Reading Log: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

The story is split into three parts. The first part and the third part are written in Bella's point of view, the second in Jacob Black's.

Part one focuses on Bella and Edward's wedding and honeymoon. Meyer described the wedding so well I could actually picture it in my head. Even with the potentially disastrous little dance Bella shared with a certain hot tempered wolf, everything worked out the way I had hoped it would. The honeymoon was tastefully written. I know there have been plenty of comments regarding the sexual content in the book because it's written for a young adult audience, however, I don't feel it is explicit in any way and it was appropriately written for the young readers it was targeted to. They spend their honeymoon on a remote island near the coast of Brazil. During their stay, Bella’s wish comes true when she and Edward make love. Shortly after, Bella becomes aware of her pregnancy when she misses a period. She contacts Carlisle who confirms her suspicions; the couples made plans to return soon after. The fetus develops rapidly, an occurrence that prompts Edward to request she gets an abortion. Unperturbed, Bella resists his pleas and contacts Rosalie, who has wanted children for a long time.

Part two is written from Jacob Black’s perspective. This was the slow part of the book. Jake does a lot of complaining and muttering rude comments under his breath. As always, Jake hates Edward and "what he's done to Bella" and there's really not a whole lot of action going on to balance out this part of the story. I enjoyed the constant tension between Jacob and Rosalie... it was cracking me up throughout the entire book. The "Fido" bowl was one of my most favorite moments from Breaking Dawn. I still laugh when I read the part where Rose handed him that bowl. Part two also documents the pregnancy of Bella right through to the birth of her child. The werewolves in the novel are unsure of the child and fear of the danger it poses prompts them to make plans to kill Bella to prevent its birth. Naturally, Jacob is strongly opposed to this and revolts. He cuts all ties to the pack and forms his own alongside Leah Clearwater and Seth. Four weeks after conception Bella gives violent birth to the child. In the process she loses a great deal of blood and suffers multiple broken bones. To save her life Edward is forced to embrace and turn her into a vampire. Immediately after the birth Jacob imprints the newborn baby girl Renesmee.

The final part of Breaking Dawn reverts back to Bella’s view point, continuing her story as an excited Vampire who enjoys all the abilities it brings. Bella learns what it's like to truly become a Cullen- in every sense of the word. Learning to hunt and drinking animal blood, getting accustomed to having incredibly heightened senses, and the surprisingly insatiable appetite she has for Edward. Irina, another Vampire mistakenly identifies the baby; she believes Renesmee is an “immortal child, one that has been changed to a Vampire. An act the Volturi outlawed previously. Irina informs the Volturi of the act, they then decide to destroy the Cullens and baby Renesmee based on Irina’s allegations. To prove their innocence and save the life of their baby daughter the Cullens gather vampires to stand up as witnesses and help prove to the Volturi the child isn’t an immortal child. The ploy works, the Volturi realize they have been lied to by Irina and immediately sentence her to execution for the mistake. She is killed shortly after. Despite the news of the childs true nature being revealed they are still unsure as to the threat the childs existence brings to the secret lives of vampires. Soon after, the arrival of Jasper and Alice, who too had a human-vampire child return. They prove the child presents no threat with Nahuel, their 150 year old crossbreed son. The Volturi see the truth in these words and promptly leave, safe in the knowledge that vampire-human crossbreeds can co-exist without bringing any undue attention on the vampire’s existence. Bella, Edward and their daughter Renesmee return safely to their home.

For me, this was the most enjoyable part of the story. The suspense is brutal. It started building from the moment Bella opened her eyes as a newborn and lasted through Alice's unexpected vision and into the final moments of the book, when the Volturri decide the fate of the Cullens, their friends and their extended family.

Beginnings can be tricky but Twilight got this series off to a fantastic start with its modern day fairy tale quality and heart stopping romance.  New Moon further built on that with Bella and Edward’s bleakly painful separation and subsequent happy reunion - but since the end of New Moon the romantic tension that had been driving the story into the heady heights compelling reading has been lacking. As a result Eclipse was a different novel – it was clear that whatever happened in Eclipse Edward and Bella would be together forever – and the stresses on their relationship came from outside forces rather than from within the relationship itself.  

The story is well paced and well balanced, with a mixture of exciting supernatural action as well as good character development and romance.  The strength of Stephenie Meyer’s writing as ever lies in her exploration of love in its many guises and Breaking Dawn gives her the opportunity to examine the relationships between mother and child, father and daughter, husband and wife and the bonds of friendship. Breaking Dawn is more like Eclipse, Edward and Bella are sure of their love for each other but outside forces (this time it’s the Volturi) may tear them apart as the story reaches its thrilling climax.

The only small gripe I have about this novel is that in wrapping up the story every loose end has been neatly tied into a pretty bow - sometimes it’s good to leave something dangling in the breeze!  

If beginnings are tricky, endings are fraught with difficulties.  At the beginning readers have no expectations but by the end everyone seems to have an opinion on how they would have finished the book if they were writing it.  Thankfully Stephenie Meyer was writing the ending so the resulting story is a good one and in my opinion a fitting end to this fantastic series.

Reading Breaking Dawn felt a lot like the diet of animal blood which sustains the vampires’ central to the story. It slakes one’s thirst, yet it doesn’t appeal quite like the "real thing"—it lacks the tantalizing scent, the desirable taste, of the authentic.

Barely more than halfway into Breaking Dawn, all the open issues which have been gathering over the course of the series have been resolved. Though this should be satisfying for the reader, it comes too easily and quickly. What’s more, Breaking Dawn arrives at these resolutions via the frightening plot vehicle of Bella’s horrifying pregnancy. To a somewhat redeeming effect, this portion of the novel is told through Jacob’s incredulous eyes.

With an entire series worth of plot points neatly out of the way, Meyers brings yet another circumstance of impending doom upon the beleaguered vampires of Forks, Washington. But for all the tense build up, this final conflict also dissipates too easily. In effect, it mirrors the arc of the entire saga.

The book closes without sacrifice, loss, or the pain of difficult decisions. Bella and Edward’s concluding bliss is not without appeal as a follower of the series, yet can one reach the peak of true happiness without experiencing the valleys of true loss?