Monday’s Bite (15)…Breaking Dawn Ch. 8-18

The Twilight ReRead Continues 

I am a bad re-read along partner.  Bookgoonie and I have been forging ahead through the Epic that is the Twilight Series. And last week I had a huge fail. Not only did I not list questions for my chapters…I didn’t even answer Bookgoonies! Didn’t even read the book. My only excuse is that sometimes life gets away from you…and my Monday’s Bite had to give. Major props for Bookgoonie going it alone!

So that means this is my second Monday’s Bite post. Ooops…All caught up now, lol. Remember to head over to forBookgoonie for her take on Ch. 8-18. As always, if you don’t have a blog you can comment through Twitter with #mondaybites.

Without further ado…Questions…

Point of View. I think it was a good move switching to Jacob. While I don’t know that I especially like where his head’s at during this time period I think his narrating this section is good for the following reasons…

1. While I wouldn’t mind a more intimate view of Bella and Edward during this time. It’s probably a lot of super painful and depressing musings.
2. I like the view we get of pack life and the development of Jacob’s character
3. I think it makes for a nice drop off when he sees Reneesme.

Pregnancy. Geeze, could Meyer have given teens a little scarier view of pregnancy if she had tried? I’ve never been pregnant, but I look forward to that experience as a time of love and hope. Granted Bella’s pregnancy isn’t smooth to say the least, but a lot of people’s aren’t. I just think Meyer could have softened the experience somewhere…given some hope, some love, some excitement…plan a nursery…something?! Because this painful, all-out gory, experience was disturbing to read my first time through, and doesn’t lose too much of its punch in later reads.

Soulmates. As much as I love the idea of Soulmates in my fiction (bring them on! They only serve to hasten more intimate romance). I don’t believe in them in real life. I’ll give you fate as a reason I ended up with my husband…but I’m not 100% convinced I couldn’t have had a love with another. Or that, god forbid, something should happen to one of us…wouldn’t the other like to see the living person find happiness again? So then what does that mean? Was your first relationship not your soulmate?

I guess while it would be wonderful to “imprint” and be 100% sure that you were with The One. I just don’t think it exists in the real world.

Purpose. I think any pack or group needs a central focus. How would they survive without it? I mean, the wolves wouldn’t even exist if the Cullens didn’t move in next door. I think the purpose of Bella, is more of a unique task. Through it I think Jacob’s Pack’s purpose becomes uniting the Wolves and Vampires together in a common goal of protection against “bad” vampires.

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Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

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*Spoilers*

Review

This was by far my favorite book of the series. I know it ends without resolving the wolf/human problem…but still, it seemed strangely finished to me. Having that last image of a fall leaf as a wedding band around Grace’s finger is a beautiful one. Leaving the couple on the verge of transformation and future. Whether that future be a traditional marriage and family, or a life in the wild as wolves remains to be seen. But I guess ultimately the reader feels as though whatever the choice, the love between Grace and Sam will have its forever together.

I think Isabel and Cole will also have a future. Maybe if Cole is ever cured he’ll join Isabel in California. Their relationship was always far more realistic than Sam and Graces…never an instant forever attraction…instead it seems like one that will grow over time. Not everyone needs to find marriage at 17.

Now for just a few things I loved about Cole and Isabel’s relationship this book:

• The little black mustang Isabel gave Cole, and that scene where Cole drives the car around Isabel’s body. Seeing Cole play with it at inopportune moments. Very endearing.
• The scene where Cole and Isabel are hiding underneath the lab table – making out!? – and getting caught by Isabel’s mom…who (luckily, lol) just kind of rolls her eyes and lets the two of them off the hook.
• Isabel watching Cole give his life for Sam and Grace and then rolling that SUV off the road to save the pack. She, more than anyone, has given to a cause that has done nothing but hurt her throughout this series. For that I will always love Isabel as my favorite character from Mercy Falls. That girl has heart and guts and deserves the kisses and affection of that hot St. Claire boy.

*sigh*

Now more random notes about Forever…

I also loved the scene in the beginning of the book where Isabel loses it at the Italian restaurant and her mother again saves the day with understanding rarely seen in parents in this series. The way her mother instantly understands the situation and helps her daughter was unique and heartwarming. It was just perfect to see Isabel finally show some emotion over all that she’s been dealing with and then getting the support of her mother. That scene made me very happy.

Another happy moment was when Sam and Grace drive off to see the northern lights. Throughout these novels Grace and Sam get one good scene per book. One happy, uncomplicated, field trip where they just get to be two crazy kids in love. The whole thing reminded me of getting lost in the country with my hubby when we were teens. Granted he was never lost because he has a good sense of direction…where as I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag with a map. Still it’s the thought that counts, and it’s always kind of romantic to be alone in a car watching the stars with the man you love.

I guess I’m a little sad to be leaving Mercy Falls. Part of me wishes I knew what really happened to all the characters in the future. But I think that the strength in the ending is really that Stiefvater picked her battle. She chose to focus on the struggle to find a new leader of the pack and the escape from the shotgun of Tom Culpepper. Her characters matured and are now ready to face their lives as adults. At the age of 18 there’s no way to ensure a happily ever after anyway…Because fans of Mercy Falls are all hoping for a long life and relationship between Grace and Sam and to have a full life is to have one full of both joy and sorrow. The ending of this series is really the beginning of life for its characters.

