I was reading a novella that, try as I might, I couldn't put down. I had to pick it up again to finish it. At 2:45am I closed The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer.
And my verdict?
I enjoyed it. I'm not going to give a plot breakdown or anything. I do have a few thoughts I wanted to share.
I found the whole events leading up to the battle in Eclipse absorbing. Why? Because of Bree and the way she drew me into her world. It made me feel connected to her in the same way I did for Bella when I first read Twilight. In other circumstances she could have been just like Bella.
I know she is supposed to be a 'bad' vampire, but she's also a young girl. Scared, alone, unsure of her true place in the world. She wants to be good. She wants to belong. To love. To live. She fights the nature that has been thrust upon her to quench someone else's revenge.
There's also some pretty cool Volturi info we didn't know about. It did make some stuff Edward alludes to clearer. But you have to read it first. All I will say is the Volturi are tricksy.
What made it sadder was I knew her fate. Still, I wanted a happy ending for her all the same. In some alternate universe Bree could have fitted in with the Cullen clan. Become one of the 'yellow eyes.' Yet, in the end, Bree became a victim of the Volturi message. A warning to other's to control their newborns.
If I do read Eclipse again -I'm sure I will -I'll see Bree with new eyes. As Meyer says in her Introduction:
"You know this: It doesn't end well for her. But at least you will know the whole story. And that no perspective is ever really trivial."
I hope I can remember this message when I'm writing/revising my own stories. No perspective is trivial. :)
12 comments:
I am so jealous you already read this! Glad to see you enjoyed it, though. Gives me hope that I will, too.
Now go kick some revision backside!
I haven't read that yet, but hopefully I will soon. Perspective is so important, isn't it? Now I'm thinking about my 'villian's' perspective more... hmm...
Great post! :)
Great review! As soon as I saw you comment on my blog saying you read it I had to hop over to see what you thought! Kimberly Franklin has had the same reaction (she's not done yet... she stopped herself... as best she could!!!)
I think I'll have to give it a go and try it for size!! Thanks for the run-down. I hate that you know what happens in the end but as a human being we still want that happy ending!!
2:45 am! You're hard-core!
I have to admit I haven't read any Twilight or Stephanie Meyer. Plus, I can't stay up to 2:45 am. I'm old.
Wow, thanks for review. And the advice for writing--so true--nothing is trivial in making a Whole.
Thanks for sharing and I'm so glad I found your blog! :o)
Lindsay, I genuinely appreciate that you posted this. While I must admit my favorite Stephenie Meyer book is actually The Host, I was curious about the new novella. I haven't heard from anyone who has read it yet until now. You made a good case here and persuaded me to check it out!
Thanks again :)
Marissa
I'm still not finished with this book. There's been no time for reading this week. :(
When writing I always tend to drift into other peoples' POVs and stories, even if I'm never going to use them. But I've never written a 200 page doc. on a character who is in my MS for two seconds. :)
Thanks for the recommendation! I was the same way when I read the Twilight series, they were the first books I'd read in a long, long time that I literally couldn't put down.
Oooh.. I saw it in the bookstore yesterday. And I debated and debated, and promised myself I would come back before the end of the week! Thanks for the recommendation, it's on my list to be added to the collection :).
Amparo. It is really good. Hopefully I will kick revision butt. :)
Bethany. Sppoky, it made me think about my villian's perspective too. :)
Jen. I think that's true. We invest so much in the mc that we want to see it end well for them.
Talli. I was shocked when I saw the time too. lol.
Jackee. Glad you enjoyed the post. Happy you found me too. Always nice to meet new friends.:)
Adventures in children's publishing. Glad you enjoyed the post. I haven't read The Hist yet. It's on my TBR pile though. I;m reading it over my summer hols.
Kimberly. Me neither. I think it may be an interesting challenge though.
Hope you get some time to finish the book this week.
Susan. I know, they were very addictive to read. I was the same. One night I finished New Moon and started Eclipse straight away. :)
WritingNut. It's great. So glad you added it to your list.
Though I am no big fan of Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight Series by any stretch of the imagination, I still enjoyed your review and the quote from the introduction. It is good to know that "no perspective is trivial." Awesome review and write on, Lindsay!
Hmm...I had just sorta dismissed this book, but now you've made me want to read it.
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