Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This novel disappoints on several levels. I found the plot to be tedious and forced, the characters to have changed radically from the previous three books in the series, a heavy dose of misogyny in the text, and ultimately, major reversals from the previous trajectory of the series. (Spoilers below) First, the story's plot failed to satisfy me. The most interesting element of the plot to me was the impending appearance of the Volturi and the question about their motivations as the guardians/royalty of the vampire world. This question fizzled out both because Meyer introduced at least twenty new vampires too late in the novel and because once the Volturi appeared, she missed the chance to give the Cullens and their allies the chance to fight for their beliefs (thereby showing their commitment to these beliefs). I also found the characters massively disappointing. Although Bella spends much of the third part thinking about how her personality has remained the same since her change into a vampire, she has lost her two primary characteristics (her clumsiness and cooking for Charlie). I found the scenes between her and her daughter awkward and unconvincing. Edward became very wooden and flat, as did Alice, and Bella's human friends, her parents, and a lot of the Quileute pack disappeared almost entirely. Bella's changes also reinforce the books' inherent misogyny. From the very first book, Bella's only interest is Edward. Even putting aside his paternalistic attitude of "I know what you need and what is best for you better than you do," reflected in both his dialog and his actions (like buying her the armored car), I find it disturbing that she is so centered on him. In the fourth book, as Bella accepts his many gifts (the car, the house, the jewelry) she becomes less interesting as a character. Other disturbing elements of the plot include Rosalie's and Leah's depression about being infertile and Renee's willingness to ignore her own life experiences to encourage her daughter to take the same actions that she later found to be irresponsible and mistakes. While neither choosing to raise a family instead of going to college or having a career nor wanting children are inherently anti-feminist, I thought that the way all these elements worked together in this book created the expectation for the female characters that they only need succeed in the home, rather than fully explore all the options available to them. Finally, this book reverses the messages of the first three books. In Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, it becomes very clear that Bella cannot have it all--she must choose between two types of lives, which comes down to a decision between happiness and security (Jacob) and all-consuming love (Edward). In a series of barely-believable plot twists (which incidentally violate the internal consistency of the world Ms. Meyer has created) Ms. Meyer not only gives Bella everything she wanted (contact with her family, Edward, and Jacob as a platonic best friend) but the thing she didn't even know to request (a daughter). In this sense, Breaking Dawn betrays the story of Eclipse and makes Bella's struggles and difficult choice almost meaningless--she doesn't have to sacrifice anything after all. I would not recommend this book to anyone; it failed to develop the potentially interesting points of conflict and refused to allow any of its characters to face the consequences of their actions (and thus to grow).