I just finished the new The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
All of you in the Internet universe have probably already read it, too, by now. I did enjoy the story. Bree sounds like a sweet enough vampire. And it’s cute that she is afraid of sunlight and develops a huge crush on her BFF, Diego. That last part seems charmingly like the relationship between Bella and Edward. Didn’t you hear Eddie’s voice when Diego says to her “Trust, Bree” when he’s trying to get her to go into the sunshine? I sure did. Maybe teenagers all sound similar? Probably not, come to think of it. Perhaps it’s a style thing?
I wasn’t super comfortable with Bree feeding on an endless supply of humans without a second thought. Meyer’s vague rationale that these vampires come from the “dregs” of society and feed on the “dregs” did not really calm my nerves. I work with lots of poor and homeless people all the time. They want to be treated with respect, like everyone else. This kind of attitude is not helpful. Really, Steph, the classism is awfully repugnant.
Nevertheless, it is sad that Bree and her friends get mixed up in Victoria’s revenge scheme. You have the sense that they have a lot of potential. ‘course, had there been no Victoria, then Riley, Bree, Fred etc. would all have remained blissfully ignorant human beings going about their regular day-to-day lives, so we’d never have learned about them anyway.
The novella was good, though not quite what I’m craving for. The Bree character is such a trivial part of the Twilight series. I’m much more curious about Leah and Renseme. Though after this latest installment, I’m also wonderfully intrigued with the mysterious vampire, Fred.
I’ve read some comments here and there, Steph, that you’re thinking of a book about Leah and/or Renseme. I really hope so! Like I’ve written before, I really think that there’s something more there. And the increasingly sinister Volturi seem to offer an exciting literary opportunity. Don’t let your readers down, Ms. Meyer!