The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner An Eclipse Novela by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown and Company, 2010
I admit it. I just can’t get enough Stephenie Meyer! I can’t even put my thumb on what it is about her writing that is so compelling, but put her books in my hands and I will read them. Quickly. That said, I cannot say that The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner was a particularly good example of her work. Yes, it was highly readable (finished it in less than a day). Yes, it was fun to read an alternate view of the big battle in Eclipse. However, there was an overall clunky feel that made this feel like a tacked on, fanfic-esque project designed to bring in a little extra cash from the throngs of excited Twilight fans as the release date for the Eclipse film looms.
Bree Tanner’s fate is already known to any reader of the Twilight saga. Born into an army of newborn vampires, Bree is trapped, by her coven and her leader, in a world where she must use her skills of observation to survive. Unfortunately, even and she and her new friend, Diego, discover that their leader is keeping them thirsty, ignorant and under his thumb, they never manage to take control of the situation. This is one of the critical problems with The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner-even though we are introduced to Bree and Diego as “the smart ones” of their group, they never seem to use any of their supposed intelligence! The other major problem is that the relationship between Diego and Bree is forced, to an almost laughable degree. The high drama, emotional kick of Meyer’s previous books is totally lacking here. There is one interesting relationship in the book and that is the friendship that develops between Fred and Bree.
With all those complaints, do I regret reading the book? No way. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a fun, satisfyingly fluffy read for any Twilight fan, despite its many flaws. Read it online for free until July 5, 2010.
Tags: adults, girls, Stephenie Meyer, vampires, young adults
