first book, I have believed this series to be inadequately written, despite her captivating story lines. She reminds me of the kind of person who likes to use big words to make themselves appear smart. For example, the word "chagrin" was used far too often and really disrupted any rhythm that her writing might have been starting to gain. When she does this, it messes up the flow of the rest of the book. Besides, what 18 year old says the word "chagrin" anyhow. Most young adults probably don't even know what it means, much less use it in their daily vocabulary. Not to mention her poor sentence structures.

Overall, I thought that this was a fun and exciting series despite its poor technical merit. Though the books are long, they are very fast paced. 'Course, I'll never understand why I like these books as much as I do. Although, I do agree with the critics in saying that this series portrays bad messages on relationships. More specifically, the first two books. The love between Bella and Edward is more similar to obsession than true love. Edward also has some serious control issues. It isn't until Eclipse that Bella finally grows a spine and stands up to Edward. Eclipse is also when I feel her obsession with him turns more towards the direction of love. I would definitely put the last two books as being the best of the series. I do not recommend these books to those under the age of 14, and then I would still take into consideration their maturity level. I have seen too many people become ridiculously obsessed with these books.

Grade
Characters: B+
Writing: C
Plot: A-
Ending: B-
Cover: B- (Pretty but I just don't get it.)
Recommendable: B
Series: A

Overall: B

8 comments:

Liyana said...

I kind of hated it after one reading, and not a thorough one at that. It's kind of unfortunate, cos I actually like the series. Okay, more of a love hate relationship. Hmmm. The ending kind of sucks though.

Anonymous said...

I dislike this book sooo much haha. Bella is really so cliche, everything is always perfect for her regardless of anything. Jacob was the best part of this novel for me.

And I'm not the biggest Edward fan but he's barely even in this one. The first three books were about Bella and him and their relationship and in this one... after the first few chapters, it becomes something else entirely.

I'll stop now, before I get carried away haha.

Glad you enjoyed it though! :D

Laura @ A Jane of All Reads said...

I make it a point to tell everyone I meet how much I hate this book. It was the biggest disappointment and it was the final straw for me with Meyer. She's a horrible writer. That said- I LOVED the Twilight series. I'm addicted to Bella and Edward's story and I'll read it again and again (just not this book). So in the end, Meyer won. Even the best of us become big sappy dorks over Twilight. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Natascha De Marco said...

I don't get why this series, which is full of bad messages and really what's the whole point of it?, can captivate you as much as it does...

I just don't get it!!!

ps; I love the series, go figure

Unknown said...

I liked the fourth book better than books 2 and 3. It was fast paced and a quick read. The prior two dragged out too much. The only thing I didn't like was the imprinting. Kinda creepy and weird.

Eli said...

Yeah... I really didn't like this book. It felt so different then the previous three! Even the characters, in my opinion, were not acting like themselves! It was weird for me, but I'm glad you liked it! :)

~The Book Pixie said...

To Taschima:
How do these books captivate me? Well I'm not really sure why I like the darn books but I do. Yes, I do believe they send some bad messages. However, like I said, I mainly felt the bad messages were in the first two books, which were my least favorite of the series. I'm also mature enough to not be affected by those messages.

I know, I don't get it either. lol. Go figure. That's just the way I feel.

Natascha De Marco said...

Book Pixie:
Completely understand, I don't get it either, its just so charming! Maybe its because it reminds us of a time of hope, of "true love", of our shinning prince coming to rescue us from the big bad wolf and all the such, just a thought.

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Georgia, United States
Hello all! My name is Briana, I'm 20, and I live in the beautiful state of Georgia. I love reading and photography.

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