I was counting down the days to the next “Twilight” series release “Breaking Dawn” almost as eagerly as I awaited “Deathly Hallows” last summer. The first three books in the series were so good that I never anticipated such an incredible letdown.
The “Twilight” plot revolves around Bella Swan, an accident-prone teenage girl who moves to Forks, Wash., to live with her father, Charlie. Soon enough, she finds there’s a lot more to this boring town than she could have imagined – it’s home to vampires and werewolves.
Soon enough, she is drawn to Edward Cullen, an immortal 18-year-old who is a member of the vampire family in Forks. Edward’s family is made up of “vegetarian” vampires – they don’t feed on humans. Initially, Edward wants to feast on Bella due to her strong and appealing scent, but keeps his cool and soon they fall madly in love with each other.
Bella also gains a best friend throughout
the series – Jacob Black, the other main protagonist/love interest,
a member of the Quileute Indian tribe and a werewolf descendent.
Although the plot seems almost too out there to be executed properly, in the first three books, Meyer beautifully paints the picture of a middle-of-no-where town filled with all these fantastical, supernatural elements.
But sadly, the final installment is
nothing at all like the first three books; so much unexpected, useless
stuff happens that it almost seems like a different author wrote it.
Usually, unanticipated elements are what books and even movies strive
on, but not when they make fans feel completely disappointed and unsatisfied.
Meyer splits the book into three sections:
“Book One: Bella,” “Book Two: Jacob” and “Book Three: Bella.”
Why she felt the need to write 215 pages in Jacob’s perspective is
beyond me; maybe she got bored with Bella or wanted to give readers
something different, but she gave us nothing we wanted.
In this book, Bella and Edward wed. The wedding and reception, where most fans expected some sort of conflict to happen, end flawlessly with only a slight tiff with Jacob. Also, this highly anticipated moment in Bella and Edward’s relationship is rushed – it lasts only two chapters: one for the wedding, one for the reception.
Then, the long-awaited honeymoon where
the couple “tries,” lasts three chapters with the unexpected happing
next – and the next 12 chapters revolve it; I don’t want to give
too much away, but it’s stupid, stupid, stupid.
But the aspect of the fourth book that fans most eagerly awaited is whether Bella becomes a vampire. Most fans thought a few things could happen: she is turned after she’s married, Jacob stops the transformation in some way or Jacob disowns her after she’s a vampire.
If you guessed the first one (and only
the first one), you’re right! I only reveal this aspect because it’s
mostly expected and it’s one of the only things that saves the book
from an F grade; she becomes a vampire, but without the newborn bloodlust
expected. And, she also gains a power – a shield.
Meyer attempts at explaining Bella’s
defense against Edward’s mind-reading power by saying she had a latent
power in her subconscious. But after she transforms into a vampire,
she learns that she can stretch her mind-shielding defense out to protect
her and those around her from other vampires’ powers. Not too shabby.
But her power adds to maybe the most
annoying part of the novel: Bella’s incessant dependence on Edward
and every other man in her life – Jacob, Charlie, Carlisle (Edward’s
“dad”), etc.; she needs Edward to motivate her power several times,
needs Jacob although she already has a man, etc. This element was perhaps
apparent in the other three, but this one just adds salt to the wound.
Lastly, the whole Edward, Bella and Jacob love triangle, which was thought to be a major facet of this horrible novel, is almost nonexistent. Jacob sort of accepts she’s made her choice before the wedding even occurs, and even finds someone new – no, it’s not a good thing, it’s uncalled for; so, the whole “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” hoo-ha was a ploy to get readers to buy this piece of garbage.
In the end, Bella gets her happy ending, with a little drama thrown in; sure it’s nice and heart-warming that Bella gets what she wants, but where was the conflict? The climax? I guess young marriage, dependence on men, insecurity and immaturity is all a girl needs for a happily ever after. Score! Not.
