2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight Saga series by Stephenie Meyer.

Pages: 756 pages

Length: 1 month (November)

Participants: bailey, Kalyn, Caterina

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

When does everyone plan to start reading this one?

I’m about halfway through Eclipse now so I won’t be starting for at least another week

@bailey- I signed up to read so many books this month, so I am happy to wait. Would starting in mid-November make sense for you?

Yes, it would! I just finished Eclipse this morning so I should be able to start Breaking Dawn sometime in the coming week or two. Was there a day you had planned to start it, Caterina?

I can start this weekend. What would work for you?

This weekend is perfect!

This coming weekend? I read the first four chapters on Sunday, but unless I hear otherwise, I'll wait until this coming weekend to continue.

Whoops I didn’t realize it had been a few days since you commented! I’ll still plan on starting this coming weekend but don’t feel like you have to wait for me!

I'm halfway through.

The storyline with Jacob imprinting will never not be wild.

Can we talk about the descriptions of beauty and wealth. It's a recurring theme in the entire series, but it feels like we take it to another level in this book. It's not just magazine covers and filters that give young women (and men) unrealistic notions of beauty; it's also part of so many books where the characters' beauty is front and center. The first introduction we get to so many character is how beautiful they are. I feel like it's all too much. Same with the descriptions of wealth and opulence. On top of that, there's Bella acting that she's unimpressed while spending entire paragraphs describing everything. I appreciate that there isn't as much emphasis on this in more contemporary YA fantasy novels (at least to my knowledge).

I'm about 20% through now, (view spoiler)[ just started the chapter with Jacob's POV, which I didn't realize was a thing that happens in this book. (hide spoiler)]

I agree about the beauty and wealth points that you brought up. It felt like something was off about the first part I was reading where Bella is just casually getting gas for her expensive car, wearing her (presumably) expensive ring, trying on her specially designed foreign wedding gown, literally traveling to a private island that Carlisle owns and she doesn't even bat an eye. The only thing that bothers her is "are people looking at me or judging me?" I just couldn't put my finger on what was off until I read your comment. Not to mention every time Bella mentions Rosalie she has to add some random comment about how she's so beautiful yada-yada. And I think you're right that more recent YA fantasy makes beauty and wealth an even BIGGER deal.

I just keep wondering why Stephenie Meyer needed to illustrate so much wealth in this book (and this series). The insane cars, the private island, the "donations" to get into an Ivy League school. At one point, there's talk of only wearing an outfit once. Was this ever some sort of flex back in 2008? I feel like even if I had unlimited wealth, I could never be indulgent.

On a separate note, I am both perplexed and impressed by Meyer's reluctance to write a fight scene.

Finished the book and looking forward to Midnight Sun the next month.

I just read the part where they mention only wearing an outfit once. I imagine if I’d lived for centuries and had no financial concerns I’d lose touch with my humanity/human decency too and might think something like this. I doubt it though lol
I don’t remember immense wealth being a trend back in these days but I was also a child back then so I’m not the most reliable historian. Seems like quite an odd trend if it was one though.

I’m about 60% through and making slow but steady progress towards the end. I feel like this fourth book has really diverged from the original storyline and we’re just kind of doing whatever random fantasies Stephanie Meyer wanted to write. At the start of the book bella was super concerned about her peers judging her for getting married and now she hasn’t thought about them for weeks/months? A lot has been going on, true, but it’s like she’s a completely different person.

Yes! I feel like it's always hard to end a series, but this book went completely off course. Bella's thoughts around the wedding and her friends is one instance. Also, Bella accepted that she would give up having children when she became a vampire. And I couldn't get past her fainting at the sight of blood in book 1 only to lap it up in this book.

I was reading this book around the same I saw the news of Robert Pattison having a child with his girlfriend. So many people brought up Renesmee in the comments. LOL! It's definitely an original name. I'm now wondering if it ever took off.

I just finished it…

DID SHE EVER GO TO DARTMOUTH?! 😂