A Few Interwoven Ideas

I am going to go ahead and write this blog now while I watch Florida play Hawaii. I will try not to get too distracted because I have been wanting to write this for a while. Also, since I am back in school I have been piled with work already so I will not have much time for anything but school for, well, a good long while. So with no further adeu here are my review of Breaking Dawn, my responce to all of the absolutly horrible reviews/ returning/ book burning etc. of Breaking Dawn, My thoughts on the "on hold indefinitely", Midnight Sun, and a few thoughts on the Twilight saga in general. Yeah, I really just want to get this all out, leave it at that a stop subjecting myself to all of the downers on the internet about the saga. >>>> Punt return for a touch down ...Brandon James CHEER!!! Fight Song!!!>>>>>

Ok back to business.

First off here is my initial response to Breaking Dawn, written just after I read it. I would like to add a little to it so what you see in Bold will be new thoughts that I have had and the italics are the thoughts that I jotted after just reading.

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I absolutely loved Breaking Dawn! I was so glad to see the characters grow and change. I have to admit that I was a little worried for the last book that the story line would get stagnant and that it might just be more of the same with a new reason why Bella could not be changed, why Bella and Edward could not be together, more high school more brooding, or something. I am absolutely impressed with how this last book turned out though. Not only did Bella and Edward's love grow stronger for each other (who could not wish this for them especially after they got married) but they learned how to love another in a completely new way when they became parents. As if they did not already have a good enough reason to enjoy eternity. For me, the introduction of Reneesme, like the inclusion of Jake in New Moon added a new level of interest.



When I realized that part of the book was from Jacob's perspective I thought that that specific part would not be as interesting to me. However I was left wanting more. The perspective was so different, so witty and so much more engrossing than I would have ever guessed. I have to admit that when he imprinted on Nessie and that all came together I felt pretty warm and fuzzy inside. When I got the Team Edward Team Jacob iron-ons in Eclipse I was kind of baffled. Since I read the books all this summer I was not cued in to the overwhelming fandom of the books it was not until I went looking for the date for Breaking Dawn that I found all of the discussion forums RPGs etc. But the iron ons baffled me then. Before that, even in New Moon, I never really thought that Bella giving up Edward for Jake was an option. I loved Jake as a character but really there was absolutely no way I could see Bella and Jake together. Even if Edward died I felt like it was clear that Bella would die as well. Why then would I choose a team? I loved both characters, I wanted both to be happy.

I loved that Bella became a mother, like so many other things she would have never known how much it would mean to her until it actually happened. The scene when she was holding Nessie's hand to her face to watch her dreams melted my heart. It was a beautiful depiction of this new love that Bella was experiencing. Again, not being particularly interested in the fan RP make believe world even though I read that Stephanie Meyer said Vampires could not get pregnant I did not fell mislead or tricked when Bella got pregnant. I felt like if SM had said that it was possible, when asked well that would be all but giving away what was happening in the new book. I was happy to be surprised.

The wedding and the honeymoon certainly did not disappoint either. The "sex scenes" were tastefully done and I am sure that my imagination can fill in the gaps. The wedding was great and I am glad that Bella was able to really be happy (for most of it at least). I loved the scene when Bella saw her self in the reflection of the glass wall. I believe that she was finally able to see herself "clearly" and how beautiful she was because she was finally confident with Edward. It was not only Alice's ability with hair and make-up that allowed this to happen I really think that this was a depiction of change taking hold in Bella's personality.


Edward even grew in this story. It was so great to see the joy he felt when he was finally able to stop worrying all the time. In this way, as he grew he also became more childlike and carefree. I also think that he proved that he was the one who loved Bella the most and was who she was meant to be with as he fought, all alone, to save her life after Renesme's birth.

One thing that I liked as well was seeing Bella become a vampire. I think that it was so easy for her because it was always meant to be. For me this saga was a lot like a fairy tail, and as such there are things that are just written in the stars, maybe inexplicable. Bella's gift finally made her as strong as she had always wished to be, the way she wanted to be not because she craved power, but because she wanted to protect those she loved. Another aspect that I liked about her change was how she too became a little more child like. Her enthusiasm for her new strength, grace and power finally gave her that carefree perspective that she lacked as a human. She had been an adult with adult worries most of her life even though she was in reality just a child. I believe that the new childlike perspective gave he an opportunity for a more full eternity.

