Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and last novel in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three 'books', the story is told from the perspective of Bella Swan, except for Book Two which is from the perspective of Jacob Black. Breaking Dawn was released on August 2, 2008 with a special midnight release in bookstores all over the world.

Book One
After Bella's pickup dies a natural death, Edward buys Bella a Mercedes Guardian. It is his feeling that because of her propensity for danger, Bella needs this armored sports car to keep her safe.

Bella and Edward tell Charlie about their engagement. Charlie doesn't show that he disagrees with it, instead saying Bella will have to tell her mother. But Renee consents to it. Bella and Edward's wedding goes according to plan and is as extravagant as Alice's other parties. The reception, however, has a minor disturbance when Jacob becomes violent towards Bella and Edward because of their plans to make love while Bella is still human. Not wanting to spoil her wedding day, Bella puts aside her disappointment in Jacob's unpleasantness. Edward and Bella soon depart for their honeymoon.

Edward takes her to Isle Esme off the coast of Brazil. Edward then fulfills Bella's wish and makes love with her. The next day they argue because Edward's passionate love making left dark bruises all over Bella's body. Although Bella doesn't care about the injuries, he refuses to make love with her again until she has become a vampire. In Edward's attempt to dampen Bella's making love appetite and energy, they engage in physically exhausting outdoor activities day after day on the island. Bella begs Edward to make love to her once again; Edward continuously refuses, as he does not wish to injure her further. Later, however, he succumbs to her. They make love cautiously and Edward does not inflict any bruises on Bella.

Bella has been having a recurrent dream of a small, green-eyed boy that she feels compelled to protect for a long time. Bella also finds herself constantly hungry and sick. Upon seeing a box of unused tampons, she realizes that her period is late and she is pregnant. Though Bella has not longed for a child, she becomes immediately attached to her baby when she becomes aware of its existence. Edward, however, is only concerned for her health. After hearing stories from a local woman (who suspects that Edward is a Vampire) of similar situations that resulted in the mothers' deaths, Edward wants to be rid of the baby. Book 1 ends as Edward prepares to bring Bella home where it's presumed that Carlisle will "take care of it." Although it's clear that Bella doesn't want to lose the baby, she doesn't yet voice her objections. She secretly calls Rosalie for help.

Book Two
The book is then told from Jacob's perspective, as he receives news of Edward and Bella's return. Carlisle has advised Charlie that Bella cannot receive visitors because she has contracted a rare disease in South America, and is quarantined. Jacob assumes that Bella has been bitten and transformed. He is upset when Sam Uley, acting Alpha of the pack, declares that the pack will not retaliate.

Jacob, full of anger, decides that if the pack will not retaliate collectively, he will act singly. Formulating strategies of attack, he runs to the Cullen house. When he arrives, however, he discovers that things aren't as he expected. Bella, as opposed to being a newborn vampire, is already heavily pregnant with Edward's child. Everyone realizes that the child's rapid growth is starving Bella. She cannot digest her food as she vomits after eating. Tension runs high in the Cullen household as Rosalie steadily supports Bella's decision to have the baby and aids her in every way possible. Edward is furious at Rosalie and the family is divided.

When Jacob returns to the pack, he inadvertently informs them of Bella's state. This causes fear and anger among the werewolves; they don't know how the child might act since the child is an offspring of a vampire. Sam commands the pack in the double timbre of the Alpha, to obey his decision to destroy Bella and her unborn child. Jacob, who still loves Bella, disagrees, but Sam, as the Alpha, takes his will away. To counter this, Jacob assumes his rightful place as Alpha of the pack. This almost leads to Sam and Jacob fighting for the right to rule, but Jacob controls his Alpha instincts to attack Sam and leaves to warn the Cullens. Seth, then Leah Clearwater, soon join Jacob and the threesome form a new pack and guard the Cullens from Sam's pack. Losing both the element of surprise and pack members, and the idea of fighting their own kind, dissuades Sam and his pack from attacking Bella while Jacob's pack is aiding the Cullens. It is discovered that the collective minds of the two packs are separate; members of each pack cannot hear the other pack's thoughts as Jacob and Sam are distinct Alphas. Jacob, Leah and Seth patrol the Cullen's territory to forewarn them of any impending werewolf attack. Esme gratefully provides them with food and clothes (since their clothes are too often destroyed during phasing). As the werewolves spend this time together, Jacob and Leah learn to tolerate each other, as each forms an understanding of the other.

