The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga)

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is, essentially, a character study that Stephenie Meyer expanded into a novella. You may not have noticed, but Twilight fans get a little obsessed, so it's not terribly surprising that Meyer is adding to the existing four-book series in small bites (particularly

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as it looks as though the main quartet will stay a quartet). Any book that offers a glimpse of Bella and Edward is sure to sell. Admittedly, at least The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is telling a different story than the leaked-and-then-posted-online Edward POV re-write of Twilight would. Fans will know that Bree Tanner made one very short appearance in Eclipse, the third novel in the series. The vampire Victoria, desperate to have revenge on Bella and Edward for the killing of her mate James, created an "army" of newborn vampires so that she might strike out against Bella and the Cullen family. It consisted of twenty-or-so young vampires who were not well-controlled and if you've read Eclipse, then you'll know from the get-go that things don't end well for any of these young vampires, including Bree. It's not giving anything away to know this, and Meyer only wrote this to provide her readers with a closer look at a darker world of Meyer vampires and to let them enjoy another new, brief dip into the Twilight world.

Bree doesn't have much time to develop a personality that could be easily differentiated from any other nice-enough teenage girl dealing with a somewhat difficult situation. Her only true distinct characteristics seem to be a desire to stay out of sight and her tendency to read a great deal of books. Not even sixteen before she was turned, Bree had been living on the streets -- easy prey for those seeking lone individuals that could be conscripted into the newborn vampire army. She remembers little of her mortal life and instead, she provides us with eyes into a twisted and dangerous situation. Survival for Bree seems to depend on hiding in a corner, behind another vampire who has the ability to divert attention... or at least produce a zone around himself that makes others want to look away. Near-invisibility is not a bad thing, I suppose, for a vampire, and Bree tries to hide in the aura of this, reading books and waiting for her chance to leave the safe-house at night. She manages to find what she might be able to call a friend, a rare commodity in a place where losing limbs (don't worry, they apparently re-attach) is commonplace and lies form the foundation of their daytime prison. Since we know it will all end badly, the reader simply has to watch it all play out, seeing another side of the story and perhaps developing some deeper pity for creatures that Meyer evidently felt hadn't been properly examined.

For such a short piece, it's hard to really have any real character depth, but Meyer does have this magic ability to create girls who long to know and be known by quiet and beautiful boys. For Bree, this is Diego, a slightly older vampire (only by a few months in vampire life, but by two or three years as a mortal before being turned). They both consider themselves outsiders, unwilling to socialize with the other vampires who cannot think beyond their thirst for blood. Bree and Diego even find themselves questioning the rule that suggests they will turn to dust if they set foot outside in the sunlight. (Get ready for more sparkly vampires!) Naturally, they are considered "better" vampires than the others who are simply out of control and violent. The definition of "better" here still means Bree and Diego kill humans for their meals, it just also means that they think for themselves and are unwilling to let themselves be used as pawns in some revenge game once they get an inkling that something isn't right.

This is one of those books where those who read it are largely made up of true fans, so it's hard to go wrong as long as one doesn't over-promise a new look at the beloved lead characters. On the whole, I think fans will be pleased with this small new novella, though the glimpse of Bella and Edward is, indeed, limited to the end scene. Meyer seemed to go to a lot of trouble to emphasize that this novel is from the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything about Bella, Edward, and the Cullens... yet seems quite interested by them and so keeps track of them at the crucial moment (she does know her audience). Edward is referred to as "the redhead" at times, which surprised me and got a little annoying. I found it hard to develop any real connection to Bree beyond a small amount of sympathy for her situation -- after all, she seemed to have a sad life even before being turned and then was destined to have any small hope for improvement taken away. The Bree-Diego tragic romance is a given, along with the knowledge that they won't get to actually do anything about their attraction in chaste Meyer world. Readers will notice that the vampire with the gift to repel attention (described as quite handsome if one can manage to look at him) makes it out alive and thus gives Meyer some future potential to explore his past and future.

My cynicism about releasing such a short novella to capitalize on the Twilight craze is tempered by two things: (1) you can actually read this book for free on Stephenie Meyer's website for a short period of time and (2) the $1 donation to the American Red Cross is a kind of clever philanthropic move when it comes to a series about vampires. Thus, I find it hard to grumble too much about the situation. She does at least seem to appreciate her fans, which is important, as only real fans will enjoy this book. If you loved it, you'll appreciate the book. If the series annoyed you... well, then you probably won't bother with this either, unless your projected attitude of "this series sucks" is really masking your true feelings of "well, this series is entertaining, if extremely flawed" and you refuse to admit to the fact that you read the whole Edward rewrite on the Meyer website and already have plans to see Eclipse on opening weekend. Ahem. Not like that describes anyone here.

