Legitimate Concerns About Breaking Dawn

I have read Breaking Dawn, and I am among the growing number of fans who are disappointed in the direction this book took. I would like to share with you some of our humble thoughts, if you would be willing to take the time to read them. It will take barely a fraction of the time we spent reading Meyer's latest book.

Meyer has said on her website that Bella had to love Jacob because it was the fact that she CHOSE Edward even though she loved Jacob that made her love true and more special. Here is the quote that I am referring to:

(begin quote from StephenieMeyer.com)

Does this love devaluate her love for Edward? Not for me. For me, it makes that perfect true love stronger. Bella has another option. She has a really good one. An option that's easier in many ways, that takes nothing-like her family, present or future-away from her. She would have love, and friendship, and family-an enviable human future. But she chooses Edward over all of this. This makes it real for me.

Allow me to quote from Steve Oedekerk's brilliant Star Wars parody, Thumb Wars:
Loke Groundrunner: "I will go with you and fight!"
Oobedoob Benubi: "Oh, big sacrifice; everyone you knew is dead! Glad you could tear yourself away!"

(end quote)

The CHOICE was what made it so significant. Are you with me so far?

She then makes Jacob imprint- which Jacob himself says is just another way to lose freewill. The fact that Meyer is now saying that having no choice in the matter equals true, undeniable love is a total 180 from her original discussion on the matter. Why does Bella *have* to choose, when Jacob isn't allowed to?

Jacob imprinting on the baby was a dues ex machina of the worst kind. Here is what Wikipedia has to say on the topic:

"In fiction writing, the phrase has been extended to refer to a sudden and unexpected resolution to a seemingly intractable problem in a plotline, or what might be called an "Oh, by the way..." ending. A deus ex machina is generally undesirable in writing and often implies a lack of skill on the part of the author because it does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and is often so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, allowing the author to conclude the story with an unlikely, though more palatable, ending."

It seems to many of us that Meyer wrote herself into a corner that she could not get out of easily, so she used imprinting (which, no doubt, had been created for this very purpose.) I thought what she started to do with Leah was brilliant and should have been Jacob's story. Stay with me for a second.

Leah had no easy choices. She had been hurt, BADLY. We can all relate to that, and the younger readers who haven't had their heart broken in such a way will, someday. This was a terrific "common ground" to write from. She was in the same position as Jacob, except she couldn't escape the object of her affections. But Meyer wrote her character in this book in a way that actually grew and matured and progressed. (She is the only character in the book to adequately and realistically do so.) She faced her hard choices and finally made a choice that set some of her bitterness aside. She finally started to reach for a sense of peace. It wasn't an easy, perfect wrapped up with a nice, neat bow type situation, but it was realistic and could have been a terrific story if it was given to Jacob.

It's just another way that Meyer made it look like she was negating everything she had created.

1. She claims that the change is THAT terrible and unendurable, but Bella- a terrible actress- can suffer it in silent, stoic stillness. (Remember how she was screaming her head off over one small bite on her hand?)

2. Newborn year is an unbearable, uncontrollable and devastating slaughter fest, but Bella just had to try a little bit and she was fine.

3. Vampires can't have kids because their bodies are frozen in time, no longer producing any natural body fluids- not even tears- (just venom, which isn't natural), but they can still impregnate humans. (If Edward's reproductive system still works, why can't that exception hold true for females?) And why is Bella's uterus, which is still fully human, turned to stone anyway?

4. Jacob and his friends are werewolves, because Hollywood's version is never right- except that they aren't werewolves, and real ones really can only come out during the full moon- just like Hollywood said.

What *can* we trust, Meyer? Even the fantasy/sci-fi genre demands some "reality" the story is based on.

Meyer claims that this is the way it was always going to be. She also says that Breaking Dawn (the wedding and baby) should have been right after Twilight, but she wrote New Moon and Eclipse because married in high school was too much of a stretch. Well, why not make Bella a senior in Twilight? She still got married right away after graduation anyway.

