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Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $22.99
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Rating:  3788 reviews
Sales Rank: 1
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 768
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 2.5
ISBN: 031606792X
EAN: 9780316067928
ASIN: 031606792X
Publication Date: August 2, 2008
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Amazon.com Review
Great love stories thrive on sacrifice. Throughout The Twilight Saga (Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse), Stephenie Meyer has emulated great love stories--Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights--with the fated, yet perpetually doomed love of Bella (the human girl) and Edward (the vampire who feeds on animals instead of humans). In Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final installment in the series, Bella’s story plays out in some unexpected ways. The ongoing conflicts that made this series so compelling--a human girl in love with a vampire, a werewolf in love with a human girl, the generations-long feud between werewolves and vampires--resolve pretty quickly, apparently so that Meyer could focus on Bella’s latest opportunity for self-sacrifice: giving her life for someone she loves even more than Edward. How close she comes to actually making that sacrifice is questionable, which is a big shift from the earlier books. Even though you knew Bella would make it through somehow, the threats to her life, and to her relationship with Edward, had previously always felt real. It’s as if Meyer was afraid of hurting her characters too much, which is unfortunate, because the pain Bella suffered at losing Edward in New Moon, and the pain Jacob suffered at losing Bella again and again, are the fire and the heart that drive the whole series. Diehard fans will stick with Bella, Edward, and Jacob for as many twists and turns as possible, but after most of the characters get what they want with little sacrifice, some readers may have a harder time caring what happens next. (Ages 12 and up) --Heidi Broadhead
Product Description
When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved? To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs. 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? The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3783 more reviews...
 Stephenie Meyer Imprints on Her Characters (but maybe not her fans...) August 5, 2008
Melissa Miller (Houston, TX USA)
377 out of 455 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed the much awaited 4th book in the Twilight Series. But I wanted to post a review to present why I think the response to this book is so split between disappointment and love.
The major plot points seem to be what's tearing the fan base in two:
Bella and Edward get married
Bella and Edward have a daughter
Bella becomes a vampire
Jacob imprints on Bella and Edward's daughter
#1) Bella and Edward's marriage. For many, the Twilight series is based on passionate, undying, but impossible love. The unlikeliness and the challenge of Bella and Edward's love creates a tension and sense of longing that forms the very core of the first three novels in the series. For the first three books, the inescapability and inevitability of this seemingly impossible love creates and intimacy that's so deliciously tangible that readers can practically taste it. For the first three books the central driving (and intoxicating) question is: Will they ever get to be together?
When Bella and Edward get married, which they do very early on in the 4th book of Meyer's series, for many readers, I expect that this drastically repaints the previous books' tone. A tone that for many, was the point of interest. The longing is gone, the tension is gone, the question is answered: Bella and Edward get to be together. Readers who were looking for the longing and the tension and the tantalizing prospect of impossibility are going to be disappointed.
However, readers who see the series as a description as an evolution of the maturity of love (and I suspect many of these readers will be among the older, married chunk of the Twilight fans) will probably enjoy Bella and Edward's marriage. If Twilight is about falling in love, and New Moon is about losing love, and Eclipse is about choosing love, Breaking Dawn is about committing to and growing that love. Of course, in the 4th book, there are still some unrealistic aspects to Bella and Edward's idealized love: we never see them making any major couple decisions together about money or housing or child-rearing, they still seem to be under the wing of their "parents" Carlisle and Esme, and the insatiability of their desire for one another never seems to fizzle. However, they do seem to develop an awareness that their love for each other is only reinforced by their love of their family--the way the Cullens come together around Bella and Edward and the way their bonds grow deeper as a family is one of the strongest and warmest themes in this 4th book. A theme, again, that perhaps the non-teen Twilighters will thoroughly enjoy.
#2) Bella and Edward have a daughter. I assume that many readers see Bella and Edward's daughter as a plight on their love. I can see that many would think "eeewwww" or "blek--Bella's too young" (Bella's only 18 when she has her baby). And I bet that for many, the baby makes the whole forbidden vampire love way less sexy. A lusty love scene between Momma Bella and Dadda Edward would certainly be a little icky for the younger reader who doesn't want to imagine that parents have the capacity, humanity, desire or equipment to feel impassioned.
