breaking dawn by Robyn
This blog is about my friend Robyn's review on the new book by Stephenie Meyer. Beware there are *****SPOILERS*****
I feel very much the same but now that i've had a couple days to let it sink in, i can understand it a bit better. What can i say, i can't change it all i can do is accept it for what it is. Please enjoy! PS. Thanks Robyn
After spending an hour on the phone with my friend Marci, I have finally been able to re-evaluate my thought process and I am understanding why I have this black hole...
I thought that the black hole was due to the end of the story, the characters. I thought that I was satified with the book and that the hole was due to the ending of the story. I was WRONG! I am not satisfied at all! The blackh ole in me is not beause it is over, it's because I'm not satisfied.
I feel like Breaking Dawn wasn't written by Stephenie Meyer, at least not the same Stephenie Meyer that made me fall in love with her characters. I feel like the book was full of cop-outs and that she wrote it trying to give us what she thought we wanted instead of staying true to the characters. I hate the f*ing "deus ex machina" at the end! Why do you have to tie it up in t pretty little bow "... and they lived happily eer after... forever."
Here's my thoughts...
What the hell happened to the "magic" that you feel in the first 3 books? Where are all the little moments (and memorable quotes)? There is so much STUPID, POINTLESS plot-line that you lose the part that makes us fall in love with these people.
Edward- what happened? You used to be the adonis, the God like figure, Bella's saviour. You were the man the everyone wanted. You became so NORMAL. You disappeared. You lost your personality and your passion and youbecame the weak, whiny boy balled up in the corner, that couldn't help Bella, but als ended up being saved by Bella at the "battle!" (more on the "battle" later...) I miss the Edward I fell in love with. I miss his romantic quotes and his protective side and his crooked smile! Where did THAT Edward go to?
Bella- who is this irl and what happened to the real Bella? Why the role reversals. She is not supposed to be the hero/saviour! Mostly why I loved Bella in the first 3 was that she was so willing to be self-sacrificing. She hated the fact that she hurt Jacob and Edward, and would do anything not to. Then all of a sudden, this kid comes out of nowehere (she never talked about wanting a kid) and now is the selfish bitch that is so willing to hurt Edward and Jacob just to protect this baby that she never even wanted. And why did she get so serious? What happened to her sense of humor? What happened to her personality? I'm pretty sure I don't remember any memorable quotes from her either.
They started off as the ultimate forbidden love and it should have ended that way. I firmly believe that I was prepared for Bella and Edward to die protecting their daughter (that I didn't want in the story line, but I guess I can tolerate) and their family. If they had died I would have been OK with it. In fact, the book would have been a LOT better. No happy, fake ending that didn't follow reality. Everything was so phony.
The thing I loved about the first 3 books was that they COULD have been real. Somewhere, sometime, it could have been possible to have vampires like the Cullens amongst us. All of a sudden in book 4 you get mutuant spawn and Edward eating through Bella's uterus and a newborn vampire that doesn't thirst and a million other little things that take you completely out of reality and put you in this sci-fi world.
So- not only am I mad that Meyer didn't stay true to the characters, she didn't stay true to her writing format. There was no real romance, the sex scenes were glazed over and had no passion. There was no real action, the "battle" was a waster of 3 chapters that didn't end up. There was no climax at all.
Don't get me wrong, there are some redeeming factors.
Jacob- I ended up liking Jacob a lot. His section of the book (while he is narrating the most outrageously unbelivable plot points) is still probably one of my favorite parts. At least he doesn't lose his humor and his realtionship with Bella. I love that it still shows how much it hurts him to help her, but he loves her too much to say no. But what the hell- why did you get him and Leah so close and waste all that time telling us about her, just so that he could imprint on the kid?
