The song for this chapter is Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous by Good Charlotte
[audio:https://twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/lifestylesoftherichandfamous.mp3]
I can hardly believe that after almost an entire year of writing for twilightguy.com, I am finally reading the last book in the Twilight Saga.
I can still remember the weeks we waited for this novel in 2008. I remember the last two days especially, when the fansites were working overtime to squash the people who were posting spoilers. I remember staying up that evening to watch Stephenie read the first parts of the book at her release party online. And then, finally, the world could read Breaking Dawn.
Obviously, between Eclipse and the fourth book in the series, much has changed for Bella Swan. She has a new car. A new credit card. She even has a new set of rumors floating around town about her (as if she didn’t have enough of those already). It’s no wonder the townspeople can’t stop staring at her. If you saw a teenage girl getting married to a 90-year-old man who showered her with expensive gifts, wouldn’t you start to wonder what was really going on? When you think of how this sounds, perhaps it’s actually a very, very good thing that Edward is a vampire and doesn’t appear anywhere near his real age, or else the town would really be talking 😀
I think a lack of sleep caused my vision to be a bit blurry as I started reading, because when I read this line:
…in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction. […] I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t really staring at me, just the car.
I instead saw the ending as
I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t really staring at me, just the cat.
Which might have changed the story of this book quite a bit:
To be irrevocable in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously hightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point.
Then, the Megacat appears.
A creeping, monstrous creature of the night, the cat towers above the city of Forks, casting its shadow all across La Push and blocking the sun in what could only be a new form of an eclipse. It desires one thing before the break of dawn: that which terrifies Bella so, that which has held her sleepless for many a night; that which Bella refuses to give to any creature excluding a vampire or alternatively a werewolf.
Her life...bo
[Note to Stephenie: it was my idea first. Hands off.]
Stephenie refers to Bella’s shiny black credit card on page 5 (for future reference, I’m using the hardcover book). Of course, being one who cares absolutely nothing for the frivolous lives of the rich and/or famous, I have never wasted my time looking these up. Since nobody cares anyway (and especially not me) I am probably boring the stuffing out of all my readers by saying that the Centurion Card is crafted from titanium and requires a minimum of $250,000 spent per year. Since no one is curious, I won’t post any photos.
I find it hilarious that Edward got Bella a car that is primarily used by arms dealers, drug lords, and various other criminals:
But in a strange way I can sympathize with Bella and her new driving troubles. Not that I have ever driven a European* car that comes with its own paparazzi, but the ridiculous stopping and starting that one does when getting adjusted to a new vehicle you are not accustomed to driving. I can still remember the first time that I drove my grandmother’s car instead of my mom’s van (which I had done all my driving practice in). Obviously, my grandmother’s brakes were newer, so that when I nervously made a turn at an intersection and lightly tapped the brakes, instead of slowing down I found myself stopped in the middle of the road completely. Then the light changed.
It’s nice to see that Bella’s mother supports her; and that at least Charlie isn’t taking his gun after Edward. It did strike me as odd that no one has even put forth the possibility of Jacob’s disappearance being Edward’s fault. After all: Jacob loves Bella; Edward loves Bella; Jacob disappears; Edward and Bella get married. The obvious conclusion the Forks Police Department should have surmised from this is that Edward and Jacob had an old-style duel-to-the-death, the winner taking Bella’s hand in marriage.
Still, it’s wonderful to see Bella in her happy place at last, even though her best friend can’t be there to share it with her. Or will he? I’ve never known Jacob to sulk away for too long, so judging the size of this book I expect there are plenty of surprises for me in the following chapters 😀
Question For The Comments: If you were Bella’s parent, would you be happy with her getting married to Edward Cullen that young? Also, same question, but what if she was marrying Mike Newton instead?
——NOTES——
– After all the questions about what a Bound Galley is, I decided to actually show everyone on video:
* is this grammar fail? An European car? A European car?
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197 Responses
For the grammar “fail”:
I’m guessing “a” refers to the car, not European.
A Car: A (European) Car
An Apple: An (European) Apple
This may or may not be correct; I’m not an english major or grammar genius. You totally blew my mind by bringing that up though, and now i want to ask my english teacher about it.
Jessica, #48, seems to be correct, now that i just read her post.
Mike Newton. Who wouldn’t want their daughter to marry him? He’s a nice, small town boy whose parents own a local business, that he most likely will run after college. That’s stability for you.
As a parent, I’d say him over Edward. Mike doesn’t get Bella into trouble. haha. But I definitely like Edward more.
What gets me, is that no one ever questions the fact that Dr. Cullen is the only one in his family to have a job.