But, for the readers (again, probably the older readers) that know and believe that the experience of creating and raising a human being with your partner adds unimaginable layers of depth, understanding, respect, sacrifice, and joy to a relationship--these readers will be very very pleased...maybe even relieved...that Bella and Edward have the opportunity to have a child. To these readers, their love will have reached the apex of its possibilities. To these readers, their love would have seemed shallow and selfish without a child. Again, the resounding theme of the book that's so strong and enjoyable will be family and familial bonds.
#3) Bella becomes a vampire. So much of the fun in the first three books is that Bella is a majorly clumsy, constantly endangered damsel in distress. She's constantly being saved by superhuman, supper hot hunks. They're rescuing her from everything. Every book, Bella's extracted from at least 3 near death experiences. And the whole damsel thing is very very fun for many readers (myself included).
But in the 4th book, aside from Bella's nearly fatal pregnancy, she's not the ultimate victim anymore. And as a newborn vampire, she's even physically stronger than her beau, Edward. For many readers, I bet that undermines Edward's ability to be her hero and dilutes some of his superhuman sexiness. No longer will two hunky supernatural guys be fighting over and perpetually saving the vulnerable, constantly endangered human babe. For others (myself included) this was be a welcome disappearance of Edward's constant upper hand. I really enjoyed that Edward felt unburdened once he no longer had to restrain himself and constantly protect Bella. I also really enjoyed to read how thrilled Edward was that Bella was finally strong. It fortifies their relationship that they're on the same level, and some will like that. But others will very much miss Bella the damsel. For it's Bella's family (again book 4's family theme...) that's threatened by the Volturi in the book, it's no longer just Bella.
#4) Jacob imprints on Bella and Edward's daughter. This will be a letdown for all of those who wanted Jacob and Edward to fight, or who wanted Jacob to sacrifice himself somehow, or who wanted Jacob to keep the Series' rift of impossible love and tension alive by prolonging his fight for Bella.
Yes, it did feel a little "tied up with a bow" for me when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee (Bella and Edward's daughter). But thinking back to previously books, the clues are there. From Book 1 forward, Bella and Jacob constantly describe each other as family and Bella wishes repeatedly in 2 and 3 that Jacob was a family member, not a love interest. By the end of Book 3, even Edward is described as seeing Jacob like a brother. I enjoyed the 4th book's development of Jacob and Edward's unlikely brotherly relationship. Again--Family! Jacob starts becoming part of the Cullens in a really heartwarming, charming way. And the complexity of his friendships with and admiration of Edward and Bella is really compelling.
Finally, I want to add that I was impressed with Meyer's ability to write the book from three points of view: Bella's human perspective, Jacob's perspective, and Bella's vampire perspective. The difference between Bella's human and vampire narration really added a sensory richness and new appreciation for the vampire side of Meyer's world. I think that as Twilight's readers age and start to experience some of what Bella experiences (marriage, children, new families) if they take another look at book 4, they'll have different appreciation for it.
Ultimately, I think Meyer, having magically dreamed her characters and their world, couldn't help but give them everything they wanted and more. She loves them almost as if she's imprinted on them. I think Meyer's imprinted on her fans too and that she desperately wants to give us what we want. But her characters come first. She can't help but spoil them--they are her babies. They are her family. Her adoration of her characters has never been a secret and it's always been evident in her the way her writing caresses them. I think the obviousness of that love is what gives this series so much staying power. I think that the 4th is no exception to that rule: like I said before, right now, Book 4 is more adult than Books 1-3, but I bet that many of the younger Twilighters will grow into this book and love it every bit as much as they love the rest of the series.
Breaking Dawn: an opinion in 10 parts August 3, 2008
N. Beck (Pennsylvania)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
**Spoilers Inside**
I highly anticipated this book (probably most people who have posted reviews did as well). The book brought on several emotions for me which I will break down in detail. I will not recount the entire plot of the novel, only key points to make comments on.
1. The wedding - the wedding was beautiful and I was glad to see that Bella finally saw her human self as being beautiful. It was nice to see Jacob back, but he did ruin the mood once Bella mentioned the honeymoon and that angered me. The wedding and reception were shorter than I would have like it to be, but there were more important story lines to explore.
2. The honeymoon (part 1)- I thought Meyer did a fabulous job of conveying Edward and Bella's intimacy without being smutty. She reinforced the sanctity of marriage before sex which I believe is a fabulous message to young readers.