Renesmee- first off, I know its supposed to have meaning because its both their mom's names, but WTF? Her name sucks! OK, so in my ideal Breaking Dawn, she wouldn't exist. I thought she ruined this book for me. Her story line bother me, it scared me, and it is the reason that so many of the characters became untrue to themselves. Edward became weak because of the pregnancy, Bella became selfish, Rosalie became caring, Alice became a frightened spot on the wall- I mean- everything turned upside down. Not to mention that it is the sole reason that the realism got shattered! It turned into Aliens and I just go the vision of how on earth could they possibly make a movie for this book with Robert eating a ahole in Kristens uterus! It grossed me out and pissed me off. If she is going to have a baby, there were so many other ways they could have dealt with the pregnancy... After Renesemee starts to grow, I can tolerate her. I even like seeing the maternal instinct in Bella, but I just hated how it got to that point. As a Christian, it pissed me off that Meyer was able to write a story line that actually made me pro-abortion in that one case. Yes, you heard me right, I wanted the baby to die!
I know that a lot of peopple are pissed the Jacob imprinted on the baby. For some reason this didn't bother me. Another one of those happy little "coincidenes" that piss me off, of course, but it didn't bother me. I guess in a way, I knew that something would end up binding him to Bella for eternity.
Alice- I love her! She is my favorite. She is me! I feel this kinship with her that I can't describe. It really pissed me off that she just disappeared into the background while Rosalie jumped in. The Alice I know wouldn't have done that. She would have stood up to someone. She was there is parts, like the closet of course, but mostly, she was lost. Then when she ran away it scared me. I thought that Meyer was going to turn the one character that I could count on into a coward. Luckily, I, i mean, Alice, saved the day! But still...
Jasper- since when do we call him "Jazz?" WHAT IS GOING ON? I REALLY bothered me that so many little things were changing and that there was no description and no reasoning for it. I thought that he could not only read moods, but affect them. So many times he could have done something but her didn't. And why cant he affect his own mood- grump!
Rosalie- I hate her, I always will. She's selfish and annoying. I think the only thing that I like about her is at least she's true to herself. She did listen to Bella, even though she knew it was killing Bella. So I guess in a twisted way, she's loyal. But still, I hate her.
Emmett- the only vampire that stayed really true. He has never been a big character, but he was always a big personality. I'm glad that the teasing and the arm wrestling happened!
Esme- what happened? Like Marci's friend's blog says- I don't know her and that sucks! I want to know so much more about her. She just disappears too.
Carlisle- well, even tough he isn't there much, he is amazing. I like toward the end when he is talking to Aro, how he finally gets a little snappy with him. I knew he had it in him!
Heres my other maor problem with Breaking Dawn, "The throw aways..." as Marci refers to them. The moments that we have been waiting for that were just skipped over and felt like they were shoved in. Marci said it best when she told me that it felt like Meyer was writing a different book and then just threw in the stuff to make it fit. The wedding- there was so much build up, and then it was ust over in less than a chapter. She didn't go into Edward's vows or really describe Bella's dress. She glanced over the moment that we had been waiting for since Eclipse. The same with the sex. The passion, the build up, the tension- all disappeared. All we got was the vague idea that they had sex, but no lead up, no semi-description, nothing. For me, the "after car" was the biggest throw away. It really pissed me off that they built up to it and then after a long wait, we found out about in in a single mention in a sentence. We never found out what color it was, never saw Bella or Edward drive it, nothing!!!
The Battle- the biggest throw away for sure! What the heck happened? Why on earth would you bring in 10 billion other vampires, waste pages telling us about their stories and their powers, just so that NOTHING could happen! I can't even describe my frustration with this. I still think that Bella and Edward should have died (at least then I would feel finality and not frustration) and that Alice and Jasper should have come in to save the day just in time to spare the rest of the Cullens. Nessie and Jacob could live on and eventually, if Meyer wanted, she could go back to telling that story. At least then, Bella and Edward's story would have been over.
That's it! Epiphany. I don't like Breaking Dawn because it isn't Bella and Edward's story! It is a combination of so many stories that it loses B and E in the process. GRRRR.
Even after all this, I am not mad! I'm ok. I'm not happy though. I am just ok. I don't know if I will recommend this book to people. I might tell people to read the first 3 and then stop. Mabe I'll write my own 4th book, the way it SHOULD have happened and call ir "Reliving Dawn"... *no one better steal my title or I will sue you!
Well, I could write a LOT more, but I have to go eat. All I know is that when I go to see the autograph signing on Thursday, I am taking Eclipse with me and NOT Breaking Dawn. For me, the real series ended with Eclipse. And I'm returning the second copy of Breaking Dawn that I bought- I'm not gifting this to anyone.
