Meyer, Stephenie: Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn (2008)
Written by: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: YA/Paranormal Romance
Pages: 756 (Hardcover)
Series: Book Four of Four
Before we get started, let's take a moment to rejoice: I have now read every single book that Stephenie Meyer has published. While some of you may not see this as cause for rejoicing, I urge you to reconsider: this means that until Meyer puts out a new hardback, you won't see another Stephenie Meyer book review! Aren't you excited? :)
I have to say, this book surprised me. Or perhaps I merely surprised myself. When Breaking Dawn was first released, I read spoilers. Very detailed spoilers. I read the reviews and focused on the negative ones. When I finished reading Eclipse, I read the summary for Breaking Dawn again. I was fully prepared to rant and rave over this book, because everything I read about the story and plot rubbed me the wrong way.
And maybe it's because I already knew it was coming, but I didn't have the urge to rant. In fact, I rather enjoyed this book, which makes me feel guilty as hell, because I still don't consider this series healthy for teenage girls. But that's another post (seriously, I think may very well put up something that talks about the dangers of a TwiHard generation and why readers should be very careful with this series). Trust me, you're going to be surprised by my reactions to this book as much as I was.
The premise: I can't find a plot summary that makes me happy, but you know what? This is the FOURTH AND FINAL book of the Twilight series. Do you really NEED a premise? Okay, fine: Bella gets everything she's ever wanted, only to realize there's more to what she wanted than she ever knew, and these desires bring about a confrontation in the paranormal community that Bella and Edward aren't sure they can win, let alone survive.
Review style: No rants. No raves. Truly, I'm sorry to disappoint. Instead, I'll be talking about how Breaking Dawn made me realize that Stephenie Meyer isn't writing a paranormal romance or urban fantasy, but rather a fairy tale. Yes, a fairy tale. Don't worry, I explain all of my reasoning behind the cut, and yes, you should expect LOTS AND LOTS of spoilers. If you want nothing of that sort, skip to the "My Rating" section at the end of the review.
First off, I want to say that the only reason I enjoyed this book was because I spoiled the hell out of it. I'd already had plenty of time to be horrified and disgusted at Meyer's choices and the messages she seemed to be portraying, so when I read it myself, there was no reaction. I was able to be entertained, and I was also able to read with an objective eye. I repeat: I fully intend to put up something explaining why this series is a dangerous thing for young women to read. That aside, let's talk about what works in this book and why I think Meyer is writing a fairy tale of sorts.
Let's consider: Bella is the ultimate damsel in distress. She's always getting rescued by not one Prince Charming, but two: Edward and Jacob. She loves them both, but it's Edward who is truly her soulmate, an attraction that's inexplicable in the fact that we're really not sure WHAT pulls these two together. Sure, he's hot and she's horny, and sure, he's intoxicated by the scent of her blood, which easily translates to attraction. Outside of that, what is there? There's a wicked part of me that wishes that once Bella became a vampire, she and Edward would suddenly realize there was nothing between them, which I think would be hysterical. But that's not what Meyer is doing, so let's not focus on that. :)
So, soulmates. We've got that. But the other thing we have is the happy ending. The fact that Bella's choices really don't lead to anything resembling to sacrifice, and I think sacrifice is a hallmark of fiction (of any GOOD fiction): my favorite books require that characters make HARD CHOICES and that in making those choices, they sacrifice something. Bella certainly comes close, but due to the nature of the story, due to the fairy tale, her willingness to sacrifice is all for nothing, because she wins the battle, keeps her daughter, and keeps everyone she loves.
And doesn't everything fit into place? Jacob's inexplicable attraction to Bella is suddenly focused on Renesmee thanks to imprinting, so Jacob and Bella are back to being best friends, no hard feelings. Well, maybe some hard feelings because Bella's creeped out by Jacob imprinting on her infant daughter, and honestly, when I first heard about it, I was creeped out too, but you know what? Meyer played her cards right: she introduced the possibility in Eclipse, so she's already prepared the reader for it happening to Jacob. If the reader hasn't "gotten" the fact that werewolves have no choice, then they're never going to get it, and they're also probably still rooting for Bella to end up with Jacob.
It helps, of course, that Renesmee matures far faster than normal, so we never really see her as a child, you know? But that's beside the point: the point is that Jacob's angst over Bella is easily rectified in the form of her daughter and his natural impulse to imprint. So, there's another happy ending.
We also don't lose anyone we care about: Charlie survives, and he even learns the truth of werewolves and vampires without getting into trouble. He even finds happiness with Sue Clearwater, as it's made pretty clear (ha ha) that he and Sue are falling in love.
The Cullen family survives, every single one of them. They welcome Bella with open arms. They welcome Renesmee. When the stand-off between the Cullens and the Volturi happens, nothing happens due to Bella protecting them all. And isn't that also something out of a fairy tale? Okay, not quite, because I can't think of a heroine who saves herself and her family, so maybe it's more Mary Sue than anything, but the point is that BELLA IS ABLE TO PROTECT EVERYONE (short of Irina, who doesn't count) IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN THE HAPPY ENDING. Better still, no one dies on the other side either. After being proven irrevocably wrong, the Volturi retreat. No harm, no foul.
