Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Meyer, Stephenie. Breaking Dawn. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. 754 pages. $22.99 ISBN 031606792x
Readers Annotation: Finally, the wedding of the century has arrived, but Bella's mortality is still a concern.
Plot Summary: The final book in the Twilight Saga wraps up all the lose ends from the previous three books. Finally, Bella and Edward get married in a small and sweet ceremony in Edward's back yard. The two whisk away to their own island where they have lots of romantic encounters. After a few weeks, however, Bella starts to get sick and soon realizes that she is pregnant. Edward, horrified at how stupid they were, rushes Bella home where she endures a very short, very difficult pregnancy. Secrets are revealed, attachments made, promises kept and half-vampire children are born.
Critical Evaluation: Although this isn't my favorite book out of the series, it is definitely number two on my list. For the hopeless romantic there is plenty of almost sex scenes, sexual vampire humor, cute little cottages and strange baby names. For the adventure seeker, there are plenty of battles, and of course the werewolves are involved. What I loved about this book is how Stephenie continues to mold her characters, Bella in particular. Throughout the series Bella ages about three years or so, and this is most apparent in Breaking Dawn. She learns she must be an adult, a married woman and a potential mother. She essentially steps up to the plate in this novel. There was some discussion after the book came out that many readers were disappointed in Stephenie's complete change of Bella's character, however I felt that Bella needed to change. After dating a vampire for two or three years off and on and being in the middle of a centuries old feud between two paranormal beings she never new existed, she must change and grow. She had to mature. Stephenie does a great job of tying up the loose ends of the previous novels and giving her readers a happy, albeit strange ending.
Information about the Author: Stephenie Meyer lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and three sons. The Twilight series is her first series for young adults. In the midst of her Twilight saga she also published an adult science fiction novel called The Host.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Age Level: Ages 14 and up
Curriculum Ties: A possible tie in to folklore of all cultures, as they discuss vampire folklore of Native American, European and South American cultures in the series.
Book talking ideas: Discuss the intrigue of the series. Why does it capture your attention, if it does? How would you react if you found out someone you know was a vampire or a werewolf?
Challenge Issues: The sex scenes, although they are not really sex scenes, may cause problems for those who don't want their children exposed to anything sexual in nature. The birth scene is very graphic as well, which may be too graphic for some parents' liking.
Why I included it: I chose this book because I love the series. Since Stephenie is a Phoenix local (as I was), when Twilight first came out I was all over it. I've always been fascinated with vampire lore and how different authors create new ways vampires live. Also, the Twilight series is very big among teens and adults alike and it would not be a smart move to forget it.
Meyer, Stephenie. Breaking Dawn. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. 754 pages. $22.99 ISBN 031606792x
Readers Annotation: Finally, the wedding of the century has arrived, but Bella's mortality is still a concern.
Plot Summary: The final book in the Twilight Saga wraps up all the lose ends from the previous three books. Finally, Bella and Edward get married in a small and sweet ceremony in Edward's back yard. The two whisk away to their own island where they have lots of romantic encounters. After a few weeks, however, Bella starts to get sick and soon realizes that she is pregnant. Edward, horrified at how stupid they were, rushes Bella home where she endures a very short, very difficult pregnancy. Secrets are revealed, attachments made, promises kept and half-vampire children are born.
Critical Evaluation: Although this isn't my favorite book out of the series, it is definitely number two on my list. For the hopeless romantic there is plenty of almost sex scenes, sexual vampire humor, cute little cottages and strange baby names. For the adventure seeker, there are plenty of battles, and of course the werewolves are involved. What I loved about this book is how Stephenie continues to mold her characters, Bella in particular. Throughout the series Bella ages about three years or so, and this is most apparent in Breaking Dawn. She learns she must be an adult, a married woman and a potential mother. She essentially steps up to the plate in this novel. There was some discussion after the book came out that many readers were disappointed in Stephenie's complete change of Bella's character, however I felt that Bella needed to change. After dating a vampire for two or three years off and on and being in the middle of a centuries old feud between two paranormal beings she never new existed, she must change and grow. She had to mature. Stephenie does a great job of tying up the loose ends of the previous novels and giving her readers a happy, albeit strange ending.
Information about the Author: Stephenie Meyer lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and three sons. The Twilight series is her first series for young adults. In the midst of her Twilight saga she also published an adult science fiction novel called The Host.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Age Level: Ages 14 and up
Curriculum Ties: A possible tie in to folklore of all cultures, as they discuss vampire folklore of Native American, European and South American cultures in the series.
Book talking ideas: Discuss the intrigue of the series. Why does it capture your attention, if it does? How would you react if you found out someone you know was a vampire or a werewolf?
Challenge Issues: The sex scenes, although they are not really sex scenes, may cause problems for those who don't want their children exposed to anything sexual in nature. The birth scene is very graphic as well, which may be too graphic for some parents' liking.
Why I included it: I chose this book because I love the series. Since Stephenie is a Phoenix local (as I was), when Twilight first came out I was all over it. I've always been fascinated with vampire lore and how different authors create new ways vampires live. Also, the Twilight series is very big among teens and adults alike and it would not be a smart move to forget it.
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