I feel very much the same but now that i've had a couple days to let it sink in, i can understand it a bit better. What can i say, i can't change it all i can do is accept it for what it is. Please enjoy! PS. Thanks Robyn
After spending an hour on the phone with my friend Marci, I have finally been able to re-evaluate my thought process and I am understanding why I have this black hole...
I thought that the black hole was due to the end of the story, the characters. I thought that I was satified with the book and that the hole was due to the ending of the story. I was WRONG! I am not satisfied at all! The blackh ole in me is not beause it is over, it's because I'm not satisfied.
I feel like Breaking Dawn wasn't written by Stephenie Meyer, at least not the same Stephenie Meyer that made me fall in love with her characters. I feel like the book was full of cop-outs and that she wrote it trying to give us what she thought we wanted instead of staying true to the characters. I hate the f*ing "deus ex machina" at the end! Why do you have to tie it up in t pretty little bow "... and they lived happily eer after... forever."
Here's my thoughts...
What the hell happened to the "magic" that you feel in the first 3 books? Where are all the little moments (and memorable quotes)? There is so much STUPID, POINTLESS plot-line that you lose the part that makes us fall in love with these people.
Edward- what happened? You used to be the adonis, the God like figure, Bella's saviour. You were the man the everyone wanted. You became so NORMAL. You disappeared. You lost your personality and your passion and youbecame the weak, whiny boy balled up in the corner, that couldn't help Bella, but als ended up being saved by Bella at the "battle!" (more on the "battle" later...) I miss the Edward I fell in love with. I miss his romantic quotes and his protective side and his crooked smile! Where did THAT Edward go to?
Bella- who is this irl and what happened to the real Bella? Why the role reversals. She is not supposed to be the hero/saviour! Mostly why I loved Bella in the first 3 was that she was so willing to be self-sacrificing. She hated the fact that she hurt Jacob and Edward, and would do anything not to. Then all of a sudden, this kid comes out of nowehere (she never talked about wanting a kid) and now is the selfish bitch that is so willing to hurt Edward and Jacob just to protect this baby that she never even wanted. And why did she get so serious? What happened to her sense of humor? What happened to her personality? I'm pretty sure I don't remember any memorable quotes from her either.
They started off as the ultimate forbidden love and it should have ended that way. I firmly believe that I was prepared for Bella and Edward to die protecting their daughter (that I didn't want in the story line, but I guess I can tolerate) and their family. If they had died I would have been OK with it. In fact, the book would have been a LOT better. No happy, fake ending that didn't follow reality. Everything was so phony.
The thing I loved about the first 3 books was that they COULD have been real. Somewhere, sometime, it could have been possible to have vampires like the Cullens amongst us. All of a sudden in book 4 you get mutuant spawn and Edward eating through Bella's uterus and a newborn vampire that doesn't thirst and a million other little things that take you completely out of reality and put you in this sci-fi world.
So- not only am I mad that Meyer didn't stay true to the characters, she didn't stay true to her writing format. There was no real romance, the sex scenes were glazed over and had no passion. There was no real action, the "battle" was a waster of 3 chapters that didn't end up. There was no climax at all.
Don't get me wrong, there are some redeeming factors.
Jacob- I ended up liking Jacob a lot. His section of the book (while he is narrating the most outrageously unbelivable plot points) is still probably one of my favorite parts. At least he doesn't lose his humor and his realtionship with Bella. I love that it still shows how much it hurts him to help her, but he loves her too much to say no. But what the hell- why did you get him and Leah so close and waste all that time telling us about her, just so that he could imprint on the kid?
Renesmee- first off, I know its supposed to have meaning because its both their mom's names, but WTF? Her name sucks! OK, so in my ideal Breaking Dawn, she wouldn't exist. I thought she ruined this book for me. Her story line bother me, it scared me, and it is the reason that so many of the characters became untrue to themselves. Edward became weak because of the pregnancy, Bella became selfish, Rosalie became caring, Alice became a frightened spot on the wall- I mean- everything turned upside down. Not to mention that it is the sole reason that the realism got shattered! It turned into Aliens and I just go the vision of how on earth could they possibly make a movie for this book with Robert eating a ahole in Kristens uterus! It grossed me out and pissed me off. If she is going to have a baby, there were so many other ways they could have dealt with the pregnancy... After Renesemee starts to grow, I can tolerate her. I even like seeing the maternal instinct in Bella, but I just hated how it got to that point. As a Christian, it pissed me off that Meyer was able to write a story line that actually made me pro-abortion in that one case. Yes, you heard me right, I wanted the baby to die!