No one ever wonders about Edward’s goals in life, let alone Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. Or maybe, just maybe, they assume they’re all so filthy stinkin’ rich, there’s no point in having a job?
Something to ponder.
Just wanted to throw in that I believe it is TECHNICALLY an European car but that neither sounds right and it irrelevant because it’s your blog and you can be grammatically incorrect if you want.
FWIW, I think either way, 18 is too young to get married. If you really want to get married that young, I would say get engaged and then take a really really REALLY long time to set a date and plan a wedding. =)
I think that if I were Bella’s mother, I wouldn’t be happy about her marrying ANYONE at that age. I would be worried that she’s making a hasty, irrational decision–after all, her parents know very little about what’s really going on–and that their marriage doesn’t have much chance of working out. I’d be afraid that Edward would leave her again, and that would absolutely destroy Bella.
If I was Bella’s parent, I would probably say that it wasn’t my desicion, but don’t coem crying to me when it all goes wrong. lol, evil!
As a mother I would want to know “Why the rush? Why don’t they just wait till they are older.”
It would just seem very out of charachter for Bella to do this. But then again seeing the cetripetial force between Edward and Bella I might just think that they are REALLY in love, and can’t wait to start their life together.
At least that is what I think Renee thinks. She is confident in Bells maturity, and it might help that Edward is georgeous, wealthy, and a gentleman.
If I were her parents, I would see that she would do what she wants to do, no matter what we would say to her. I would also see that she is madly in love with him and him with her. I would want her to wait, but she would have to make her own choice. I would also see that the 2 of them are very mature for thier age, so they should make thier own diecision and in turn I support what ever they want to do.
I would ask ehr if she’s sure, and if she really wants to spend her whole life with him, i would say it was her choice,
but if it was mike newton ,
Wel he’s really fun and all , but he isn’t so ‘grown up’ as Edward.
And Go Kaleb ! You’ll be suprised while you read the book (; , I read it hm 4 or 5 time’s already. reading twilight Again at the moment :] can’t get enough of it ^^
hilarious post kaleb. had me cracking up.
so for the questions, i think that 18 is too young to marry but i would support the decision anyways. Regardless of who it would be, although i wouldn’t expect for the union between her and mike to last. I would have more faith if she married edward due to the fact that he is obviously more mature, financially stable and has proven to love bella more than his own life.
This is a difficult question. Most teen marriages don’t survive (my parents didn’t), but I have a friend who married her high school sweetheart at 18, and they’re still in love over 30 years later. Another friend married her high school sweetheart at 20 and they are still happily married more than 25 years later. It just depends on the people involved.
I agree with Dsolo. It depends on the people invovled. If I were Bella’s mama, I’d give her whatever advice I could. I admit I wouldn’t be happy about her being married so young, because I, myself, believe that one should live on their own a little, get to know themselves before shoving off into married life. But I’d also be able to see how deeply in love with Ed Bells is, and I’d have a good hope that because of that, everything would work out.
I’ve been waiting for you to read this chapter forever. you probably don’t remember my comment from when you were reading the first book but that’s okay.. I wouldn’t either. But when you said Bella’s truck reminded you of a fire truck I commented on how I thought Bella’s truck actually paralleled Edward in many ways and probably even symbolized him.
.. I read the beginning of Breaking Dawn like a month or so before it came out or whatever. Me being a literary dork and finding comparisons i found the loss of the truck to be a VERY bad thing. I thought it could mean a couple things
1. I could be completely off and there is a coincidence of a parallel but no real symbolism.
2. truck does = edward and something happens to him
3. truck does = edward and Bella doesn’t need him anymore or something.? (it’s been awhile since i was thinking of outcomes)
So yes I had to go about a month with the loss of a symbolism of a main character and thought the worse…. I wonder what you think.
Yea finally! I was so happy when I saw that you posted! I love the whole credit card thing! That was so funny, “Since no one is curious, I won’t post any photos”.
Know to answer your question, I wouldn’t be mad at Bella for marrying Edward. I would tell her though to wait a while longer. Edward is a wonderful man! Edward has proven himself to be a responsible and respectful person. I would definitely have to side with Renee and what she said to Bella about her getting married to Edward.
On the other hand, if she was getting married to Mike Newton, I would infinitely disapprove! Mike is not like Edward! Edward is a gentleman with manners. He also has years and years worth of knowledge (not that any other human, but Bella, knows that fact). Mike is just a young hormonal teenager, who can’t help but think dirty thoughts about Bella. He’s to immature.
~One thing that I love about this chapter is how Charlie freaks out when Edward tells him that they are getting married! That was the funniest thing ever!!