3. The honeymoon (part 2) - I was livid once I realized that Bella was pregnant; and, honestly, it was obvious that Meyer would go in that direction from all of the foreshadowing in Eclipse and in Bella's nightmares. I was horrified that a. Bella wanted to keep the baby and b. she ran to Rosalie for help. I could not refer to the baby as such, instead I deemed it vampire spawn. I felt that Edward was a blubbering idiot during this section and I wanted to smack both him and Bella and tell them to pull it together.
4. Jacob's section - I was so extremely angry and frustrated with Bella that Jacob's voice was immediately refreshing. His quips between him and Rosalie kept the mood light when everything else was not. I love that he matured in this section and was not the egotistical idiot that I once deemed him to be. I rooted for him as he took charge and took what was rightfully his - his postion as Alpha. I do admit that the imprintation on Renesmee was a complete and utter shock to me. Given the circumstances it is strange, but it also made complete sense. By incorporating the imprinting on Renesmee into the storyline, it opened up the communication between the wolf packs, allowed for peace to finally come between Jacob and Edward, and created a solid alliance between the wolves and the vampires. As for those who believe that this imprintation promotes pedophilia, I believe that they are misunderstanding the delicate balance and nature of the situation. Yes, Renesmee is just a baby, but no, Jacob is not thinking of her in a romantic or sexual nature. Jacob is first and foremost a guardian and a soulmate. He is not rushing her to grow up, but encouraging her to enjoy her childhood. Jacob will remain a teenager until he decides to give up his shape-shifting ways. Renesmee will become a full grown adult in just seven years and then they can live their happily ever after. For now, he is more a body guard and friend than a lover.
5. Bella- Not exactly the transformation she had in mind, but her tranformation took place because it needed to and not only because she wanted it. It was nice to Bella finally believe in herself and not rely on others. I really felt that Nessie and Bella's relationship was not as close of a bond as it should be. I also felt that Edward seemed somewhat detached from Nessie, and not very fatherly. I was relieved that she did not have to hide from Charlie and that he was somewhat in on their secret life, but I couldn't help but think - what about Renee? She is barely mentioned beyond the wedding. Poor Renee. I was, however, extremely excited to finally see Bella hold her own and become a stronger character once she transformed. I thought her power was amazing and for once she was the one who saved the day.
6. Renesmee - What an awful name. I get that it's a combination of Renee and Esme, but it's still hideous. I hope that fans do not become inspired to name their daughters after her. I did not want Nessie (a name even worse than Renesmee) to be born. I thought she would be an evil spawn that would destroy the characters I have known and loved. Once she was introduced, I, like the characters in the book, melted. How could you not love her? Yes, the Jacob imprinting was weird, but it gave Jacob a purpose in life and created an improved alliance with the Cullens and a reconciliation with his own pack. She was the key to pulling together the vampire clans to prevent the destructions of the Cullens. I really would like to learn more about her character and to see her grow...a Meyer spin-off perhaps?
7. Alice's role- I was aggravated that Alice did not have a voice throughout most of this book. I enjoy Alice's character and thought that she really did not have much purpose in this novel. I was extremely angry when she and Jasper left, but I had a feeling they would be back. Alice quickly redeemed herself in the final chapters, but I still hold a slight grudge.
8. The vampire clans - It was extremely interesting to meet the characters that had been mentioned previously but not introduced. With their help, Bella was able to become the strongest weapon in the group - for the first time. I thought the scene with the Volturi would have turned more violent and found myself somewhat disappointed that it did not turn into a showdown, but I was happy with the end result.
9. The happily ever after - Yes, this story had a happy ending. Did anyone remember that Stephenie Meyer's favorite author is Jane Austen? Austen was also a firm believer in her characters getting whatever they desired. Meyer's ending was no different. The characters had conflict in all the books, but it was resolved. Any conflict, no matter how large it may seem can be resolved. Yes, everything worked out conveniently well and there is no longer discord. The overwhelming theme was not that you do not have to make choices in life because everything will work out for the best, but rather, love does conquer all. It is a universal theme - with love anything can be and is possible - isn't that a lesson we can all agree on? Instead of a bloody war torn ending, there was a peaceful resolution - we can only dream of this happening more in real life. Yes, everything worked out for our beloved characters. What else was to be expected? This was a fantasy, no, I'm wrong - this was a FAIRY TALE! How could a reader not expect all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together when all along it seemed like a fairy tale - the knight in shining armor, the damsel in distress, the evil Volturi...(Meyer makes several allusions to literary fairy tales). Readers need to remember that this is not a work of nonfiction. It is not a work of realistic fiction. It is a fairy tale and everyone got their happily ever after.