Meyer ended up writing two books she hadn't planned on, and developing characters and storylines that were never intended to be a part of the series. The smart thing to do, the RIGHT thing to do, would have been to ditch the baby theme and go with the better, more believable storylines that had beautifully emerged in the second and third book. Instead, she plowed forward with an ending that no longer fit, and did justice to none of the great things she created.

Meyer has also said that the backlash is a byproduct of all of the hype, expectations and pressure brought on by fans. Maybe she should talk to her literary pals like, oh, Rowling, King, Kunz, Tolkien, or any number of other amazing writers that have been able to stand up under much more severe pressure.

She has also implied that it's our fault that she was hyped up so much, but she is the one who has done everything in her power to keep her name in the headlines for the past year. Publishing "The Host" at the time she looks suspiciously like a thinly veiled attempt to hook more adult readers and keep her name on the tip of everyone's tongue to boost midnight sales. Announcing "Midnight Sun" put her back into the spotlight again. She has gone out of her way to make sure that Stephenie Meyer is on the radar for as many people as possible, and then she blames us for the pressure? Maybe if she concentrated on one thing at a time, instead of juggling way too many projects, this book wouldn't have been a complete failure. And yes, we do consider it a complete failure. When half of your fans (or close to it) hate it- that gives you an F on any grading system I know.

We, as a fanbase, are also concerned with the editing in this book. There are far too many typos and grammatical errors. It leads us to believe that Little, Brown is treating her like a cash cow and trying to squeeze every cent out of her that they can before she self-implodes.

I think it's very important to understand that I was a giant Meyer fan. I loved the first three books, and I was very excited for Breaking Dawn. I had high hopes for her. I dismissed any and all jokes about a baby because I believed that there was NO WAY she'd take the series in that ridiculous direction. Here's the real kicker- Meyer can totally suck me in. I HATED the baby as a concept and as a plot device. That doesn't mean I didn't like parts of it. There were moments of amazing sweetness and things that I liked, but it just further amplified my disappointment because it showed how good the book could have been. I absolutely liked some parts in and of themselves, but the puzzle as a whole was sloppy and the pieces just didn't fit together. That's why the book is an epic failure in my mind. Rereading just shows me more and more where the holes are and what poor writing it is. The good stuff provides a blindingly contrasting background for the errors in judgment to stand out against.

I have been asked, "What would you have done?" and I have answers for that.

I would have done many things differently. I would have scratched the baby theme, first of all. It was a way for her to bring peace and love between the vamp and werewolf worlds- and I don't think that was completely necessary for the ending to be happy. It was also LONG and distracting, and many other story lines were cut or shortened for it. I would have written her first year, and life with the Cullens, and what it was like to adapt to the world in a more complete, satisfying manner.

Let's look at Bella's first hunt. We get about a page to cover the number one and most significant thing she was afraid of since she made her decision. It's just absolutely impossible to me that Meyer flat out ignored that whole thing. The newborns were half of the story in Eclipse. We've heard the stories from Jasper and Edward talking about their newborn days. And we get so little of it from Bella. Even if she was going to be in control, (which we figured she would be- and had no objection to,) there still should have been much more of a struggle. We can understand why she didn't want to take Jacob down: he's a werewolf. (Or not really. What are they? Shape-shifters?) But he stinks, regardless. I can also understand the not wanting to eat her own child and how the vampire smell helped temper that desire. I'm on the fence about Charlie. But, please, give us something more believable. Let's see her around more humans. Let's see her struggle a little. I obviously wasn't hoping she'd go on a killing spree, but it was written in a "yeah, it's a little annoying- kinda like mild cramps" sort of way. I would have spent much more time on her first year and what that was like. It held so much potential, and it was all squandered for a child that didn't fit with the overarching theme of the series.

I did love Bella and Emmett, I would have loved to see more of Jasper in this book. Jasper is (in my head) such a fun character- I would have liked to see more of that. Alice and Bella talking about sex a little would have been fun. Bella interacting with her new mother in law at all would have been great. Esme could have given Bella the wisdom Renee never did. But other than Bella/Rose we didn't get to see much of that b/c there were too many things happening, which was tragic. I would have spent much more time developing and exploring these relationships and characters. When all is said and done and the epilogues are finished, a lot of people express the desire to have had the chance just to see more day-to-day life, which we don't often see, especially in "final" books. She could have done this, and done it well. Meyer writes those things well, and she could have done a very good job with that.

She could (and should) have developed and explained more things that Bella couldn't/wouldn't have understood as a human, more things about the vampire world that are magical, unique and full of wonder. This would have been an excellent way to bring more depth to Midnight Sun- giving Edward more material to work with and more ways to see the story from a point of view different from Bella's. It would have been a terrific tie in, and helped her write a book that a lot of people are anticipating.

I absolutely would have given Jacob a happy ending- but this was not the way to go about it. The only way it even begins to work is b/c she has developed imprinting so thoroughly, and set up the baby thing with Quil and Claire. But that was too convenient and is wrapped up with way too neat of a bow. "Oh, the past three and a half books of love and despair and everything I have fought for all disappear in one magic second b/c of some werewolf thing! Perfect!" Never mind that he's one day going to be having SEX with the daughter of a woman he loved so much. Even with imprinting, how is that not somewhat weird and disgusting?

I also would have also developed the Volturi story line, instead of tacking it on as an afterthought to answer last minute questions. She used this much the same way Rowling used Hermione- as a way to flat out explain things to the audience without having to show them. Again- this was supposed to be a strong, climactic scene, and instead it was a huge let down. I liked meeting all the other vampires (although that could have been expanded as well) but the actual Volturi stuff was so pathetic. How about making that into the story we have been anticipating?

I also would have kept Bella more, well, Bella. She was not herself in this book, especially the second half. I can understand that she "knew" about the baby and that she wanted to protect it- but nothing has ever come between her and Edward before. Even when they were fighting, he has always been her rock. Renee compared them to planets that seemed to constantly adjust to stay aligned with one another. Book 2 was so weird, being from Jacob's point of view. We don't really know exactly what went on between Bella and Edward, but it felt very out of character to me. There is no element more central to this story than the love between Bella and Edward, and yet it was squandered and ignored in "Breaking Dawn," instead of expanded upon.

Oh, and I definitely wouldn't have had Edward ask Jacob to impregnate Bella. That was crossing the line.

Here's something she said in an MTV interview :

"When I write the story, it's not like I'm thinking about what I'm doing..."

(To that we say, No, really?)

She was saying this in response to a flat out question about Edward asking Jacob to sleep with Bella. She said, "I was surprised with how far gone he was."

SHE'S TALKING ABOUT EDWARD AS IF HE'S A REAL CREATURE MAKING DECISIONS FOR HIMSELF.

Ummm.... take some responsibility, please, Mrs. Meyer.

The thing that has upset me the very most is Meyer's reactions to her fans. "The Rob Effect" comment was insulting and belittling. We just don't "get" it yet, but we'll like it once we come around? Meyer, do you realize that The Rob Effect is most certainly taking place, but in the opposite direction? Once the hype and midnight delirium began to wear off, many former fans began to have more and more issues with your final chapter in this series. You are dismissing real, legitimate concerns instead of really listening to your fans and answering them in a respectful way. No, you can't please everyone, but when such a large percentage of your fanbase is crying "Foul!" it's time to reevaluate what you have done. We are not a fringe few that have unrealistic complaints. We were your faithful fans who loved to sneak off into the Twilight world. We are the ones that pre-ordered your book months ago, the ones who took off work to read all day, the ones who waited for hours until the clock struck midnight to get our hands on this book. We are the people that you asked to come along with you on this journey, and we are disappointed.

Will you please answer us in a respectful manner?