Knowing that this pregnancy is endangering Bella's life, wanting to terminate this pregnancy and not wanting to deny Bella the experience of childbirth and motherhood, Edward asks Jacob to conceive a child with Bella. Jacob is shocked and although he doesn't really want to, attempts at suggesting it. For the most part, Bella doesn't realize what he means. When she does, he realizes it doesn't matter because she already loves this baby and continues her pregnancy.

As the fetus continues to develop at an alarmingly accelerated rate, Bella's health worsens. Her stomach is bruised in multiple places from the baby's movements. Two of her ribs crack, her pelvis is almost broken, and her pallor is unhealthy. Her body continues to reject human food, and Jacob sarcastically thinks about the "creature" craving for blood. Edward overhears this thought, and the Cullens allow Bella to sample human blood. To Bella's surprise, the blood smells and tastes appealing, and revives her to an extent. During Bella's pregnancy, Edward realizes he can read the child's mind, and is astonished to discover that the baby already loves Bella and doesnt mean to hurt her like it does. As he hears his child's thoughts, Edward begins to love the baby as well. This leaves Jacob feeling betrayed, as he was counting on Edward to hate the baby more than he.

Jacob struggles with his feelings for Bella. She is outrageously happy every time she sees him and this confuses him. At first, he says to Leah that he doesn't want his feelings to just disappear. Eventually things become too difficult for him to handle. He attempts to imprint on random girls he sees in a park named Lizzie(who appeals to him because of her niceness and knowledge of cars), but nothing happens.

Bella goes into labor approximately a month after the honeymoon. The hard placenta that surrounds the child cracks; Bella begins vomiting blood. The child breaks free and Bella is very near death. Edward delivers the baby, a girl, and begins to transform Bella into a vampire. He injects his venom into her heart and bites her in several places. Jacob and Edward perform CPR to try to keep Bella's heart beating.

Believing that Bella is dead, Jacob leaves the room and goes on a rampage to find the baby whom he holds responsible. He finds her in Rosalie's arms and looks into the baby's eyes. They are exactly the same shade of brown as Bella's. Jacob suddenly forgets all of his anger towards Renesmee (the baby) and the only thing that he cares about is making sure that Renesmee is happy. In other words Jacob imprints on Renesmee.

Book Three
The book returns to Bella's perspective. She has just given birth to her daughter, and is now experiencing the painful transformation from human to vampire. After receiving an injection of morphine to mitigate the pain, Bella is unable to move. As the effect of the morphine diminishes, Bella consciously remains as still as possible to alleviate Edward's guilt and agony over the discomfort of her transformation.

When she opens her eyes, she feels a warm hand on her. She is startled and moves instinctively to a defensive position. She realizes that Edward now feels relatively warm to her, and that she has become a vampire. The Cullens are wary of Bella as newborn-vampires are volatile. Yet, Bella manages to demonstrate some self-control unseen in most newborns. She wishes to see her daughter, Renesmee (pronounced "ruh NEZ may"), whom she named after her mother, Renee, and Edward's mother, Esme. Since Renesmee is part-human, the family believes Bella will be unable to deny her newborn thirst if she sees the child so soon without first hunting.

Edward takes Bella on her first hunt to ease her thirst. Before they leave, Alice shows Bella her reflection. She has transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman with flawless skin and newborn-vampire red eyes. Bella experiments with her new body on the hunt. She is now graceful, strong, and fast. While hunting, she accidentally crosses a human scent. However, she resists the urge to kill and runs away to avoid bloodshed. Edward is astounded, as newborns hunting shouldn't be able to deny their instincts.