*Victoria
If I was Bella’s mom, and I knew she was marrying Edward…well, I’d probably find a way to sabotage the wedding, give Edward a love potion, and then he’d marry me! =)
I was really surprised at how easily Charlie & Renee took the news that she was going to marry Edward. I was glad though so that it could all work out and Bella could start living her life w/her soul mate and the wonderful Edward.
Now to your questions. If I was Bella’s parents I would probably not be mad but would want her to wait. (They get engaged & married in like what 3 months?)But then again Bella has always been very mature for her age and Edward is a gentlmen. As for Mike (interesting question) I don’t think I would be as cool. He’s just a immature teenage boy who doesn’t think of Bella as more than a pretty face & the new girl he was hoping to “get”
Oh Kaleb, you never fail to crack me up! Congrats on your book! I shall keep an eye out for it! What types of books do I like? Hmm… not really sure. I have pretty diverse taste in books, but at the same time I’m kinda picky. I suppose I like anything somewhat similar to Twilight. LOL! Thanks for the little lesson on what they do with your book before it gets published. I’m an aspiring writer myself, but so far I’ve been sticking to fanfics. I probably won’t be able to start my own novels till I get my own laptop.
Anywho…
Now unto the Twilight question. If I was Rene or Charlie, I probably wouldn’t have any objection to Bella marrying Edward. Maily cuz I would be able to see how much they truly love each other. A love like that deserves to last. Now if it was Mike, I dunno. I’d probably say no! LOL! Mike’s okay, he’s just kinda of a pest.
Yay!! Kaleb is reading Breaking Dawn!!! I’m excited to see what you think!! Glad I checked today.
Your question – Well, I am a mother. My oldest is 19. There comes a point when you realize that your children need to make their own choices, and that you can’t be in control of their lives as they get older. If my son came to me and said he was getting married, I would sit down with both of them and talk – about reality…the cost of living, what their plans are for college, etc. But, when it comes right down to it, I’d support them and love them, even if they don’t make the choice I would like them to make.
It’s not easy to be a parent!! 😉
By the way, I started dating my hub when I was 18, we got married at 21 and have been married for 21 years. It is possible for relationships like ours to work!!
teenage daughter getting married?
uh – no. Not if we’re talking about MY teenage daughter.
Bella? yeah. ok. As her mom said, Bella is an old soul and she has found another old soul to love. If her mom thinks it will be ok, then I do.
– ” a care made in Europe.” ??
– thanks for the info on AMX Centurion cards. Had no idea. But then again, why would I?
snort.
I’m excited about you’re getting into the last book.
And nervous about what we’ll do when you finish.
I mean, besides all flock to your Kaleb Nation web/blog site. I’ve so enjoyed your comments and observations on these books!
First off i’m almost 22 and i think that that is still too young to get married in the real world, but this is fiction so i’m okay with it.
As for Charlie, i expected a bigger reaction from him, but i don’t think he want’s to be on Bella’s bad side. He knows at any time she could just disappear and he knows she would be with Edward. I also thought Renee would have a hissy-fit.
Yay! I’m so happy that you started on Breaking Dawn! It’s my favorite and i can’t wait to hear all of your insights!
AHHHH!! breaking dawn!! 😀 finallY! anyway, if my daughter were getting married at age eighteen to anyone i would probably be freaking out. i mean seriously, scary thought. and it would be creepy if that guy were say a vampire! interesting thought. but i think Renee saw this one coming. in fact she says she did so i think i would have a better hold on myself like she does. and if Bella married Mike Newton i think Jess would be so pissed off, which would be hilarious but i still think i would react the sam eso why not Bella’s parents
I’m so excited about you reading breaking dawn! 😀 LOL.
I think I wouldn’t like it if my daughter wanted to get married at 18. She’s really young.
But this is a fictional book, and there are plenty of reasons of why getting married is really important for them.
And if she wanted to marry Mike, I wouldn’t like it either. As I said, she’s young, and she’s starting to live. I think getting married that early is dumb, because you just became an adult, you’re just starting your life, you’re just entering the world.
Again, I’m really excited about you reading BD!!! But it makes me feel sad, everytime I realize this is the last book 🙁
YAY!!!! Kaleb’s reading Breaking Dawn. I really love this book, it has so many unexpected twists and a bunch of things you wouldnt have thought possible.
I would just like to let you know, Kaleb, that if Breaking Dawn takes place in the year I think it does, Edward would be 105 years old at that point. Right now he is 107 1/2.
