Book Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

After the Twilight hype, the books were recommended to me by a good friend. I read the first one and for the most part I enjoyed it (you can read my review here). I was bored by book 2, titled New Moon (review). I liked book 3, Eclipse (review) a lot more than New Moon – it had more action and less of the whiny Bella of book 2.

Breaking Dawn – the fourth and supposedly final book in the series – goes off the rails. It’s far more adult than the Teen Literature tag would lead you to believe, and it gets weird in the most uncomfortable ways. However, it was like a bad American Idol audition – I just couldn’t bring myself to look away. I had to know how it all ended. Where the first book was tolerable, the second was boring, and the third was mediocre, the fourth was painful. It just got too weird, especially for a “young adult” novel. The plot was ridiculous and became more ridiculous as it went along. The climax of the story was a complete letdown. I don’t even want to start talking about the awful “romantic” side of the storyline.

I set out to read the Twilight series because it was recommended by a friend, and some (misguided) critics were calling it the next Harry Potter. I finished the series and can safely say that Twilight is no Harry Potter. Where Potter had well-developed characters and a compelling story, Twilight had whiny, self-involved characters and a wandering plotline that was too immature for an adult audience and inappropriate for the “young adult” audience it was intended for. I regret having wasted the time on the series. I can only attribute its place on the best-seller lists as a result of the hype. I’m just glad I borrowed the books from a friend instead of paying full price for them.

If you feel the need to decide for yourself, however, Breaking Dawn is available for the Kindle.