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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. If you're already a Twilight fan, then absolutely give it a go. It gives a different perspective on events that happen toward the end of Eclipse, and could possibly change your opinion on a few of the minor characters.

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Anyone who hasn't read Twilight more than a few times might want to pass, though; the characters involved are easily forgotten in the context of the whole series.

Overall, and unsurprisingly, the twilighters will love it, vampire purists will hate it (though these vamps are a bit more 'traditional'), and everyone else will just say 'Meh'.

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I actually liked this a lot. I liked the Twilight books but not that much, so I am really shocked at how much I enjoyed this one.

I think the reason I liked it so much is because they seemed more like vampires. Does that make sense? Bree is a great character and I am glad that Stephenie wrote this

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and that I actually picked it up.

If you love Twilight, you will probably really like The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and if you don't like Twilight, you will probably still enjoy this.

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This book is not what I expected. Stephanie Meyer did a amazing job in Twilight, New moon, Eclypse and Breaking dawn but this latest book was not that interesting, but still pretty good. It is introducing a new character, bree tanner. which i dont think she is very interesting.

I never though that such a minor charcter would have such a compelling story. Just goes to show that Bella isn't the only person Meyer can write about. The story makes you understand the life style of the new vampire and even though it's horrendous if your human it still makes you feel a bit sorry

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for Tanner. She's a likeable girl, but just keep in mind what truly happens to her, so don't get too attached!

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I was excited for this because it's been almost 2 years since I've left the Twilight world and Eclipse was one of my favorites from the series. Also, who isn't curious to know about what went on in other characters minds? The cool thing about Twilight is that there are so many characters and so

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many different point of views, so many different stories within the story, it's fascinating really. And yes, at some point I was a twi-hard but not so much anymore. But I will admit, I miss that feeling you got when you were reading Twilight, like the entire world just stopped and it was just you and the book. I swear, there's crack dusted on the pages. I can assure you, there was no crack dusted on the pages of this Novella.

A lot of people don't remember Bree, but for me, how could you not remember her? Sure she had a total of maybe 3 minutes of page time but her ending was tragic! Damn you Jane! Bree is a newborn made for Victoria's army to destroy the Cullen's. That part we got, there really wasn't much extra details in this book that we didn't already know. There was the friendship between her and Diego and the friendship but non friendship between her and Fred. There was more of an insight on what the newborns were doing and the lies Victoria was feeding them.

For some really weird reason I was expecting to see some Cullen action in this and was sadly disappointed. As my husband pointed out "it's about Bree, not the Cullen's", point made dearest.

I guess this Novella didn't suck me in like the rest of the series because for one, we already know Bree's fate. We all know how the story is going to end (and was anyone else hoping that Meyer would maybe... oh I don't know... change the ending for Bree? No? Just me? Oh... okay...), so I guess in a way I was trying to not become attached to her. After finishing it, I was curious to know what ever did happen to Diego? What would had happened if Bree listened to Fred? And whatever happened to Fred? I felt we were set up for some unanswered questions... maybe she's working on a Novella for Diego? Maybe that's just hopeful thinking.

While this was a nice add on to Eclipse, as much as I don't want to admit it, I wouldn't read this again. Sorry Bree!

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I am a great fan of Stephenie Meyer...all of the Twilight books, of course, and also her adult fiction novel, The Host. So, I couldn't pass up this novella, related to the Twilight series. If you are a Twilight fan, you will remember that Victoria vowed to kill Bella and raised a newborn army of

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vampires to do so. One of those newborns was a girl named Bree Tanner. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is told from Bree's perspective as a newborn vampire, hanging with a group of other newborns and answering to an older vampire, Riley. Bree isn't sure she likes Riley and doesn't trust the other newborns because they are so out of control. Being a newborn, all she can think of is her hunger, but Riley has decreed that they must not feast on anyone but the dregs of society so they can keep out of the public eye until "she" is ready for them. Bree isn't sure who "she" is, but she sounds frightening. Bree gets to know another new vampire named Diego who is equally distrustful of Riley and together they try to find out what is going on.

