Breaking Dawn
is the last and as far as I know, final, installment in the The Twilight Saga
by Stephenie Meyer. I first read Twilight
after purchasing it on the recommendation of a friend at a bookstore and haven’t looked back since. This journey has been a long one (2444 pages to be exact) full of emotional turmoil, reckless bravery, cliffhangers, plot twists that you never see coming, and above all, a life’s path for a young woman destined to live a life we rather envy and yet can’t help but read of with fearful horror at the same time. The beauty of this complete tale isn’t in the prose (though it is good) or the well drawn out plot (also excellent), but rather in this series’ ability to draw the reader into a world full of everyday trials mixed with extraordinary characters and situations that they never expected to find within the pages of a book.
After sinking into an oblivion of Twilight after receiving my copy of Breaking Dawn, I was a little wary of this final book. I had heard the talk and read the reviews that had it not as good as the previous installments and sincerely hoped Stephenie Meyer’s literary acumen hadn’t diminished in this very important last book. As I finally reached it after mentally yelling at Edward for his stupidity in New Moon
(the first time I read it my yelling wasn’t quite so, um, mental), sitting through the angst of Bella’s trials with him and Jacob, and laughing and crying with a series of books that still inspire emotion even after being read and re-read, I was rather delightfully surprised to find that Stephenie Meyer’s literary skill hadn’t changed one iota. Breaking Dawn was different from the others, mostly following Jacob rather then Bella and it took Bella from the realm of a angst ridden teenager into an adult with a terrifying leap, but overall it continued the characters through new trials and tribulations while still having the ability to hit you in the gut at times.
As I finished this series I was left with the impression that I had just witnessed something I had never thought to see, a complete story set in four long books that moved me as much as Romeo and Juliet ever had with a completely new take on the lengths teenagers will go through for love. I don’t want to go into a summary of Breaking Dawn as I’d rather each person read this series without too many surprises given away, but I will say from the very first this series grabbed me and now that it’s over it has earned a place of honor on my shelves and I highly recommend all four books as a timeless tale of love, tragedy, and friendship that is full of highs, lows, and the in-between. With Bella’s and Edward’s chapters closing, Stephenie Meyer has introduced a new and fascinating character with possibilities that could flourish and I sincerely hope she continues the journey with Jacob and, well, you’ll have to read the book to find that one out.
Book Stats:
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover: 768 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (August 2, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031606792X
- ISBN-13: 978-0316067928
To purchase a print copy of Breaking Dawn click here.
To purchase a Kindle copy of Breaking Dawn click here
.
To purchase the complete unabridged set of audio CD’s of Breaking Dawn click here
.
Books in the The Twilight Saga in the order they should be read:
The Twilight Saga Boxed Set
The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
To visit the author’s website go here.
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(14 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Who didn’t yell at Edward in New Moon? However, I strongly disagree that her prose is good. She knows how to get story across but the actual prose could use a lot of work. (Especially her vocabulary.)
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That’s actually what I like about it
Prose, by definition, is straightforward and to the point. Admittedly the vocabulary could be larger, but it’s not hard to conceptualize what’s happening in the book which makes it easier to relate to no matter the reading level 
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This is by far my favorite review of this book. So well written and thought out. Bravo Sarai!
I couldn’t agree with you more about this being an amazingly, beautiful love story that not only has earned a permanent spot in my book collection, but keeps me coming back to read and re-read the books time and again. (Holy, run-on sentence batman!)
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Sarai, I so enjoyed your way of thinking. I too believe that everyone should read Breaking Dawn on their own and form their own opinion. I spent much of my time yelling at Edward……….lol, I think it’s the Mom in me. I don’t think Stephenie could have written it any other way but the way she did. I had read reviews on it before it came out and decided that I needed to just read it for myself and decide, I feel that all the books were written a little different from the others to begin with, they all had a somewhat different feel to them. Thank you for sharing with us how you felt about the book without giving it away and letting all of us decide on our own. Bravo.
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Your review was great because I always hesitate to invest in a series because I’ll always read to the end, even if I’m unhappy with the story. It’s good to know that the story is really worth the time!
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I personally feel that this review is the closest of all the reviews to how I feel. I loved the story as a whole. I think the books work better as one entity instead of 4. I know many feel that Jacob should have walked away after he changed and realized Bella wasn’t to be his lifemate, but seriously how many of us walk away from someone we think we love even if we know its what would be best for us. I applaud Ms. Meyers work and hope to see more from her in the future.
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Love this review, one of the things i liked most is it really made me want to read it …sounds corny but you know you have read a great review when you want to go out and buy the book now!
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Yeah I good review of the book. Breaking Dawn really pulled all the books together for me. I also liked the happily ever after feel that most do not.
I got my copies from the library, so I had to wait for Breaking Dawn. I had heard all the bad talk, but luckily avoided the spoilers. I really enjoyed this book a lot.
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[...] Sarai’s Review [...]
I have to disagree on one point, I believe her writing did change over the course of the books. I think her writing skills improved with each new book. Her characterization stayed true, if that is what the reviewer meant, but as far as her writing skills, I could see an improvement with each book. Of course, that is my opinion. I think her characterization skills is what made these books so popular. She does an excellent job creating characters that we, as readers, can care about.
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Willow: I’m glad you liked it and share my opinion of the books, I was starting to think I was all alone in my thoughts
btw, don’t talk to me about run-on sentences, I am the queen of run-on sentences 
Lynda: I agree with you on the different feels of the various books in the series, each was a little different, but melded well with the others
Cozytailmom: lol, yeah I tend to do that too
It’s one reason I’m such a fan of libraries and swap sites like bookmooch.com that allow you to find books at little or no cost to ‘test the waters’ so to speak 
Breia B: This is definitely a series to be thought of as one entity rather then four, I couldn’t really imagine jumping in at New Moon or Eclipse without reading Twilight first. It would throw the whole thing off for me =/
Tina b: One can only hope that the expectations raised by my review are fulfilled when you read the books
Ginny: Thanks Ginny, I liked that aspect as well
Sierra Wolfe: hmm… I dunno her style was pretty consistent over the series and even though each was slightly different, I really liked that her method in portraying the stories on a whole didn‘t change a ton. The cadence that I enjoyed in Twilight was utterly familiar by the time I reached Breaking Dawn to the point it felt like coming home, cheesy as that is
I agree about her characterization having a great deal to do with the popularity of the books, it was definitely what drew me into the story from the first.
Thanks for your opinions ladies, it’s lovely having fellow readers add more depth to the discussion
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