Who else is hoping for a 10 year update? lol. Maybe Stiefvater will return to the falls someday…

Rating: 9/10

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Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

*Spoilers*

Review

One of my favorite parts of this book was when Grace told off her parents. I normally don’t support this type of outburst from teen characters. I often find that either the adult they are ranting at was such a caricature of a person that it seems unfair…or that they aren’t seeing a valid adult point of view. Not so in Mercy Falls. Grace’s parents aren’t super strict or super unfair, they just kind of ignore the fact that they have a child. And they have a good child. A cooking, homework completing, friend-having child. And that they finally care after all these years…after Grace has finally assembled her own support system is both realistic and the epitome of the word injustice. I read the section where she tells them off twice! And my only critique was that if I was Grace…I would have run away that night!

And Sam had his own bit of empowerment. In this book Sam really begins to come into his humanness. It’s like watching the thaw from winter to spring. Even when Grace is dying/changing into a wolf, Sam is still secure in his choice to stay human. It’s what makes their love so heart-wrenching…They’re obviously meant to be together but both are driven by what’s inside them to desire wolf or human. Neither feels the need to force the other to stay one way or another. You can’t help but fall for the connection these two have. Everyone who sees them feels it.

Now to the eye candy of the novel…I’ll say this first, Cole is hot! But he’s so self-centered. I just don’t think that his issues stand up to his attitude. I mean, I get that stuff went wrong in his life – jaded rock star and all. But others in these books have more valid issues and less trouble interacting with others…Sam’s parents tried to kill him, Isabelle’s parents are on the verge of divorce and she’s lost a brother, and Grace could be dying. What’s so wrong with being Cole St. Claire anyway? He’s a rock star genius whose parents believed in him. Wow, bad luck with that one. When he throws Sam into the bathroom with the tub, or is unable to help Victor…to watch Victor die because of Cole’s decision. I was really seeing no redeeming qualities in Cole. Until he saves the day at the end of the story by finally getting with the program and helping, I was ready to kick Cole out of the pack…call up Tom Culpepper!

But wait…if we got rid of Cole we wouldn’t have the relationship between Cole and Isabelle. There were those scenes where they began to break down each other’s walls. So amazing. Probably my favorite part of the book. Watching them begin to save each other – to see the life and the fight come back to each of them was invigorating. Between the kissing, muscles, and opening up I was hooked. They keep dropping lines claiming that their love is nothing like Grace and Sam’s but I think they aren’t seeing how special it is that they are able to open up to one another.

In the end I admit, sometimes in these novels I get a little lost. There’s so much seriousness…the looks, longing, moments to read into. I can get a little bogged down. But then Stiefvater writes those endings. Victor’s burial where Cole cracks, Grace’s hospital bed yearning for Sam, Cole stepping in at the 11th hour to save the day. Seeing it all come together is worth all the heavy setup. It makes me even more excited to finish the series. For an author who is so amazing at endings the finish of a series should be the ultimate read. Excited to see what she does with it.

Rating: 8/10

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Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

BookTalk

“I remember this: his yellow eyes.

I thought I’d never see them again.” (2, epub)

Grace was attacked by wolves as a child. They took her from her tire swing for a tasty mid-winter snack. But Grace survived. The wolf with the yellow eyes held her to her human world.

Sam is a summer boy. The warmth of Mercy Falls’ Minnesota sunny days brings him back to his human form. Bitten by a wolf as a child, Sam changed. Spending his winters as a part of a pack of others like him. His whole world changed the day he rescued Grace. And for years the two have had an unspoken connection over uncharted territory between the species.

But then it finally happened. In a moment of trauma Sam is no longer the wolf he is supposed to be. Instead he becomes the man Grace has been longing for, for far too long. Their romance is one hanging by the tenuous thread that is the weather. Because, you see, this is Sam’s last transition…his last time to change to his human form. A gust of air too cold to handle will separate Sam and Grace placing them firmly into two very different species. And banishing a love that should last forever…

Review

This book has been sitting in my library for years. Years! And yet I never read it. I think I added it to the collection around the time that Twilight was huge. I was looking for some read-a-likes for my paranormal hungry teens. I think the fact that this was about werewolves put me off. I’ve always been more of a vampire fan…Totally Team Edward, I’m a purest you know. But let me tell you, after finally finding Sam and Grace I’m wondering why it took me so long to pick this up!

*Sigh* Sam…You have to love a man who loves a girl soo much he manages to go against all animal instinct and not only save her from being eaten alive, he silently watches over her for years…just pining away. The connection Grace and Sam have is one that the reader is able to feel. All of the locking of the eyes, instinctivly knowing when the other is near, heck, even the super sensory ability to smell each other heightens the tension between these two characters. What makes this tension so wonderful is that like Twilight, the tension can be sexual, but unlike Twilight, the tension can also be full of love.

One of my favorite scenes is when Grace and Sam are in the candy store. The girl behind the register is practically getting a contact high from being close to their love. I think I like the scene so much because for most of the book Sam and Grace’s relationship happens in private. This isolation does allow for a lot of intimacy, both physical and mental, but it also gives a serious tone to a love that has the potential to be very giddy and fresh. Thus, the scene at the candy store was a breath of fresh air to me.

Obviously, I’m behind the times. I didn’t read this book when it first came out so I knew the ending before I even began (it is a trilogy people, obviously something has to go right for these two to merit other titles). What surprised me was the depth of the love developed. And how very un-paranormal this werewolf book seemed. But that’s it’s strength. The fact that the book is an honest to goodness love story, rather than a fight for good or evil, or a tale of magic. The humanity of the love is only reinforced by it’s animal counterpoint.

Pick this one up if you haven’t yet. The third book (Forever) comes out today btw. For all those still thrown by the idea of another paranormal book…or a general uninterest in the werewolf trope (holla)…Know that this book is more than it’s summary. Inside you’ll find a love story involving characters you’ll feel for, supported by lots of poetry and song lyrics to warm/break your heart. You’ll quickly find that this is the most un-paranormal book about a paranormal creature.

Rating: 8/10

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