Bree Tanner is a quick read and very suspenseful in its own way, considering that we really know what's going to happen. It's not an essential part of the series, but it's entertaining.

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Readers who don't like Twilight and/or haven't read the series won't appreciate or like this story, but they probably wouldn't be the ones reading it anyway. Twilight enthusiasts will enjoy the story, but mostly just because it relates to Twilight, and not because it's a good story in and of

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itself. Bree's story certainly isn't important for the Twilight narrative as a whole, but it was nice of Meyer to throw a little extra in while readers were getting excited for the Eclipse movie.

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Meyers was inventive & creative in her decision to re-tell part of Eclipse from a completely new perspective. Most people barely remembered who Bree Tanner even WAS, she was in Eclipse for such a short amount of time. I had to go back & re-read that section & look up a little about Bree online

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before I even decided to buy this book. It was helpful that Meyers included an author's note at the beginning, explaining her motivation for writing Bree's story & at the same time, reminding us of who she was. One thing I DID NOT like about this novella was the absence of chapters (or any dividing breaks or marks at all for that matter)! I realize it is an extremely short story, so most readers would be inclined to read the whole thing in one sitting, but sometimes this isn't possible. In my case, I had to split it up into three separate sittings, which made figuring out my stopping points extremely difficult. I had to stop each time, right in the middle of a scene -- sometimes even a conversation. So annoying. Something else that threw me at the beginning was Meyer's choice to tell the story in 1st person from Bree's perspective. Once I got into the story, I got used to it & was fine with it, but at the beginning I kept jumping into Bella's head because I'm so used to reading Meyer's words through Bella's brain.

What I DID like about this novella though, is the unique voice Meyer gave to Bree. Although a "newbie" vampire, she does have some degree of control over her thoughts & actions. Even when her mind is clouded by the desire to feed, she still fights to be in control & think clearly. I really enjoyed the almost-romance between Bree & Diego & especially loved how unfinished & unconsummated it was left. Although I usually want the m.c.'s of any story to get together (and quick!), in this case I think Meyer made the right decision. Bree needed to get to the clearing at just the right time & for just the right reasons so that her story could end the way we knew it would.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this short story, but I wouldn't highly recommend it or ever re-read it in the future.

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Another book sharing more of the backstory to the Twilight saga. I wouldn't say the story was much of a surprise or breakthrough, but if you're a Twilight fan you might find it interesting.

Stephenie Meyer's 5th and, not likely, last entry into the The Twilight Saga, follows bit character Bree Tanner. Don't remember her? She existed for only a few short pages in the big ending of Eclipse.
So how did she get her own story in the series?
According to Stephenie Meyer's introduction to the

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book, she's not sure why. No seriously. She says she just became intrigued and started writing a bit of back story to flesh out the newborns and got carried away. Sounds like the famed Midnight Sun but finished right?
It is and it isn't.

The first thing I noticed about the story, and I haven't decided if I liked this or not yet, was there were no breaks.
Not one.
No chapters, no natural story breaks, basically no place to breath if you read it out loud. And in one way it makes you rush right through it to the end like a roller-coaster, and in another way it makes me feel like it needed a bit of editing before becoming a Novella. Even the unfinished, just for fun, Midnight Sun has chapters and story breaks.

Because I read this over a day and a half (I do work, and cook suppers ect. you know, living life things, between bouts of reading after all) the no breaks thing was a bit difficult. Honestly, every time I picked it up again I had to back track to adjust to the abrupt re-entry. This had to have been done to intentionally make you read it in one sitting, but that's a bit frustrating, I mean how often does the average reader clear 178 pages in one go? I'm no average reader and I don't do it all that often.

Secondly, for a brief novella, it took me a surprising amount of time to care about the characters. I know she's talking about a violent, crazy, newborn army and all, but it was nearing the end before I was invested enough in these characters to worry about what was happening. I don't remember that being the case with the Twilight books.

On the other hand, the things I liked about The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, I really liked. I loved the closer look at the whole newborn army stuff. Of all her twists to the vampire mythology my favorite were Jaspers stories of the newborn armies and the epic fights for humans. The thought that the American civil war wasn't what it appeared to be was really really cool when I read it.

I also really enjoyed seeing the Cullens, and Bella from a completely disconnected third party perspective. When she realizes the red head is the mind reader and thanks him in her mind for killing Victoria and Riley, I was totally satisfied.

