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1,149 of 1,528 people found the following review helpful:
Relax and Enjoy the Fairy Tale, August 3, 2008
By navyblue
Reading all these one star reviews is totally killing my post Breaking Dawn buzz, y'all.
--Please note: this review contains spoilers, as most of the reviews here do.
Bella's happily ever after is heart warming and tidy just like any other fairy tale you might enjoy from childhood, though with quite a bit more blood and (tastefully described married) sex. Many of these one star reviews criticize the happy ending, the early marriage, and motherhood in place of a college education, among various other complaints. I'm suspecting these reviewers would be much happier with an independent Bella who marches off in her human form to get a Masters degree in Psychology before marrying Edward. Or heck, not marrying Edward at all, and eschewing the idea of something so base and demeaning as becoming a wife or parent. Though perhaps it's more the youth of the heroine that causes their lament.
I however, like happy endings and am thrilled she gets to be a mother. Yes, GETS to be a mother. Many people I spoke to who were in "Camp Jacob" expressed their reason: "Because she could have a family with Jacob". Well surprise, she had a family with Edward.
Yes, Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter, but because imprinting on babies/children had previously been introduced in the series, I didn't find this at all unsettling. All this shouting about pedophilia is a little... intense for what really happens. Jacob makes it clear that it isn't a sexual thing at all while the object the affection is still so young. Jacob imprinting on "Nessie" means they all stay a family, which is what Bella wanted all along.
Which brings me to another common complaint: Bella gets everything. Goodness! After fighting for it, tooth and nail, yes, she does. Isn't that what makes most of us smile at the end of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?
Some have suggested that having Jacob imprint on someone else would allow Bella to make a sacrifice by finally fully letting him go as well as remove that feeling some reviewers have that she gets everything. I do see this point, and perhaps this happening would have made it a more critically acclaimed book, but as I was reading the story, I was fully involved in watching Bella's story unfold and these things did not negate my enjoyment of the book.
As for the complaint that Bella should have gone to college first -- good grief, does she not have the rest of eternity to obtain as many degrees as she wants? This isn't real life, folks.
For those worried about the impact this book may have on impressionable young teen fans, if you're allowing them to read the books at all (I know some parents aren't), why don't you read the book along with them and talk about the real life application of Bella's choices? Sounds like a great excuse for some good conversation.
One complaint I completely agree with, Bella names her daughter Renesmee, which is hard to read, hard to pronounce, and impossible to spell. I'm amazed that made it past the editors.
Critics argue that you can't shout "But it's fantasy" to cover gaping plot holes. Perhaps to a more critical, serious eye, plot holes exist and are bothersome. But I truly was lost in Bella's story and as I read, very little jumped out as completely unreal or impossible to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and consider this rating a 4.5 stars.
Stephenie Meyer has been able to create characters that feel intensely real. I was able to lose myself in the story through all four books. While the first in the series remains my favorite, the characters remained almost tangible people that I cared about and rooted for throughout.
Stephenie admitted herself that pleasing all of her fans would be impossible, but insisted that this was the story she wanted to write all along. I've been a happy voyeur for the ride, and remain a happy fan.
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