Breaking Dawn
by Stephenie Meyer
Published: August 2, 2008
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (756 pages)
Source: Purchased
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?
Breaking Dawn was so much better when I read it the second time. The first time I read it, I loved part 1, was shocked for part 2, and disappointed for part 3. Part 1 is still my favorite. The wedding and honeymoon are pure bliss to read. Bella’s reaction to the honeymoon (where she’s sitting on the floor in the bathroom) is so completely honest and so relatable. And then we get to part 2. I was completely shocked. I like being surprised, but Stephenie sailed right over surprise and stunned you with pure bizarre. As Robert Pattinson put it, “She’s not even thinking outside the box anymore. She’s broken the whole box!” If it weren’t for Jake’s great sarcasm and the humor he brings, there’s no way anyone would make it through part 2. The second time reading part 2, I found it mostly funny since I knew what to expect. It was so close to real life, but heightened by supernatural horror. I feel bad for Edward during part 2, but come on. His melodrama mostly amused me. The first time I read Breaking Dawn, part 3 dragged like a bag of rocks. Who are all these new people suddenly showing up? And then the anti-climatic no-fight at the end was very disappointing. However, when I read it the second time and knew that was going to happen, I actually enjoyed part 3 and it didn’t seem so long. I think people’s main dislike for Breaking Dawn came from the fact that too many things were unexpected. If there had been better foreshadowing, I think people would have enjoyed it more. So, if you read Breaking Dawn once when it first came out and didn’t like it, read it again. It was much more entertaining the second time around.
Content Rating: Medium, for some non-graphic sex scenes that “fade to black” and for violence that is somewhat gory.
About Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke-up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head. "Though I had a million things to do (i.e. making breakfast for hungry children, dressing and changing the diapers of said children, finding the swimsuits that no one ever puts away in the right place), I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write--something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering." Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, then writing it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and sons.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
You make a fair point: I think I would enjoy Breaking Dawn more the second time around now that I know what to expect. I wonder when I’ll ever find time to reread it though!