Shortly after midnight on Aug. 2 at the Barnes and Noble on Val Vista and Baseline, women and girls of all ages were screaming, yelling and cheering for the release of the final Twilight book, Breaking Dawn.
After finishing Stephenie Meyer’s finale to the Twilight series, it’s easy to see why so many fans were cheering.
From the very beginning of the novel, Meyer brings the reader back into the tangled lives of Bella and Edward, the two lovers from Meyer’s first novels who have always faced challenges as a human/vampire couple.
It’s finally their wedding and Bella must now face the idea of leaving her mortal family and friends behind for immortality. However, certain unprecedented events occur that leave Bella and Edward on edge at the beginning of their marriage and lead them to fight for their lives.
The novel starts with Bella’s point of view and then halfway through changes to Jacob’s — Bella’s best friend and werewolf. The two viewpoints give the novel a change of scenery but some fans may be disappointed that Edward never gets a chance to narrate his side of the story.
The change of viewpoints also leads to several plot changes. Meyer includes various sub-plots in the novel, which can be a bit much for the reader to take in all at once. Towards the end, though, all the plots seem to come together.
Meyer also continues to try for the reader’s empathy, like in her past novels, and it will leave the reader on edge as they wait to see how the characters will get through in the end.
Breaking Dawn is packed full of surprises, nail-biting situations and, of course, intense love between Bella and Edward. Meyer could have ended the novel in many different ways, but her ending will leave fans with a sense of closure and continued admiration for her style of writing.
Reach the reporter at theresa.dillon@asu.edu.
