Prior to Breaking Dawn, human Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen have fallen in love. Ever attempting to convince Edward that she'll be happier as a vampire, Bella still rejects the idea of marriage. After all, her parents' failed marriage is nothing to envy, and why go through the whole ceremony when she has already committed to an eternity with the supernatural creature she loves the most?

But Edward, old-fashioned guy he is, won't have it any other way. And best friend Jacob Black wishes it could be any other way--preferably, with him. When Bella makes her final choice, things start to heat up in every way imaginable: her spicy new sensuality, the addition of new and intriguing characters, and, of course, a conflict big enough to rein in all the vampires, werewolves, and humans we've met over the course of the past three books.

So which man does Bella choose? Is her wish to be vampirified ever granted? What happens when human desires and supernatural strength meet in the bedroom? And, after hundreds and hundreds of pages, does author Stephenie Meyer finally give anyone a happy ending?

I'll leave it to you to find out...if you're willing to pick up this tome in the first place. Thankfully, just like the first three in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn is easy to read and to follow. The writing isn't any stroke of literary genius by far, but it's so accessible and has a strange appeal, which makes getting through the 700+ pages less of a chore. (However, this book would've benefitted from some tighter editing. I bet Meyer could've whittled it down to at least 500 pages.)

I'm still not quite sure what to make of this conclusion. I've had mixed feelings about the series from the start, but once I got past the second book, I actually started to enjoy myself. However, Breaking Dawn creates a weird type of distance between readers and story, becoming less personal somehow. Perhaps this is the result of Meyer cranking out the book under pressure, rather than letting it come at its own pace. The familiar settings of Forks and LaPush are barely mentioned (while I read, most of the background I envisioned looked like generic gray watercolor). The vampires closest to my heart become more like cardboard cutouts than well-rounded characters. Edward does little more than tiptoe around acting pained, while Alice's only role in the whole thing is to share her visions. Thankfully, Jacob narrates the middle section of the book, which throws off the plot flow a little--but I like him enough that it doesn't bother me.

I found myself warming up to Bella, who has been one of the least likable protagonists I've ever seen. Usually, she grumbles when people show their affection, gushes about Edward's looks, and blathers on about how unattractive and undeserving she is of such a man. Jake and Edward especially are always lauding her selflessness, which is funny to me: most of her "self-sacrificing" choices were anything but. Unlike Edward, who is intentional about doing the right thing, Bella is stubborn and frustrating and often accidentally does the right thing while trying to get her own way. That said, I came to enjoy her more than I have before, even though I still would never pick her as a friend or role model. Unfortunately, I think the thing that benefited Bella's personality is what wreaked havoc on the rest of the characters: Meyer betrays their natural quirks and forces them to fit into her plot. It's like watching second graders at a puppet show: paper bags bopping up and down, just doing whatever they need to do to get to "happily ever after." Very little feels true to the original characters.

The plot has lots of words but little action. The whole thing was far-fetched (if a vampire novel can get any more far-fetched!), and there were places where it seemed like Meyer was just skimming through to get to the good parts. A lot of questions are answered and loose ends are tied up, but other logistical problems come up and are left unresolved, and unnecessary details bog down the writing. Honestly, I found the climactic scene suspenseful but ultimately disappointing. I wouldn't have wanted things to go any other way; it just felt too abrupt.

Breaking Dawn definitely gets more "adult" when it comes to the ever-present issues of sexuality and violence. Bella is portrayed as more innocent in the first two books, though she grows increasingly self-aware throughout the third. Here, she is not bashful about her sexual appetite and goes far beyond kissing and hand-holding. Though Meyer tastefully writes the sex scenes, there are a lot of them. Mostly, Meyer just gives a peek at what's happening in the bedroom, then closes the curtains and lets your mind fill in the rest. However, there is much description of the aftermath: ripped pillows, broken beds, etc. More appropriately done than I would expect from the usual teen novel, though I'd suggest reading it for yourself first before handing it off to your kids.

The bloodiness picks up, too, and can be quite graphic. Surprisingly, the grisliest parts have nothing to do with battle and everything to do with Bella's big secret (which shall remain a secret, as I'm not in the business of spoiling books :). There's a lot of biting and bleeding and blood-drinking and body fluids (probably too much for sensitive souls), but it's limited to a few chapters. Meyer is very careful about her portrayal of moral issues, and there's very little swearing or other questionable content. Also, violence is not seen as the immediate solution but as the last resort. Of course, between blood and bedroom, there's enough to make me wary of recommending this for anyone under age 16 (at the very least).

I'm still not sure what to think of Breaking Dawn. I certainly didn't hate it, but it could have been so, sooo much better! After spending nearly a month with the Cullens, they finally got through all my nitpickiness and pulled me into a story I didn't expect to enjoy. It's disappointing to come to the end of any series. But it's even more disappointing to see a series that was rounding out well suddenly get crammed full of impossible events and never-ending backstory. I'm still not sure what messages Meyer is trying to get across in this series, as there are tons of them overlapping and getting tangled in each other, but I think she tries too hard to package everything neatly and ends up with a conclusion that's not nearly as satisfying as it could've been.

Breaking Dawn skips the simplicity of the love story introduced in Twilight and ends up almost as a separate element from the first three. While I am glad to have read this story and know how everything ended up, this turned out to be more fan-fiction-esque, trying to fit everyone's little hopes and fantasies and plot ventures into one grand culminating story. It doesn't fall flat, but it doesn't exactly work, either. So I have to give it three stars for trying hard, but I can't say you'd miss out on much if you decided to let the series end at Eclipse.

Saga Reviews:
Book 1: Twilight
Book 2: New Moon
Book 3: Eclipse

Recommended: No