bookpiggy.com - book reviews by a book lover

Breaking Dawn - your friendly vampire family

Firstly, I have a confession to make. I’ve been a bit behind the times when it comes to the Stephenie Meyer series that nearly everyone else in the rest of the world knows about, and had not read any of the other books in the series prior to Breaking Dawn. In fact, the only reason that I picked up this book was because of the bombardment of advertising for it’s release that has been present in every bookstore I’ve entered for the last several months. So I succumbed to the powers that be and handed over my credit card in exchange for 754 pages about vampires. Frankly, I was pretty sure that the book was going to be ‘too young’ for me, and I even wondered if I would be able to finish the entire thing.

Luckily, it sucked me in. (hahahahaha, I’m so funny)

I began the book with mild confusion as Meyer was introducing character after character that was all new to me, but I quickly caught up to the gist of the main story. Although I’m sure some parts would have had a bit more meaning if you have read the earlier books, don’t worry about it if this is your first one too, it really didn’t take away from enjoying the book. The heroine of our story is Bella, an eighteen-year-old human who at some point earlier in the saga somehow met and fell in love with Edward, a vampire. When she pledges to marry Edward, she is also committing to become a vampire herself, rendering her immortal and incredibly powerful like all other vampires, and necessitating a diet of blood. Initially after the wedding, she plans to delay her transition to a vampire until after she takes a few courses at the local college while she is still able to be seen in public. (Newborn vampires are notoriously bloodthirsty and generally uncontrollable, so she’ll have to stay away from humans once she turns vampire.) However, while on her honeymoon with Edward, oopsie daisie, Bella got pregnant. This twist in the story wouldn’t really be that exciting, except for the fact that it is extremely rare for a human to carry a half-vampire baby, and all previous mothers unfortunate enough to go through that experience have died in childbirth as the vampire baby claws its way out of the mother. icky.

I won’t tell you how it happens, but the baby survives along with her mom, and along the way we meet all of Edward’s vampire family that have become Bella’s new family, each with their own unique powers. Another key character is Bella’s best friend from her human days, who happens to be a werewolf, and becomes intimately connected to this new family. Apart from this vampire group, there are numerous other vampires roaming the earth who feel threatened by Bella and Edward’s new child, and eventually the book climaxes with a battle between good and evil.

Hopefully it doesn’t sound too hokey summarized like this, because although the story was very much make-believe, it was a bit like Harry Potter in that it really drew me into the fabric of the story despite being fantasy. This book is a great read for bookpiggys of all ages.

4 out of 5 piggy snorts.