Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
First line: “I’d had more than my fair share of near-death experiences; it wasn’t something you ever really got used to.”
Stephenie Meyer’s third book in the Bella saga, Eclipse, ended on a high note, questioning the future of the protagonist and her immortal love interest and with the promise that the sappy, “my soul isn’t complete without you” melodrama was at a close. The final installment Breaking Dawn, however, takes that high note, shoves it into a ruffled wedding dress and beats it to death with a high-heeled white shoe.
I excitedly cracked open Breaking Dawn on the day it came out in anticipation of Bella’s heartbreaking decision to choose Edward, the annoyingly perfect vampire, or Jacob, her werewolf best friend who not loved her for her. Instead, the story plunged right into pre-wedding bliss, not a whiff of conflict anywhere. A sickly sweet wedding in chapter three oozes into a shiny, plastic honeymoon on a private island. Continue reading
