Thoughts on Breaking Dawn

So, after much anticipation and gnawing of teeth about waiting for my pre-ordered Amazon copy to come in the mail, I finally finished Breaking Dawn. Like millions of others out there, I was/am completely obsessed with the Twilight series. I've read the first three books numerous times, and although I have problems with the dependence Bella seems to have on Edward and Jacob, I got past it. I still remember the power of first loves, and the loves that take hold after a broken heart. I am not so far past my high school years to not understand that pull.

However...however, Breaking Dawn goes beyond what is necessary in terms of the ideals Ms. Meyer puts on relationships and individualism. Bella, although the "girl next door," clumsy, not the most popular, not able to fit in (please--who does in high school?). Not only does Bella not find herself, but even after being married to Edward, having sex with Edward, and having a baby (what? Who the hell saw that coming?), she's still not satisfied. She continues to need Jacob, someone who lied to her, forced himself on her, and who continues to give her ultimatum after ultimatum.

Sure, I figured Bella would become a vampire, but I was really hoping Stephenie Meyer was going to be able to find a way to keep Bella human. I mean, everyone has character flaws--it's what makes us loveable, and it's what keeps life interesting. Perfect people can only be interesting for so long, and Edward had struggled for three books to keep her human. Why does she feel the need to cave in now?

As a writer, I have been told time and time again not to take the "easy" way out. Unfortunately, I feel (and from the fandom, it seems a lot of other people do, too) that Mrs. Meyer did just that. She had so many people (fans, publishers, editors, promotional gurus) to please that she forgot her cardinal rule of writing for herself. If she could have pulled back and looked at the story without the buzz of the publishing world in her ears, maybe she would have heard the ring of falseness coming from her anuscript.

Where's the struggle? Where's the point where someone has to sacrifice something in order to get what they want? Bella's wishes are served up on a silver platter--Edward, sex, baby (still can't get over that), Jacob, Cullens, not having to deal with the Italian vamps again. There is absolutely no struggle at all. She even gets to keep Charlie, one of the determining factors that held her human for so long.

I cannot get over the feeling of letdown I have from reading this book. I was hoping for some struggle, some major life change, but everyone seemed to get what they want without much struggle. There wasn't even any death at all. I thought certainly as I read about the Volturi that someone I had grown to care about in Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse was going to have to suffer. Like Bella constantly thinks, no one can be that happy. There has to be some balance to her life, and the way Mrs. Meyer serves it up, there is no balance. There is no struggle, no disappointment. I think Mrs. Meyer would have done better to leave it at the trilogy it shone best as.

All is well in the land of Forks. Unfortunately, it doesn't sit well with me as a reader or a writer.