I know that a lot of peopple are pissed the Jacob imprinted on the baby. For some reason this didn't bother me. Another one of those happy little "coincidenes" that piss me off, of course, but it didn't bother me. I guess in a way, I knew that something would end up binding him to Bella for eternity.
Alice- I love her! She is my favorite. She is me! I feel this kinship with her that I can't describe. It really pissed me off that she just disappeared into the background while Rosalie jumped in. The Alice I know wouldn't have done that. She would have stood up to someone. She was there is parts, like the closet of course, but mostly, she was lost. Then when she ran away it scared me. I thought that Meyer was going to turn the one character that I could count on into a coward. Luckily, I, i mean, Alice, saved the day! But still...
Jasper- since when do we call him "Jazz?" WHAT IS GOING ON? I REALLY bothered me that so many little things were changing and that there was no description and no reasoning for it. I thought that he could not only read moods, but affect them. So many times he could have done something but her didn't. And why cant he affect his own mood- grump!
Rosalie- I hate her, I always will. She's selfish and annoying. I think the only thing that I like about her is at least she's true to herself. She did listen to Bella, even though she knew it was killing Bella. So I guess in a twisted way, she's loyal. But still, I hate her.
Emmett- the only vampire that stayed really true. He has never been a big character, but he was always a big personality. I'm glad that the teasing and the arm wrestling happened!
Esme- what happened? Like Marci's friend's blog says- I don't know her and that sucks! I want to know so much more about her. She just disappears too.
Carlisle- well, even tough he isn't there much, he is amazing. I like toward the end when he is talking to Aro, how he finally gets a little snappy with him. I knew he had it in him!
Heres my other maor problem with Breaking Dawn, "The throw aways..." as Marci refers to them. The moments that we have been waiting for that were just skipped over and felt like they were shoved in. Marci said it best when she told me that it felt like Meyer was writing a different book and then just threw in the stuff to make it fit. The wedding- there was so much build up, and then it was ust over in less than a chapter. She didn't go into Edward's vows or really describe Bella's dress. She glanced over the moment that we had been waiting for since Eclipse. The same with the sex. The passion, the build up, the tension- all disappeared. All we got was the vague idea that they had sex, but no lead up, no semi-description, nothing. For me, the "after car" was the biggest throw away. It really pissed me off that they built up to it and then after a long wait, we found out about in in a single mention in a sentence. We never found out what color it was, never saw Bella or Edward drive it, nothing!!!
The Battle- the biggest throw away for sure! What the heck happened? Why on earth would you bring in 10 billion other vampires, waste pages telling us about their stories and their powers, just so that NOTHING could happen! I can't even describe my frustration with this. I still think that Bella and Edward should have died (at least then I would feel finality and not frustration) and that Alice and Jasper should have come in to save the day just in time to spare the rest of the Cullens. Nessie and Jacob could live on and eventually, if Meyer wanted, she could go back to telling that story. At least then, Bella and Edward's story would have been over.
That's it! Epiphany. I don't like Breaking Dawn because it isn't Bella and Edward's story! It is a combination of so many stories that it loses B and E in the process. GRRRR.
Even after all this, I am not mad! I'm ok. I'm not happy though. I am just ok. I don't know if I will recommend this book to people. I might tell people to read the first 3 and then stop. Mabe I'll write my own 4th book, the way it SHOULD have happened and call ir "Reliving Dawn"... *no one better steal my title or I will sue you!
Well, I could write a LOT more, but I have to go eat. All I know is that when I go to see the autograph signing on Thursday, I am taking Eclipse with me and NOT Breaking Dawn. For me, the real series ended with Eclipse. And I'm returning the second copy of Breaking Dawn that I bought- I'm not gifting this to anyone.
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