If I was Bella’s mom, and she told me she was marrying Edward, I would not have been surprised. I would also not have been angry. She is a very mature person, and even though they havent even known each other for 2 years (can you believe it?) it is clear even to an oblivious-of-vampires human that they have been through alot in a short time. Mike: I would have been shocked. The first words out of my mouth would have been “You Hardly Know Him!!!”. I would definetely tell her to wait on Mike, it is clear they dont have much of a bond.
The correct grammar is A European Car.
Has anyone else noticed that everysingle comment was labeled 1? or is that my suckish computer??
hmm.. it probably would depend on what the girl were like. ya know?
if she were as responsible and level-headed as Bella, then i might just approve of such a crazy event (although, i myself would never think of doing such a thing!).
And Edward is WAYY into Bella. Anybody can see that. He’s too devoted to doubt.
Mike Newton, on the other hand, seems just like any other teenage boy, so i probably wouldn’t approve of him at all..
Then again, i’m very biased. =)
As a parent, I wold be fine with Mike Newton. But from Charlie’s point of view, Edward is bad for her. He has put her through a lot and she has basically gone crazy and catatonic because of him. And now she wants to marry him??… What is she, nuts?!
haha. I’m an Edward fan, but I can’t blame Charlie for disliking him. Still, he realizes it’s not his place to tell her who she can marry. Poor Charlie.
WOOOOO BREAKING DAWN!!!!! I’m so happy you’re reading this now.
Megacat made me laugh so hard!
Btw I’m pretty sure it’s A European car because it has a “Y” sound at the beginning instead of a vowel sound. So yes you are right 😀
I would certainly not want her getting married, she is too young even if it is her ‘soul-mate’ I would insist on the college education being completed first.
Also like Charlie I would prefer she dated Jacob for a couple of years and then get married. – the long distance relationship while she was in college would be no prob for jake with the speed he runs.
Kaleb, for some strange reason the first chapter’s analysis of each 4 books has always been my favorite, especially eclipse’s first chapter. I don’t know what it is but I just love the first chapters. Not the chapters themselves, just your take on it. Anyway, thanks for another great chapter. Just an idea, I think it would be great if, at the end, you would make a wall of fame and have viewers vote on their favorite chapters that you wrote about. Just an idea. 🙂
If I were Bella Swan’s mother…I would allow her to get married. True love is a strong abstract, and this is just one of the things that a parent can’t give her. But, parents allow their children/teens happiness, right? Well, she’s happy with Eddie, so, yeah. I don’t even think eight-teen is that young. Plus, eight-teen is the age you start taking control of your life & deciding yourself.
I don’t really believe in true love for me, because of my complications & marridge is a STRONG commitment. I’d write a novel of this..but, i dont wanna take it out on Kale’s fans.
CONGRATZ KALE! This is a amazing book! My 2nd favorite.
Yayyyyy! You finally made it to BD! I’ve been very deprived of your posts for the last like two weeks, and this one is like a breath of fresh air!
I can’t wait till you finish!
If I was Bella’s parent I’d want her to wait a few years until she’s at least finished college. I wouldn’t mind though because I knew that marriage wouldn’t change much for them, they loved each other and were already planning on living together, so why not get married?
If it was Mike Newton? Um…If she loved him as much as she loves Edward it would be fine…Funny…but fine;p
oh my gosh I saw cat at first too!!!
I, however, did not think of MegaCat. I had this weird thought process. In my imagination, the cat morphed into a wolf. And that wolf was Jacob. And he was following Bella around. And I started cracking up, because I had a picture of a giant wolf following a ridiculous giant car around the empty streets of Forks. 😀
oh, and I would not be okay with it. Especially not when I made the mistake. But, as Bella has pointed out, she is of age, and I as a parent wouldn’t really be able to do anything about her getting married.
Just a warning: You’re probably going to hate this book. I did.
1. If I was Bellas Mother I would see that Edward makes her happy. I wouldn’t mind her marrying young, if she is happy with him I wouldn’t want to stand in the way. Plus Bella was at the legal age of 18 when she got married, she was out of high school, and She was planning on still attending college. If I saw that I wouldn’t stand in the way. Sometimes you have to let them go and do what they want. Bella was always happy with him around. and Bellas parents see it, of how happy she is with him.
2. I cannot see Bella with Mike at all. She always seemed she wanted to be his friend nothing more. So no I could never see them married. even though Mike would love to be married to her lol, it will never happen.
3. But think about this
What if Bella Was with Jacob?
What if Bella Married Jacob & not edward??
How will Bellas life be with Jacob??
I enjoy the thought of you in the middle of an intersection in your grandmother’s car. It makes me feel less stupid about driving as a I just started yesterday and got made fun of at school by friends because my father and I spent an hour and a half driving around a huge school parking lot and doing laps around the school. So anyway thank you for that.
