The culmination of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was certainly the ultimate conclusion that I was hoping for. Not only this, but it was also shockingly more than I had expected. Things happened in this book that I never would have imagined were in store for Bella. Of course we all knew that she would be initiated into the Cullen family eventually, but other surprises made this book stand out against the previous three with a vastly different attitude. Suddenly the focus was shifted from Bella & Edward’s “forever together future”, to a struggling preparation for the future of a whole new, & very surprising, character. It was nice to see such a change… the characters really did grow up.
This morning I was discussing this book with a friend. She said she liked it, but was disappointed that the final fight scene never actually panned out “properly”. I, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more pleased with the result of the story. Meyer broke the mold by allowing her characters to manage their troubles with something resembling non-violence! I really loved seeing this in a pop-fiction book. Now, maybe I’m getting a little too crunchy-granola here, but I really believe that if people never see peaceful resolutions, then they never think to resolve their own problems in such a manner (it was also really refreshing to read something non-formulaic). They may not have destroyed the enemy, but the Cullens & co. stood strong, & showed that love was a more powerful force… not only did they love one another, but they loved even their enemies enough to resist violence.
And anyway, you can’t destroy everyone, because doesn’t every story always need a villian?