Upon returning, Bella is allowed to see her daughter because of her demonstration of self-control in the woods. Because Renesmee is growing at an astonishing rate, she looks older than her calendar age. Bella learns of Renesmee's gift - the ability to communicate by sending images to people's minds through touch. Bella is infuriated when she learns that Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee. She forces Jacob out side, and says "I've held my daughter all of one time and you already think you have some sort of wolfy claim over her?" Jacob than replied "I'm willing to share" Her self-restraint is tested when she learns that Jacob has nicknamed her daughter "Nessie." Bella despises the name because it alludes to the the Loch Ness monster. She loses her self-control and tries to attack Jacob. Seth steps into the way to defend his new Alpha. Bella acidentally breaks Seth's collarbone and shoulder when he steps between the two. She then manages to calm down.

Bella and Edward receive a cottage for Bella's birthday from the Cullens. That night, Bella and Edward make love for the first time since Bella's transformation. They find it very difficult to fully satisfy their sexual desire for each other. At first, sexual thirst cannot be satisfied. Edward tells Bella that this is normal for vampires when they begin a physical relationship. Satiation usually takes years to attain.

Renesmee matures quickly and soon is able to speak, walk and hunt. The baby also leads to the truce between the Quileutes and the Cullens becoming more binding because of Jacob's imprinting (the most sacred rule of the wolves is that no wolf ever kill the subject of another wolf's imprinting). Differences between Sam and Jacob's packs are soon settled as well and they become co-existent Alphas. Meanwhile, Jacob learns that the Cullens plan to move away from Forks. Thinking that Charlie is the reason, he phases into his wolf form in front of him and tells Charlie about Bella's change & Renesmee (though he doens't say she has become a vampire). Bella was initially furious, thinking that Charlie would now have to become a vampire or die. But Charlie told both Jacob and Bella not to tell him anymore than he needed to know. This allows Bella to keep Charlie in her new life and allows Charlie to go on with his life.

Unfortunately for the Cullens, the Volturi has made its decision to visit them. Irina, a vampire from the Denali clan, sees Renesmee and mistakingly informs the Volturi that Renesmee is a forbidden immortal child, that is, a child that has been turned into a vampire. Forbidden immortal children have been purged from the world long ago, due to the mass havoc they can wreak. The Cullens understand that Irina is mistaken and they decide the only way to enlighten the Volturi is to present Renesmee with a large group of reliable witnesses.

After leaving a note with Sam Uley from the copyright page of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Alice and Jasper suddenly leave the Cullens. Since the couple does not provide a warning or reason, the Cullen family does not know why the couple has fled. Since it was her copy of the book, Bella perceives this as a sign from Alice. She returns to the cottage and she finds that Alice has written a name and address on another page of the book. When Bella goes to the address, she finds that it leads to the office of a lawyer who can forge documents. Bella requests documents for Jacob and Renesmee, should they need to escape if a fight ensues with the Volturi. Meanwhile, nomadic, vegetarian, and clans of vampires arrive on the Cullen's land after the family begins to seek their friends' to assistance with the Volturi. Most of them are enthralled by Renesmee, and almost all agree to bear witness to the Volturi that she is not an immortal child.

Bella also discovers that her power of mind-privacy has a shielding effect and she wonders if she can extend this protection to others. During the month of preparation for the Volturi, several of the vampires with quantifiable supernatural talents teach Bella how to expand the barrier. When the Volturi and Irina finally arrive, all of the vampires and the werewolves meet in a clearing in the forest. The Volturi discovers that it has been misinformed and immediately executes Irina for her mistake. However, the Volturi is not satisfied to leave because the Volturi wants the exceptionally gifted vampires to join its group. Bella's gift disables the Volturi's offensive fighters, Alec (who causes one to lose all their senses, much like numbing someone) and Jane (who creates the illusion of pain in the victim), when she shields everyone on her side. Aro, Caius and Marcus decide to vote on whether or not Renesmee will be a danger to the vampire world when she attains maturity. Just before Aro can cast his deciding vote, Alice and Jasper return with another half-human, half-vampire named Nahual from South America who is about one hundred fifty years-old. He and his three half-sisters (who are also half-vampire, half-human) are the children of a vampire who is creating a "super race." They have never caused any danger to the vampire world. Facing no other choice, Aro chooses to give up the fight, and the Volturi flees. However, before the group leaves, it reveals that the so-called werewolves are not actual werewolves, but rather "shape shifters", who can adapt only into wolf forms. The "shape shifters" and vampires celebrate their victory in successfully protecting Edward and Bella's child.

