As many of you know, I'm a Twilight fan. I read Twilight when it was first published in 2005 and then followed the series very closely. I've been an active member on the Twilight Lexicon website where I debated my little heart out on all the idiosyncrasies of the series including my reluctance to accept Breaking Dawn, which in my opinion is the weakest book of the series. Yes, I really did just type that. My main issue with Breaking Dawn is that the happy ending comes too easy and all the issues are resolves just too neatly. Of course I wanted my favorite characters to have their happy ending, but felt that there was hardly any struggle in the book. One of the most sensitive areas of the series that I continue to debate with fellow lexiconers is how Stephenie Meyer does or does not define what it means to become a vampire.
   In the first three books of the Twilight Saga, Bella is asked repeatedly to look at the darker side of becoming a vampire. To become a vampire in the first three books means losing the ones you love, your human experiences, and connections will be lost forever. However, when Breaking Dawn rolls around, the dark side of being a vampire is not accounted for and all the importance of making a well informed decision is negated. I thought maybe The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner would help shine some light on the dark sides of being a newborn vampire, but I fear it doesn't add much to the mix.

Description: Bree Tanner was a small character that was first introduced in Eclipse. Since readers who have read Eclipse are already aware of how Bree's story ends, this novella focuses more on how Bree lives her short life as a newborn vampire and gives the reader a little insight to the dark side of being a vampire.

Review: I thought Bree's novella was just okay. There is really not much new information given about the new born vampires that the readers and followers of the Twilight Saga does not know. All of the usual Meyer tropes are found in the novel-mystery, romance, and danger. The characters of Riley and Victoria are consistent as to how they appear in Eclipse. The romance between Bree and Diego isn't developed and wasn't really necessary to the story. I would've liked more human Bree flashbacks than the budding romance. New vampires are introduced, but don't have much screen time to make me care for them. The best part of the novella is the last 50 pages of how Bree meets the Cullens and the Volturi discusses her fate.
    What makes me unsettled about Bree's novella is the fact that the darker side of being a vampire is not shown at all. Bree is completely ignorant of everything (i.e. why she was created, the characteristics of being a vampire in the Meyer world, etc) and only concentrates on her instincts to hunt and kill. She is not a dark, rogue vampire by any means, but rather a young girl who used as a pawn in a vampire army and in a diplomatic exchange for Bella's life as well as a tragic (or fatalistic?) heroine who dies because she has no meaning. As for as Bella, Bree's existence doesn't really matter because everything works out in the end, which leaves me with the question: How did we go from vampires being a curse to strictly being a happily ever after?  Bottomline: If you decide to skip this book, you're not missing out on much.


Rating: 2 stars

Words of Caution: There is violence, mostly the destruction of the vampires and vampires feeding on humans that might be a bit much for the under 13 crowd.

If you like this book try: The Host by Stephenie Meyer