Readers protest teen novel 'Breaking Dawn' (It's anti-abortion)

guelphmercury.com ^ | 8/9/08 | Lee-Anne Goodman/Canadian Press

[wagglebee]

A little over a week ago, the literary world was lauding novelist Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon stay-at-home mother, as the new J.K. Rowling amid the excitement surrounding the release of the fourth instalment in her "Twilight" teen fiction series, "Breaking Dawn."

Today, the bestselling book is the subject of a backlash that's prompted a group in the United States to organize a "return your book" protest.

On Amazon's U.S. website, a group of readers, led by a one-time bookstore employee, is urging former fans to return their copies of "Breaking Dawn" in order to deprive Meyer of royalties.

Employees of the Borders bookstore chain in the U.S. have reported that some copies are being returned by indignant readers. A representative of the Chapters-Indigo chain in Canada, where the book sold 100,000 copies last weekend, could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday.

"Seriously, folks -- don't burn your copies of the book, return them," wrote the protest organizer, nicknamed Baby Strange, on Amazon.com. "I think Meyer's fans would send a much more powerful message if, instead of a book-burning tour, they staged a book-returning tour."

What's the beef for readers? Some are complaining about Meyer's portrayal of her heroine, Bella, as being disturbingly desperate to hold on to her new husband, Edward the vampire. Others are taking issue with the book's focus on Bella's unexpected but post-marital teen pregnancy, while still others see an off-putting anti-abortion message in "Breaking Dawn."

About half of the Canadian readers weighing in on Amazon's Canuck website aren't happy with Bella's behaviour and the turn of events in "Breaking Dawn."

"Not only is this girl seriously melodramatic and clumsy, she's the most weak-willed and pathetic character ever written," wrote a 28-year-old Canadian fan named Claire R.

"She has said numerous times that she would simply 'die' if Edward ever left her. It's like her entire life revolves around him. What are you trying to tell young women, Ms. Meyer . . . don't girls have enough self-esteem problems already? Should they really be reading books about a girl who has no life outside of her boyfriend, a girl who readily admits that she would die if he were to ever leave her?"

Another Canadian reader, Annette from Vancouver, said she hated the way "Breaking Dawn" focuses on Bella's pregnancy.

"I think most readers would have settled for maybe a surprise pregnancy at the end (or something to that effect if Meyer really wanted a baby in this story), but the fact that it swallowed the whole plot just plain sucks," she wrote. "I was extremely disappointed with the fourth book. I want my money back."

Book industry observers say Meyer's entire "Twilight" series owes much of its success to its avid online following of young female readers, and many of the complaints about "Breaking Dawn" can be found on blogs and websites.

Some readers are taking issue with the anti-abortion allegory in "Breaking Dawn," an unsurprising element considering Meyer has described herself as "really, really religious."

[Guenevere]

Dear parent...I've got to ask you....

Have you read even one of your daughter's books?...Have you read the synopsis, (as I just did) ON WIKIPEDIA?

I became curious and simply Googled this book series, author.....truly truly disgusting junk!

This book series, this author and the characters in this book is SICKO!

At least be informed WHAT your daughter "who helps lead praise and worship at church' is filling her heart & head with.

I don't know how old she is, but as long as she's still a teen and under your roof and authority, you still have influence.

Please don't cede it to the dark forces.

How edifying is..... vampires making 'love' and leaving heavy bruising and impregnating the heroine and she gets a thirst for blood and her baby pops out after only one month and her vampire husband gives her morphine so she won't feel the pain when he makes her a full vampire.

Just sheeesh!

Your impressionable daughter is filling her mind with this dark stuff....and with your approval.

[Skooz]

Honestly, you have not the slightest idea what you are talking about.

Wikipedia? Are you kidding me? That’s your research?

We have raised our daughter in the way she should go. She has been instilled with strong moral values and Scripture from the day of her birth. I can think of no one her age who has had a life more bathed in prayer.

What’s more, she’s really a prude. The girls at her school have mocked her as “Saintly Sarah,” because she refuses to go to the parties they go to or let boys go as far as they do. And this is at a conservative Christian school.

She has also gotten heat from other kids because of how strict her mother and I are, and have always been. We have always known where she is and who she is with 24/7 and she has rarely been out of our sight.

At a time when most teens are rebelling and getting into trouble, she is closer than ever to her mother and me. She has a habit of telling her mother EVERYTHING.

Yeah, she’s had her teen moments. A lot of them. But, at age 17 she has yet to bring shame on our family.

I guess it’s because she understands that it is fiction.

Her favorite book remains The Bible.

[nathanbedford]

How can you compare with sexy vampire making young teens swoon....and young teens having no moral compass to understand the pitfalls.

Do you mean how can I "equate"? And I take it that you mean how can I equate Of Human Bondage with this "sexy vampire making young teens swoon"? That is not what I am equating, I quoted what I was equating:

"She has said numerous times that she would simply 'die' if Edward ever left her. It's like her entire life revolves around him. What are you trying to tell young women, Ms. Meyer . . . don't girls have enough self-esteem problems already? Should they really be reading books about a girl who has no life outside of her boyfriend, a girl who readily admits that she would die if he were to ever leave her?"

I don't know anything about the book in question except the little bit that can be gleaned from these quotes. But that much tells me that the subject matter is the stuff of very great literature such as OF HUMAN BONDAGE.

Incidentally, I am not sure that the era at the turn of the last century that Maugham portrays is all that much more moral. After all, the male is morbidly obsessed with a prostitute who is incapable of staying off the street. This is pretty rough stuff but I think the issues are timeless and have to do with man's eschatological condition.