10. I am going to miss these books and these characters. May they live forever on library shelfs and in the minds of their truly devoted fans. Bring on Midnight Sun!
Relax and Enjoy the Fairy Tale August 3, 2008
navyblue (USA)
1159 out of 1540 found this review helpful
Reading all these one star reviews is totally killing my post Breaking Dawn buzz, y'all.
--Please note: this review contains spoilers, as most of the reviews here do.
Bella's happily ever after is heart warming and tidy just like any other fairy tale you might enjoy from childhood, though with quite a bit more blood and (tastefully described married) sex. Many of these one star reviews criticize the happy ending, the early marriage, and motherhood in place of a college education, among various other complaints. I'm suspecting these reviewers would be much happier with an independent Bella who marches off in her human form to get a Masters degree in Psychology before marrying Edward. Or heck, not marrying Edward at all, and eschewing the idea of something so base and demeaning as becoming a wife or parent. Though perhaps it's more the youth of the heroine that causes their lament.
I however, like happy endings and am thrilled she gets to be a mother. Yes, GETS to be a mother. Many people I spoke to who were in "Camp Jacob" expressed their reason: "Because she could have a family with Jacob". Well surprise, she had a family with Edward.
Yes, Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter, but because imprinting on babies/children had previously been introduced in the series, I didn't find this at all unsettling. All this shouting about pedophilia is a little... intense for what really happens. Jacob makes it clear that it isn't a sexual thing at all while the object the affection is still so young. Jacob imprinting on "Nessie" means they all stay a family, which is what Bella wanted all along.
Which brings me to another common complaint: Bella gets everything. Goodness! After fighting for it, tooth and nail, yes, she does. Isn't that what makes most of us smile at the end of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?
Some have suggested that having Jacob imprint on someone else would allow Bella to make a sacrifice by finally fully letting him go as well as remove that feeling some reviewers have that she gets everything. I do see this point, and perhaps this happening would have made it a more critically acclaimed book, but as I was reading the story, I was fully involved in watching Bella's story unfold and these things did not negate my enjoyment of the book.
As for the complaint that Bella should have gone to college first -- good grief, does she not have the rest of eternity to obtain as many degrees as she wants? This isn't real life, folks.
For those worried about the impact this book may have on impressionable young teen fans, if you're allowing them to read the books at all (I know some parents aren't), why don't you read the book along with them and talk about the real life application of Bella's choices? Sounds like a great excuse for some good conversation.
One complaint I completely agree with, Bella names her daughter Renesmee, which is hard to read, hard to pronounce, and impossible to spell. I'm amazed that made it past the editors.
Critics argue that you can't shout "But it's fantasy" to cover gaping plot holes. Perhaps to a more critical, serious eye, plot holes exist and are bothersome. But I truly was lost in Bella's story and as I read, very little jumped out as completely unreal or impossible to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and consider this rating a 4.5 stars.
Stephenie Meyer has been able to create characters that feel intensely real. I was able to lose myself in the story through all four books. While the first in the series remains my favorite, the characters remained almost tangible people that I cared about and rooted for throughout.
Stephenie admitted herself that pleasing all of her fans would be impossible, but insisted that this was the story she wanted to write all along. I've been a happy voyeur for the ride, and remain a happy fan.
Why do people bash books with happy endings? August 3, 2008
Pheebers (Massachusetts)
159 out of 214 found this review helpful
It's true this book wraps up loose endings, but I can't imagine why so many people think that's a bad thing. It's done over the course of the entire book, not in the last chapter. I laughed, I cried with happiness. I read things I'd predicted and many I hadn't. And then, at the end, I sighed in contentment.
The Twilight-reading world would be screaming if we hadn't had details of the wedding, honeymoon, transformation, and Jake's resolution. We got to see the Denali clan, the Volturi make a nicely threating appearance, and everyone gets a happily ever after. Is that so bad?