And then, if you move beyond the Disney-fied versions of fairy tales, we have that uncomfortable element of darkness. And take your pick, because this book is full of shuddering moments: the honeymoon that nearly kills her, the freakishly abnormal and fast pregnancy, and then of course, the birth scene. But afterwards, it's all sunshine and rainbows. Bella becomes pretty much perfect in her new vampire wisdom, doesn't even go out of control like newbies are supposed to. Her love for Edward has become impossibly more, and she's able to spend eternity with him (and of course, having wonderful sex with her husband all night long, every night).
I don't know. It just struck me that Stephenie Meyer was never trying to write anything more than a Mary Sue-esque fairy tale, which sounds more damning than I mean it to be, but let's face it: through the four books, Bella loses nothing. Bella is weak until she's a vampire, and then she's perfect in every way. And the happy endings are pretty much bleeding through the pages. So be it fairy tale (which, if I had better resources, I could make a better case for) or mere wish-fulfillment, Bella's story moves out of the role of a victim and into a role of power. Once she's a vampire, everything's perfect. Everything. Like Rowling, I think Meyer's ultimate message is that love and family will overcome any adversity that faces it. Hell, even the werewolves back down in the face of Jacob's love (read=imprinting) of Renesmee. And I think that if you take into account the fact that original fairy tales are very dark and twisted and apply that to the Twilight universe (namely, the events of book four), you have a case for this series being nothing but an extended fairy tale. Not a very deep one, mind you, but an entertaining one. A love that's meant for the ages, whether or not the books last or not. I get Meyer's intent, and as much as I dislike her personally (her interviews and defense of her work don't endear me to her at all), I understand what she's doing. And thanks to the fact I already knew what was coming, I could enjoy the book for what it was, rather than be horrified by the choices Meyer makes.
Because seriously: what's UP with that? I keep wondering the purpose behind Edward's raging sex drive, so dangerous it could kill Bella. Why is that, other than to show yet again how fragile humans are until they become vampires, which are elevated to perfection in this series? What's the purpose behind Bella's grotesque pregnancy? We've seen such stories of rapidly growing babies before (see 4400), and the only reason I can come up with is that Meyer didn't want to have to jump TOO far ahead in the future to tell Renesmee's story. Plus, Renesmee's another little form of perfection, isn't she? So despite the horror of her growth and birth, she makes up for it in life.
And I'll be honest: there is SO MUCH MORE Stephenie Meyer can do in this world. Seriously. There's still Jacob and Renesmee's story (btw, I hate that name. Hate it!). And I'd love to see a book or two focus on a different Cullen couple, maybe Alice and Jasper. So if Meyer ever did return (and not to tell the same exact story from Edward's POV, because let's face it, YAWN), I'd be happy to check it out.
But here's a few concerns, which I'll expand on at some point in the future: I'm glad that Bella is no longer weak, no longer a victim. However, that's one of the many dangerous messages this book is sending: the controlling husbands don't suddenly back off if their women reach a point of power. Things don't become balance so the controller can relax; instead, they escalate. Also dangerous: I disagree with Meyer's assertion that there's nothing wrong with a girl having a goal of getting married and having kids. I'll even agree with her. But that was NEVER BELLA'S GOAL. In fact, she didn't know she WANTED to be a wife and mother until SHE WAS ALREADY IN THOSE ROLES. Why is this dangerous? Because it won't work like that for all women. How many stories have you heard, in real life, of a woman thinking a child will make her happy, only to realize after the fact she's horribly wrong?
I'll stop there and end this long rambling review with this: I really like the assertion that Bella was meant to be a vampire. It's just cool, even though she feels too much like a Mary Sue. :)
My Rating
Worth the Cash: but only if you're invested in this series and are ready for the final installment. And for those of you who love to hate this, I'm as surprised as anyone that I ended up enjoying this book as much as I did. But honestly, I think what allowed me to do so was already knowing everything that happens: I've had almost two years to process and react to the events in this book, so when I actually read them, there was no shock or outrage. And in hindsight, I think Meyer prepared her readers for certain events pretty well, but that said, I think if you're like me and read this as a guilty pleasure (more emphasis on the guilt than the pleasure) and/or love to rant about the series, make sure you know what you're getting into. Like I said, I had the spoilers internalized, so I was able to appreciate this book for what it was: a happy ending. The series is about half & half for me and I still think it presents some dangerous messages regarding love and relationships, but in the end, I'd read more if Meyer wrote it. Yeah, I'm a sucker. But that's why it's a guilty pleasure, now isn't it?
Cover Commentary: Except for the cover of New Moon, I think this is one of my favorites. After all, Bella's metaphorically the queen of the board, and anyone who knows chess knows that the queen is the strongest piece on the board. And for Bella to FINALLY have that power in these books? Well, all I've got to say is that it's about time! But metaphor aside, visually-speaking, it's a pretty striking image and I'm quite happy with it.
Next up: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler