Friday 17 October 2008

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer


stepheniemeyer.com:

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

Wow. That was incredible.

If you’ve read the first three books of the Twilight Saga, you won’t be disappointed by the final book. It is full of interesting new developments and has an exciting, edge-of-your-seat climax. Although I didn’t always feel satisfied by the directions that Meyer took her books, the final one in the series pulls it all together and makes it work.

At various times while reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. That’s always a good sign and it’s the benchmark by which I judge a book worthy of five stars. On the other hand, I was taking my time with it like you do when you are eating a really good piece of chocolate and you let it sit there on your tongue for a few extra seconds so you can enjoy every bit of its taste before you are forced by necessity to swallow.

At the end of Breaking Dawn, you’ll feel like the characters are old friends. You’ll like them and care for their well-being. You’ll feel desperate for a happy ending. And when it is all said and done, you’ll be left with the feeling that it would be so nice if Meyer would just write four more books.

Without hesitation, I recommend everyone read this story. It belongs on your shelf next to Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Okay, well, maybe one shelf down, but still.

By the way, wouldn’t it be nice of they could just skip the first three books and make a movie about the last one? Oh well, we’ll just have to be patient as they churn out one movie at a time until, eight years from now, they will complete Breaking Dawn: The Movie.


If you have ever read a series like this, you'll know this feeling. First, you're thinking, "Wow, wasn't that great?" Then, you sit back and reflect on what you have just read. You might imagine what happened next or focus on the stuff in the books that you enjoyed. However, that warm feeling is soon replaced by confusion. What do I do now? When will I find another interesting series of books to read? What should I read next?

5/5 Stars

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr.J!

I just wanted to ask you how you ordered online. Isn't it expensive? Do you have to pay using a credit card?

and...

Is it really worth waiting for a few weeks for the book to arrive when you want to read it Right Away(!) ?

Naqiah, 4E
P.S- why aren't some of the greatest books not sold in Brunei? =(

Who is Mr. Jason? said...

Hi Naqiah. Did you see the link? The website is at

http://bruneibookstore.blogspot.com
They don't have a very big selection, but I liked the idea of supporting the website. From the day I ordered until the day I received the book I think it was four days. Yes, it makes you crazy if it is just as easy to drive to the bookstore and buy it immediately. I paid cash and the price was pretty average - about the same as most bookstores here.

BTW, Reader's Haven has the best prices in the country I think.

I agree with you, though. It is so hard to get great books here. Isn't that silly? I mean, the bookstores should stock the hottest books in the world - all the best sellers, but they don't! It makes me crazy.

I've never ordered from Amazon, but I'm going to be doing that soon. Of course, I'm going to KL in December so I will get my bookstore fix at that time!

Anonymous said...

No kidding! I asked Best Eastern and they said it takes a few weeks for the book to arrive and you have to pay this deposit(not surprising, though), and blah blah blah.

Mr.J, 'the host' is about aliens right? Which is a bit.. unusual? I wouldn't want to imagine how "it" looks like! Apart from that, i've been reading comments from disappointed readers about the book. They said it was almost exactly like the twilight saga and that they only change the characters and such. But it depends on the reader, right? But it's not all that bad, there are a lot of great comments of 'the host' too.

Anyway, I guess I'm more excited to read 'the hunger games' by suzanne collins than 'the host'.. (I think). Not because of the disapproving comments but maybe because I'm not a huge fan of aliens. In case you haven't heard or read about it(I doubt that), it's actually a book recommended by the one and only Stephenie Meyer. She said "it's amazing" and that she had to sneak the book under the dining table during dinner just to read it secretly to satisfy her curiousity. Or something like that.

And YES! I'm partially retarded now all because of a book! We need better bookstores. It's making people crazy(esp you and I and maybe over 65% of the population!)

Oh and Mr.Jason, when I read the comments, I came through one that says in 'the host', there are a lot of characters that does a lot of "hissing" too, and that person said what's "hissing" anyway? Do humans actually do that? You know, hiss like a snake or something?

I want to know how "hissing" is in your point of view.

And wow, Amazon.com? Don't you have to pay in foreign cha-ching for that? Pretty awesome website. Not that I ever order anything online.

http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224568380&sr=1-1

Thanks Mr.J! For.. just about everything! And have fun this December!

Naqiah,4E

Who is Mr. Jason? said...

Hi Naqiah,

I think some students have read and enjoyed "The Host". Maybe we will get a comment from one of the girls in 4B about it. I think they liked it.

Actually, one of the reasons I want to read it is to see what Meyer decides to do after writing such a popular series. I'm curious to see if she can adapt to a new novel. :-)

BTW, Hunger Games sounds interesting too. If you get it, please let me know what you think. I may have to add it to my KL shopping list.

As far as hissing goes, I think we can make that kind of "Ssssss" sound and I don't see the issue. That's the sound I make when I see my cat Cha Cha's rival in my yard.

Later...

Anonymous said...

hi Mr. Jason!

I borrowed the Host from my aunt last month and it's not so bad, I really liked it but not as much as Twilight of course. My sister didn't want to read it when she heard it was about aliens. She thought they were those green, mucus-like kind of alien but I told her the aliens were actually 'souls' who needed a host to live.

The story is basically about a soul named Wanderer who has been given a human body to live in. In the book, an alien race, called the souls, took over Earth because they think humans are too violent. Wanderer had been warned that it is not easy to live in a human host. Unlike plant hosts or bear hosts, humans have strong emotions, senses and memory. Usually, a soul can fight off the mental presence in the human host when they live in them but Melanie,the previous owner of the body, is strong and rebellious that she speaks to Wanderer as if she’s still in her body. Wanderer is bombarded with memories and her host body's yearning for Jared (Melanie’s lover) and Jamie (Melanie’s brother), and finds herself in love with the humans, and desperate to see if they are still alive.

It’s sort of a science fiction/romance novel I think. I gave it 4 stars out of 5. I don’t see any similarities with the Twilight series, it’s absolutely different. It’s a great book, you should totally buy it. I saw one in Reader’s Haven but I’m not sure if they still have it. Oh and I noticed that Melanie’s name is quite similar to Meyer’s. Stephanie Meyer- Melanie Stryder.

The Hunger Games! I’ve been looking for that book since I saw it in Meyer’s website. I read a chapter from a pdf file and it sounds really cool. I really really want that book.

dinnah 4B

Who is Mr. Jason? said...

Hi Dinnah! Thanks for the awesome post.

Okay, I'm very interested now. I'll see if Reader's Haven still has their copy of "The Host" and I'll get a copy of "The Hunger Games" when I am in KL in December. I'll pass it to Naqiah and then you can read it in January if you like (and if you don't get a copy before I do).

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, thanks a lot Mr.J! You have no idea how "elated" I am to know that I would be the first person for you to lend the book. xD

Thanks, Dinnah! I need to read The Host sometime. Waaaahh... I want the hunger gamessss~!