After celebrations with family and friends, Bella and Edward take Renesmee back home. They tuck her in bed and proceed to their bedroom arm-in-arm. Bella tells Edward she wants to try something with him. She places her hands on his face and tries to push away her shield. She has been secretly practicing for this moment. She conjures her special memories that she wants to share with Edward. He is finally able to see for the first time just how deeply she loves him. Edward is unable to control himself; he starts kissing her and breaks her concentration. She stops. However, she tells him that now he knows that no one loves anyone else as much as she loves him. He asks her if she would try again. Bella acquieces. Once again abandoning restraint, Edward kisses her passionately. This distraction closes Edward to Bella's mind. She wants to open the barrier for Edward so he can access her mind. She says that they have only forever for her to perfect it. The Twilight Series closes with And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.

Marketing campaigns
Entertainment Weekly magazine released an excerpt of Breaking Dawn on Friday, May 30, 2008. Stephenie Meyer also revealed a 'Quote of the Day' from Breaking Dawn for about 3 weeks prior to its August 2, 2008 release. The first quote was released on Stephenie's website on July 12, 2008. The first chapter of Breaking Dawn, 'Engaged', was released in the special edition of Eclipse. The preface indicates that Bella, once again, faces death, only this time in the eyes of her beloved.

Reception
Breaking Dawn has received mixed but generally negative reader reviews.

In an article on The Daily News Tribute Margaret Smith says of Breaking Dawn "You too might fall in love with its suspense and moving sensitivity -- and with the unlikely couple struggling to find light within their world’s heart of darkness."

Criticisms
In a recent interview on EW.com, Meyer talked about the fans' reaction to the book and named the "wild reaction" fans had, the "Rob Effect". She believes the fans need time to accept the ending of Breaking Dawn, just as they needed time to accept Robert Pattinson playing the role of Edward Cullen in the Twilight movie.

The petition "Legitimate Concerns About Breaking Dawn" mentions the Rob effect, the plot line of Jacob imprinting on Renèsmee was described as a modern Deus ex machina, among other things. The petition currently has nearly 2000 signatures.

An article, based on Breaking Dawn, had been published in the New York Entertainment site, stating: "Did 'Breaking Dawn' Ruin the Twilight Series?". The article states: "The L.A. Times' Denise Martin didn't like it and says that unlike J.K. Rowling in her series finale, 'Meyer's bunted.'"

Cover
According to the author Stephenie Meyer, the cover of this book "is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire series. She began as the weakest (at least physically, when compared to vampires and werewolves) player on the board: the pawn. She ended as the strongest: the queen. In the end, it's Bella that brings about the win for the Cullens."

Forever Dawn v. Breaking Dawn
Forever Dawn was the original sequel to Twilight, which Meyer wrote as a birthday gift for her older sister and has never published. Until the publication of Breaking Dawn Meyer did not discuss the plot of Forever Dawn as she said it was "working as a loose skeletal outline for the rest of the series." After publication of the final book, Meyer stated on her website that Forever Dawn has basically the same story as Breaking Dawn.

SPOILER ALERT

Key similarities are 1) Bella and Edward get married; 2) Bella and Edward consummate their marriage on their honeymoon; 3) Bella becomes pregnant; 4) the pregnancy and birth greatly endanger Bella's life; 5) Bella becomes a Vampire, with shielding abilities; 6) Jacob imprints on Renesmee; 7) Alice has a vision of the Volturi coming to destroy the Cullens with the "immortal child" as their excuse; and 8) Alice leaves the Cullen Clan to look for others like Renesemme.

Key Differences in the story result from the events of New Moon and Eclipse never happening (i.e. Bella and Jacob have never developed a close relationship because Edward never left, Laurent and Victoria are still alive), resulting in: 1) no narration by Jacob, 2) absence of any details about the pack and its politics, 3) Laurent sides with the Cullens as he has been staying with Irina; 4) Victoria is the informant to the Volturi and is killed by the pack; and max (J. Jenk's assistant) has an epilogue."

Stephenie has stated on her website that she may post portions of Forever Dawn in the future similar to the outtakes she has done from other books in the series."