Friday, March 6, 2009

Twilight Series-Eclipse & Breaking Dawn

In a previous post, I had just finished Twilight and New Moon. Loved Twilight, disappointed with New Moon. Like I said, the relationship between Bella and Edward was no where to be found in New Moon. So it was with some trepidation that I began Eclipse. Eclipse turned out to be an easy read. This time Edward and Bella are reunited and the story takes us back to Forks, WA, where the story began. Where New Moon laid the foundation to introduce us to Jacob and his pack and the story behind his supernatural being, Eclipse served to intensify the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob. Eclipse did not answer those age old questions every girl asks herself. Can a girl be happy married to a werewolf or does a girl who marries a vampire need to become one herself? Yeah, you know the everyday humdrum stuff. Eclipse escalates into a very climatic ending and transitions itself very smoothly into it's concluding book Breaking Dawn. Yes kids, this is the book you are chomping at the bit to get to although I don't think it is entirely appropriate for tweeners to be reading? I think it is safe to say one can skip New Moon and Eclipse and just head for Breaking Dawn. My daughter was in such a quandary. Mom should I skip New Moon and read Eclipse? Should I, should I? She couldn't make up her mind, then when I told her, yes skip New Moon you can always read it later, you know what she decided? You guessed it, to read it! Kids! It's always the opposite of what you tell them to do! Without giving much of the plot away, Bella and Edward take a "vacation" where it is there something drastic happens to Bella which puts her on the course to her future. It is this first 1/3 of the book which is questionable whether my daughter should be reading this stuff. Let's just say, there is copious amounts of blood and gore. Thankfully, Meyer left out all that explicit sex stuff, it is only hinted at (maybe with tweeners in mind). I really didn't think Breaking Dawn would take this path. The story takes another route totally unexpected. In this last book we are introduced to a variety of other vampires with special supernatural powers. This modern day story is a mixture of Spanish Inquisition and Roman spectacle, of good versus evil. This is not your typical vampire story, not your Salem's Lot, now there's a scary book. Vampires in our day were souless, scary monsters best left to be destroyed with a stake through the heart, which really begs the question why through the heart when if they are the undead then they really don't have hearts. In this series, these vampires don't have beating hearts yet are capable of showing compassion and love. So in the end, can Bella, the clumsy ordinarily pretty girl find love and live happily ever after? Well, as I tell my daughter, you'll just have to read it for yourself or wait for the movie. Now the question for me is what to read next?-Single D

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am almost through with Breaking Dawn. Would have been through with the whole series by now if they had left out the first half of New Moon and the whole pregnancy thing, but hey, it is written for a younger audience, right?
Since you're on a "tween" kick, try Harry Potter. Like it or not, at least you'll know what all the hubbub is about. Personally, I'm re-reading the first 3 Dark Tower books, then finishing the rest now that I have all 7 together. Stephen King is a far cry from Stephenie Meyer and definitely geared for us "older" folk.
C

Donna said...

I love, love, love Stephen King, his earlier works, but kinda lost interest right around Dolores Clairborne. How's the Dark Tower series? Does it live up to his earlier writings? -Single D

Anonymous said...

Being a Stephen King fan, you should probably at least try the Dark Tower series. Double D has probably read them all (and may have them for you to borrow). It is not like any of his other books, whether Dolores Claiborne or The Stand (my personal all time favorite). Would have read them all by now, but since they are a work that was 20+ years in the making, I kind of got stuck in the middle and got tired of waiting for the next one, especially when I heard they might never be finished. Just don't set your mind for classic King and then jump right in. The good thing is the first one can stand alone if you're not impressed.

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone talking about Stephen King?! Geez OMG wuts up peeps ha ha ha!! I'm reading The series of Twilight too! I'm a slow reader so I'm on New Moon so that sucks! I think New Moon is ok but it goes back and forth. It's exciting then it's boring and thats no fun! :-(

Donna said...

ok, that's my precious daughter (Doxielover1105)!-Single D