The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 1/2 stars, actually.

This was a short, fun little glimpse inside the world of the "non-vegetarian" vampire newborns who fought the Cullen clan in the main series. It made me want to go back and re-read Eclipse.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways



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Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely devoured this book. It's 756 pages long, and I read it in two days, despite having many other things to do that weekend that prevented me from focusing all my attention on the book. I really wanted to focus all my attention on the book.

Breaking Dawn is the fourth novel in the Twilight series, and--not to give anything away--does a pretty good job of wrapping up the story lines. It's a real page-turner, obviously, since this series is perfect for people who want to read "a good story." In reader's advisory terms, "story" is the primary doorway, and "character" is a close second. I especially enjoyed the sections from Jacob's point of view.

There isn't much else I can say without spilling the beans, so I'll stop here.

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Eclipse

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars, actually--if the characters had figured out what was going on as soon as I did, I might have given the book 4 stars. (That would have dramatically shortened the novel, though.) It was still a compelling, fast read, despite my impatience.

One thing that puzzled me, however, was why in the world nobody saw the parallels between Sam & Emily's "imprinting" and Bella & Edward's connection. Unless I'm missing something, it seems to me to be the exact same type of thing. ...Which means that Jacob should fully recognize and accept the implications. The fact that he didn't makes me wonder if Stephenie Meyer realized that it would necessitate a major re-write of the end of the book, and she was unable or unwilling to do that? Maybe she knew teen fans love angst and didn't want to deprive them of so much of it?


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New Moon

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

Whew! I finished it! Now on to the next one...

New Moon wasn't quite as good as Twilight, largely because I got irritated with Bella for ever believing Edward didn't love her and for not figuring out MUCH sooner what was going on with Jacob. But it was still an engrossing, fast-paced, couldn't-put-it-down read. Obviously the second in a series, since the end of the book left so many things unfinished.

I think my most favorite part of the novel was the way Stephenie Meyer showed the passage of time in the months after the Cullens left. I really felt and understood Bella's pain, even as I disagreed with her logic and actions.

Bring on Eclipse!


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Twilight

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I never thought I'd see the day when I would love a vampire novel. Frankly, I never thought I'd ever even read one, since I'm not a fan of scary things. But there was so much buzz over Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, and it's being made into a movie, so I felt like I really should read it and know what the teenagers were raving about. Plus it arrived on the Holds shelf right on time for my book group's books-that-have-been-made-into-movies theme this month.

I absolutely loved this book because, first of all, it's not scary (tense at the climax near the end, but not "scary"). It's actually a pretty funny story of a teenager, Bella, from Phoenix who moves to Forks, WA, to live with her dad and ends up falling in love with a vampire, Edward. Edward & his family live in Forks because it's hardly ever sunny there, so their skin doesn't glitter and give them away. The Cullen family are "good" vampires because they choose not to feed on humans.

I could keep talking about this book for a very long time, but I'd just end up giving too much away, so I'll merely encourage you all to read it for yourselves.

If you're recommending it for someone else, know that although Meyer depicts teenagers pretty accurately, she doesn't include swearing, and the closest she gets to including sex is some kissing & petting.


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