As a society we are programmed from middle school to consider anything with a tragic ending "literature" and anything with a happy ending a trite fairy tale. I LIKE reading books with happy endings. Sometimes I'm in the mood to read Doctor Zhivago, but I also appreciate well-written books that don't end tragically. That's Breaking Dawn.
Reviewers are complaining that Stephenie Meyer is encouraging marriage at 18. Hello? She spent a great deal of time explaining that, to most people, early marriage is ewwwwwww. She also spent three books leading up to the circumstances that led to the marriage. Bella and Edward are not typical. Unlike most 18-year-olds, money is not an issue. They intended for Bella to continue her education (even if it were going to be delayed) and there was no expectation of pregnancy. I think it was a POSITIVE message, well argued on both sides.
Also, why do people say it's anti-feminist for Bella to choose to keep her baby? Feminism is about allowing choice and not judging the mother. We were shown both sides -- Bella's unconditional love for her unborn baby, even at the risk of her own life -- and Edward's anguish and desperation at the thought of it killing her. If anything, Bella is more assertive in this book than in any of the others. Edward's always been possessive and protective. Remember him not allowing her to do things, like seeing her friends at La Push or even just being alone? He did it for love and because he was protecting her, but no one could say it was feminist.
I highly recommend this book. It's meaty, satisfying, and well-written.
Saved the Best for Last! (No Spoilers) August 6, 2008
Brandon Witt--redbirdboy (Denver, Co United States)
155 out of 212 found this review helpful
I don't remember the last time I have felt so passionate and angry about a novel. I enjoyed Twilight, I liked New Moon, I loved Eclipse, and now I am completely infatuated with Breaking Dawn. Each one got better and better.
It will be hard to give complete specifics of what I loved about Breaking Dawn without using spoilers, but I will do my best, without ruining the details for someone who has yet to read the book.
I was one of the ones waiting in line at midnight with a bunch a preteen girls in prom dresses. It would take a lot for a book to be worth that experience. Before I started reading it the next morning, I hopped on Amazon to see the soaring ratings of five stars and was shocked when the vast majority of what I saw was one and two stars. I didn't read any of them at that point so I wouldn't ruin the book's surprises, but I went into it afraid that I would hate it too. At first I thought I was going to, I thought I saw where Meyers was taking it and I kept pleading with her to not go there. She did. And, she pulled it off beautifully. What easily could have been cheesy and contrived kept me in awe page after page and made me fall more and more in love with characters that were already dear to me. The aspects of Bella and Edward's personalities that I always found flat and dormant, I saw grow and mature in this final installment. Ever since I finished the book, I have been sad, simply because I miss it. I want to still be lost in Bella, Edward, and Jacob's world. I am going to re-read all of them immediately, something I didn't plan on doing.
The complaints I have read on here, I find laughable. The book was too long. It was too happy. It has bad morals. It is weird. It grosses me out. It is contrived, blah, blah, blah. We have spent three books with very little else but angst and stress and tears. It is not a betrayal of the series that the characters don't all slit their wrists at the end. Plus, this book was filled with stressors and tears. And giving a book low rating because you don't like a new character's name is insulting to everyone's intelligence. As for bad morals and a bad message for teenage girls. Get a grip. We are talking about vampires and werewolves, lighten up! If that was your concern, you should have been worried from the beginning about all these lemur-like girls who you believe have no minds their own. They should have been out trying to drink their neighbors' blood years ago! I am teacher, an I can attest that I have seen more girls involved in reading and dreams of writing as a career thanks to Stephanie Meyer's books and her constant encouragement through interviews than any other motivator.
I wish I had another seven hundred pages to read. Every question I had been dying to know since the very first book was answered, some in ways that I guessed and some that completely shocked me. Having your series wrapped up in a completed way is not a sign of poor or safe writing. When done well, as here, it shows the amount of thought, planning, and detail that was given to these beloved novels.
I hope that Meyers can take the low stars as a compliment. Anything done well, anything that takes risks, and anything that makes people uncomfortable enough to think is something that has immense value, and it is always controversial and condemned.
Amazing work, Mrs. Meyers! Thank you for the awesome ride and adding gleaming gems to my library and irreplaceable characters to my heart!
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