Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, Take 2

Yes, I've read it again already. No, I'm not ashamed of that fact because I liked it even more the second time. Two days after the book came out I went on Amazon to see what kind of reviews it had gotten. It was at 3 stars with over 1,500 comments. I read through a bunch of the 1-star reviews and have to say that I think those readers were probably a little too hasty in their review of the book and were reacting harshly to certain directions the book wound up taking. Perhaps they should read it again and see if they feel as strongly the second time. Here are my complaints with some of their complaints:

(**SPOILER ALERT**)

"Bella didn't have to sacrifice anything. She got everything."
Bella might not have had to sacrifice anything in the end but she was willing to and I think that's the most important part. She knew what she was going to have to give up and she was prepared to do that so who can fault her when things work out better than she'd expected?

"The pregnancy."
The pregnancy came out of nowhere which is why I think so many people were upset. I love that Bella got to be a mom and wound up not missing out on any human experience before becoming a vampire, not to mention how great for Edward!

"Too 'happily ever after'."
What's wrong with happily ever after? In the world we live in I think it's okay that every now and then a story ends happily ever after. I don't think it gives girls the wrong idea about the world or makes them less able to deal with the real world when a story ends that way. I would not have enjoyed Cinderella's story nearly as much if she had danced with the handsome prince and then gone right back to scrubbing floors for the rest of her life!

"Stephenie Meyer had the opportunity to send a powerful message with this book and she didn't."
I beg to differ. I think Stephenie Meyer did send a powerful message in this book, maybe even more than one but her message(s) perhaps went against the grain somewhat. Having said that, I feel bad for any young girl who relies on a book about vampires for her most meaningful life lessons. That's putting a little too much pressure on Stephenie Meyer I think. I don't know about you but I got my "powerful messages" from my parents and from my religion.

"Bella's so different in this book. It's like it was written by somebody else."
Bella is different in this book. She's more mature. She's more focused. Anyone who's been pregnant and had a baby can tell you how that changes you and how you would do anything for your son or daughter.

"How did the name 'Renesmee' ever get past the editors?"
Hmmm...seems to me that there are plenty of crazy names out there that aren't even combinations of family names!

"Jacob imprinting on Bella's baby is just wrong."
This was the one part of the book that I thought was a little too convenient but in the end I was glad that Jacob got his happily ever after too. I loved the twist this book took with Jacob and Edward's relationship.

I do have to give one criticism and this is it: I thought Bella getting fake I.D.s for Jacob and Renesmee so that they could make a run for it was a little out there. I know that Alice couldn't see clearly but I didn't really think that this part flowed with the rest of the story.

My parting thought: I am glad that so many people can feel so passionate about a book and that the Twilight saga has so many people reading. I felt the same way when Harry Potter came out. I think that some fans of these books are way too young. They are, after all, for young adults which to me implies 17 and up. I would never let my almost-9-year old daughter read these books even though she tells me over and over that she's a "very young adult" and I am shocked that girls her age are reading them. There are elements and themes in these books that require a certain maturity which young readers just don't have.