I have noticed that a lot of younger people felt that they could not connect to this story as well as the rest. It is my hope that they will give it another chance when they get a little older. (Note I am not meaning this to sound condescending or rude, I am not meaning it at all as a hit on any one's intelligence, taste, etc.) I just know that for me (24 and married) this did seem like a logical and fascinating step for the series (and a brave one at that). I hope that other fans will be able to appreciate it more when they feel that they can connect to it better.


There is so much more that I liked about the book. I am really glad that I happened to read this series (just read Twilight for the first time about two months ago). This has become one of my absolute favorite series. I will have to read The Host and keep an eye out for new books by SM in the future.


Last but not least, as a resident of Title Town, Florida I could not help but smile when I read "Go Gators!" Hey maybe they could have cast Tebow as Emmett when they make Breaking Dawn the movie (Just Kidding). Anyway, Go Gators! Go Twilight! Good Going Stephanie Meyer!
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So, I wrote my review was happy with the book and then, since I like to talk about books I looked around at other reviews. I have to say I was surprised that so many people hated Breaking Dawn. Initially I thought that it was just the fact that themes such as parental love and how the introduction of a child can change everything, even for a vampire, were just not interesting to a portion of the fans. But then as a read there were more complaints, no conflict, where was the fight with the Volturi, Why was it so easy for Bella to change, Why were we mislead by SM about the Vampires having kids thing, Why wasn't there more Edward, SM wrote herself into a corner and none of this was planned, The end was resolved by a deus ex machina.

All of this made me really angry at first. And then it made me think of all of the great, and popular, fantasy books and movies that would deserve at least as much criticism. A good example is the Star Wars saga. Let me make myself clear I love Star Wars. Return of the Jedi was a movie that I watched at least once a month for years. At probably 10 years old I could repeat it word for word. It was an exciting Sci-Fi fantasy. However, if I really wanted to pick it apart I could site that Ben Kinobi who died in the previous movie gets to come back, conveniently, as a jedi ghost to give Luke wisdom, Luke in a moment of clarity realizes that the girl he has been after, who incidentally he kissed in the first movie, is really his twin sister (freeing her up for Han), and in the destruction of the Death Star the only people who die - extra's, bad guys, (construction workers if you have watched Clerks) and the Villain turned Hero, soon to be Jedi ghost, Darth Vader/ Anikin Skywalker. And that is not even delving into the holes and inconsistencies between the prequels and the original movies, or Lucas' revisions in the DVD versions of the original.

So I guess what I am getting at is that I am not hanging the Twilight Saga or Breaking Dawn specifically out to dry for the same reasons that I have not done that for Star Wars. I guess part of it is that I have taken both as what I believe they are, entertainment, an escape from reality. There are times when I look for deeper meaning in literature and movies. If that is what you are looking for read Their Eyes Were Watching God , Hamlet,The Time Machine just to name a varied few. Watch a movie like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

The Twilight saga, I believe, is a well written engrossing fantasy and thus far, even when I have seen here and there a good criticism of it, I still think it is a good read. Additionally, as a future teacher, I have to say that it is pretty impressive in it's ability to turn almost any woman into a reader. I have personally seen more than one of my peers who HATE reading devour these books. That in my perspective makes it even better.

Finally, I guess a few days ago the first 250 pages or so of Midnight Sun were leaked. Now Stephanie Meyer says that she has put completing the book on hold indefinitely. Read more here. I really feel like this has all gotten out of hand. Combined with the returns and petitions about Breaking Dawn I really feel like people are out of control. I think that there are a lot of people out there that have forgotten that Stephanie Meyer is a person with feelings. I think that as with many things, the ability to share hate anonymously over the Internet has allowed people to treat her in a way that no one would ever dream of before the Internet age or in a face to face meeting with her. This is particularly sad for people like me who would really like to interact with people from varying views and different backgrounds on an adult level. That is partially why I started this blog. Through this vehicle maybe I will be able to find a few people who can enjoy Twilight and a world of other things with out the vicious faceless Internet world involved.