If I were Bella’s parents I would hope I would be observant enough to see how well Edward and Bella work together. Though I would be frightened by marriage so young, I think I would have to understand and trust Bella, who is honestly a pretty sensible girl.
Mike Newton could be thought of as a completely different situation. The same trust would have to apply, yet to see Bella with someone who she obviously wasn’t intertwined souls with, I do not believe I would be happy that she would be marrying him.
Hope that makes some sense…..
Also kudos to having started Breaking Dawn 🙂 yay for new beginnings!!
With Bella getting married to Edward, I think that I would feel like Bella was too young but like I could be happy with that choice. Neither of them is what anyone would call ordinary, and they are both very mature and quite obviously truly in love.
On the other hand, if Bella was getting married to Mike I would seriously suspect what Bella fears that others think about her and Edward’s early marriage 😉
jw, i can’t seem to find the links to read your reviews for the rest of the series..knowing me it’s probably right in plain sight..but anyway i hadn’t finished reading those so i thought i’d ask!
oh and i’m super happy you started reading bd! it was my second favorite of the series 🙂
I think that, not even counting what all the non-hmans know, if I were Charlie or Renee, I would wish she would wait a bit longer, but I would let her. I would see that they were going to be able to work it out. As for Mikey… well, I don’t think people are very nice to Mike! He catches a lot of crap, just because he isn’t a supernatural being! He can’t help it, so BACK OFF AND BE NICE!!! Plus, if there was no Edward or Jacob, she so would have fallen for Mikey… but, no, I wouldn’t let Bella marry him just out of school. My parents married at 19, and they lasted 11 years, but they shouldn’t have been married so young, because they were really just kids. That’s the difference with Edward and Bella. Even those who don’t know that hes 110 years old are able to tell that he isn’t really a kid, and even though Bella’s only 18, she’s not really a kid either…
That’s the condensed verion of my thoughts… I’m so glad you’ve started Breaking Dawn, its my second favorite (the first being Twilight)!
xo
~M
ps: sorry for rambling 🙂 🙂
Oh, right, and I just remembered about the driving thing: I got you beat, Kaleb!! Not sure how it is in other states, but here in NC, you have to be behind the wheel for 6 hours with an instructor riding shotgun before you can get your permit. This is the first time I’ve ever driven. I pull out of the parking lot and SPLAT! I hit a squirrel. Seriously, the first thing I ever did behind the wheel of a car. I was traumatized, and I hate driving to this very day…
I would be happy even if it was Mike Newton. The only reason is because if she’s was happy than I would be happy for her (even if I wasn’t happy).
No, it’s not a grammer fail. “European car” is correct because ‘European’ is acting as a proper adjective (modifying ‘car’) and all proper adjectives are capitalized.
Just so you know, Kaleb, you will have
A LOT of surprises in store for you. As for you’re question, I think I wouldn’t be upset if Bella got married to Edward, as long as I got to know him and if she really loved him, which she does. As for Mike Newton, the same principles apply. =D
I wouldn’t mind the marrying Edward part but mostly because Bella does seem very mature and Edward is a gentleman and has, even after the leaving thing, proven that he lives and dies (pardon the pun) for Bella. Mike? Nope, he’s not the same caliber of man.
I wouldn’t be very happy about my 18 year-old daughter getting married, but I guess her mom can see that she is very much in love and she is an adult now. It didn’t even occur to me that the police would be blaming Edward for Jacob’s disappearance. I thought it seemed obvious that Jacob ran away because he was upset over the wedding.
Took you long enough to get here. Just kidding. If I were Bella’s parents I would be upset but Edward can be very charming and if it was Mike I would say to wait a little bit longer.
As a mother, I would LOVE to see my daughter marry someone as hawt and rich as Edward Cullen. Mike who???
well
if I were bella’s mother and my daugher was about to get married to Edward Cullen i think i would try to sabotage the wedding and kiddnap edward so he can marry me instead of my daughter…
ok just kidding i may not be really happy but agree at the end
If you’re a huge fan, why did you wait so long to read Breaking Dawn? Hasn’t the wait been unbearable?
OMG YOU INALLY GOT TO BREAKING DAWN! WOOO! lol…
good research right there Kaleb…thats a true lit critter. heheh.
hmmm…id think bella was getting married way to young. i mean, before, i used to be all like, “awww highschool sweethearts getting married” like as soon as theyre out of school, but the other day i as thinking to myself, that is way too young. like, not many people take things serious at that age. so if i was bella’s parent, thats where my mind would be.
but if she was marrying mike newton… oh lordy…idk lol.