My objection first, is that I have an instinctive reaction against book burning of any sort. Let the young teenagers read these things and let them sort them out themselves. This is not, after all, a textbook forced upon children in school, it is a book freely obtainable or easily eschewed in the open marketplace.

Second, these censors do not object so much about this description that you put forth, they object to be portrayal of the female as not being dominant and fully in charge of her life. Sorry, but that equates to both characters in Maugham's work, both male and female, and has nothing to do with how the author handles the issue. The author may handle it well or poorly but that is quite different from painting the description. Maugham handles it brilliantly. The objection has to do with political correctness.

And that is my third objection, political correctness is a deadly poison which is killing our young people. I devote some of my about page to the subject.

[Guenevere]

OK, you didn't appreciate the synopsis Wikipedia gave..?

As a parent, what is YOUR 'nutshell version' of this book, Breaking Dawn (if you don't mind)

nathanbedford, you would rather take me to task for my grammatical errors than discuss the merits of the book....!

Dear parent, it's your child.

You are comfortable with this and your conscience doesn't reject this or cause you to feel uncomfortable? .....the Holy Spirit doesn't nudge you with 'this isn't edifying?'

I still find it sad if young, impressionable teens are succumbing to this tripe.

[trisham]

So dont let your teenage daughter read the book

****************

Bingo! Now you've got it!

[TightyRighty]

The sex in these books (or lack thereof) is tamer than anything you’d find in the Bible. And she is not given morphine so she won’t feel the pain of changing into a vampire - she was given morphine for her delivery. Telling someone to inform themselves when you yourself are not is the epitome of hypocrisy.

[Guenevere]

Oh yes you're right....she's given morphine for delivery because she's only carried one month and the 'baby' grew rapidly and breaks her ribs when it pops out....

..how silly of me.

Enough!....you all digest this bloody morsel.

This thread disgusts me.

[Canedawg]

I agree with you. Hearing some people complain about the “anti-abortion” themes, and others complaining about the nature of her relationship with a vampire is two sides of the same coin.

[trisham]

Ach. It's a disappointment, to be sure.

[TightyRighty]

Oh, get a grip.

[denydenydeny]

On Amazon's U.S. website, a group of readers, led by a one-time bookstore employee, is urging former fans to return their copies of "Breaking Dawn" in order to deprive Meyer of royalties.

I bet these people are a real box of chocolates to be around. I get a distinct Kathy Bates "Misery" vibe from them.

I can imagine them waiting around for the author, sledgehammer in hand.

[Skooz]

Any portion of any story can be ripped out of context to prove or disprove a given hypothesis.

My daughter is a very mature 17 year-old. She normally reads things like “Pride and Prejudice,” though she did find some light teen novels she enjoys.

She is an aspiring actress who is absolutely convinced that she will change Hollywood with her Faith and her conservative (and pro-life) beliefs.

When she turned 17, I decided to allow her more leeway in what she reads and watches. We still have firm guidelines and refuse to even consider most of what Hollywood or Barnes & Noble produce. I don’t let most of it into our home.

But, allowing her to be a more active participant in her choice of entertainment materials is part of allowing her to become a mature adult.

In 8 months she will be 18 and graduating from high school. I want her to know — now — that the world has nothing for her. She seems to be getting the message. In fact, of that I have no doubt.

BTW, when I was 13, my parents refused to allow me to see The Exorcist. So, I bought the book with my allowance and read it. Petty heady stuff for a 13 year-old, but it didn’t turn me into a devil worshiper or whet my appetite for the occult. Even a dull knife like me understood it was just a novel.

And, no, I wouldn’t allow my 13 year-old to read it now.

[Tax-chick]

The discussion at “The Point” is kind of “What did you think they’d say?” but the one they link to, “Occupation: Girl,” is hysterical. No wonder my daughter said the first book in the series was even dumber than my secret Barbara Cartland stash!

[Tax-chick]

Formerly secret Barbara Cartland stash ...

[Guenevere]

When I was in my 20's, I bought the book "The Exorcist"...(I was a steady church goer--(from birth)- but didn't realize I had no real relationship with the Lord)

As I read this book, I recognized it for Satanic tripe midway through (& I bet you know the passage)...

...My skin crawled, and I tore this book into pieces!!

I begged my husband & family not to read it or watch the movie.

Some things are straight from the PIT, and this was one of them.

Guess it didn't affect you the same way, eh?

[trisham]

Formerly secret Barbara Cartland stash ...

*********************

Phew! You had me worried for a moment. :)

[trisham]

Formerly secret Barbara Cartland stash ...

**********************

Oh. Sorry. I misread your post. Good heavens, woman! :)

[Skooz]

Well, it did make me sleep with the light on for awhile.

I remember staying up late reading it one night, and thinking “Gee whiz, I bet the movie isn’t as scary as the book.” My sister’s room and my parent’s room were both connected to mine, but it still spooked me.

I don’t remember having any sort of spiritual reaction to it. The part you are referencing was shocking, but perfectly in character for the evil being portrayed.

I did not come to know the Lord for another twelve years. Maybe, if I had read it AFTER that, my response would have been different.

It was like a nightmare: the calm before, the horror, and the calm after.

It isn’t anything I would read today, but as a history major I read many books that are far more disturbing. And they are non-fiction.

[trisham]

I read "The Exorcist", but in my mid twenties. I thought it was frightening, and still consider the movie to be one of the best, if one can manage to ignore the parts where it becomes a bit too revealing. Less is more.