The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t read “Eclipse” (the 3rd book in the Twilight series”), you will want to skip this review

author’s website: Stephanie Meyer
release date: June 5, 2010
appeals to: Young Adult
genre: Vampire Novella
length: 192 pages
overall rating: 4.5 Stars

*the inside flap*
Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes, and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blodd . . . life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don’t draw attention to yourself, and above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn’t know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.
Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as her. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides nad decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

*my review*
I need to begin by saying that reading this book was kind of like watching the movie “Titanic” in that you know how it is going to end. (Another spoiler warning - If you are not sure how this story ends or haven’t read Eclipse, STOP NOW!) When I heard that this book was going to be released, I was very excited because I really enjoyed the world that Stephanie Meyer created in the Twilight series (even before all of the movie-mania). I was even more excited to learn that it accompanied Eclipse, which was my favorite book in the series. So of course, this morning I went to buy it!

The book is a novella, so it is on the shorter side (only 173 pages of story), and I read it in one sitting. The story jumps right in to Bree’s life as a newborn vampire – she’s about three months old – and it is definitely different than the lives of the Cullens’ lifestyle! Bree describes the thirst that she feels and the way that she has to pick out her victims. But Bree also exposes us to what has been happening while Riley and Victoria build the army they take to fight the Cullens in Eclipse.

As the story developed, I really grew to like Bree. She has a lot more depth than you see in her very brief role in Eclipse. In fact, after reading this book, I went to Eclipse and reread the section about Bree. It was really interesting to see the story from both Bree’s and Bella’s perspectives! As the end of the book came closer and closer, I knew what would happen, but I kept hoping it would change. I knew that it couldn’t of course, but it made me wonder --- If Stephanie Meyer had written this novella while she was editing Eclipse instead of after, would Eclipse have looked different?

I really enjoyed the story and recommend it for a quick read. It is an excellent extension to the story of Eclipse. My only complaint is that I would have loved to have learned more about Diego and Fred (two characters that interact with Bree the most). But, since the book is from Bree's perspective, the amount we learn about them makes sense. The book is being offered for free online, but if you can afford to buy it, one dollar from the sale of each book is being donated to the American Red Cross.

*short and snappy*
writing: smooth and descriptive in the style I expect from Stephanie Meyer
plot: suspenseful – even with an ending that you know is coming
characters: very well developed for such a short book! I’d love to know more about Diego and Fred though!
judging by the cover: The black, white, and red cover matches the theme of the other books, but the hourglass image is perfect!
miscellaneous: Stephenie Meyer is offering the text for free online beginning June 7th at www.breetanner.com and there is a playlist for the book available here.