The Novella made me do what Midnight sun made me do, open up my Twilight books to re-read the opposite side of the scene. And now I'm tempted to just read all four all over again and see if they live up to how much I enjoyed them the first time. I really want to know if Fred makes an appearance in Breaking Dawn, but it will take a full re-read to know for sure.

All of Stephenie Meyer's books are two things, a compulsive read, and good fun. Nobody will ever credit her with being a poet with words, or even with coming up with a one of a kind idea (though she did manage to make the very over done vampire thing all her own) but the woman knows what women want (and yes, the occasional odd ball boy) and she gives it to them in full in her books. And although The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner doesn't do that itself, it is part of a greater whole which is why it works. On it's own I don't believe it would stand up to much scrutiny.

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I'm not going to touch on whether or not this book should have been published. Yes, it was available for free online for a while, and yes, Meyer is probably taking advantage (again) of the Twilight Craze to sell another book. I'm not the biggest Twihard in the world, but I am a fan. I truly can't

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help it. There's just something about her writing and her characters! So I picked this little novella up, not expecting much. But honestly, it was very enjoyable. I barely remembered Bree from Eclipse, but she was an interesting character in this novella, and it was neat to see Meyer's world of vampires from Bree's POV. Particularly seeing the Cullens from Bree's POV - it made me miss these characters, and I think I'm going to have to go back and reread the Twilight books (again)! Recommended for reading it...maybe go to the library or something, though, instead of buying it - unless you're an uber Twihard. :)

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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a short novella set in the Twilight world - but specifically taking place throughout Eclipse. In it we meet Bree Tanner. She is a newborn vampire with little knowledge about the new world she has awakened into. All that she is sure of are her supernatural

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powers and the ravaging thirst for blood and what little else she knows she has learned from Riley, the leader of the newborns. Then there is "her" (Victoria, of course), the one who turned them. But Bree knows little to nothing about "her" except that Riley reports to "her". Through "her" and Riley they know that they must stay indoors when the sun is out and must avoid being staked through the heart or they will perish.

When Bree and another newborn, Diego, get caught outdoors and must hide in an underground cave to avoid the sun's rays, they end up striking a friendship. But as they both begin questioning some of Riley's instructions they find that they might not be all in the know but instead pawns in a deadly game.

Poor Bree - I mean we all know what happens to her in Eclipse. I couldn't help but read this and hope that things somehow changed - what can I tell you, I'm optimistic like that. I loved the cover of this book. I thought it was very fitting. I also loved the fact that reading this (too short) story made me once again fall into the world of Twilight, with its shiny vampires and klutzy leading ladies. I also enjoyed the different take on the events that we all know occur in Eclipse, the newborns, the war, Victoria, etc.

For those of you who are questioning whether you must read this before Eclipse (the movie) hits theaters, I would say that is a negative. Yes, it is a different side to the tale, but not one that I think will make much of a difference to what you learn from the book (Eclipse).

With that said, and I'll be honest that it could be that I am over those days where I was entranced by the Twilight Saga, but this was mediocre for me. It was okay. I mean yes, I can definitely recommend this to fans of the series because if you've read the whole Twilight Saga, you might as well read the 170+ pages that is Bree. But if you are over the series or weren't a big fan of it in the first place, you will be missing out on nothing if you skip this one. It is a quick, easy read but it definitely is not a masterpiece. I personally have never thought Stephenie Meyer's writing is spectacular, but I still really like her stories, this one just fell a little flat for me. Sorry die-hard TwiFans, please don't hate me!

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Beth's review : This novella is bout Bree Tanner who has only 3 months in to her second life... her life as a vampire.
She has just met Diego and is falling for him the three days she spends with him.
In the basements of the house that her coven that is ran by Riley, she hides behind Fred who no

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one wants to be near so she is safe.
She belongs to the coven that are created by Victoria to attacks the Cullen's , whom she surrenders to , then she is killed by the Voltuori
When the attack is ready to happen , Diego has been gone for a couple days and Bree wants to fnd him, follows Riley because he says they will meet up with Diego

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Stephanie Meyer has done it again! Once again I didn't want the story to end. I wanted to delv deeper into the characters and know more about them. I wanted the story to be neverending. I thought I would be more sad knowing the ending but I think stephanie did a great job giving closure for Bree. I

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still wanted her to chnge courses but I knew it was inevitable. I loved the alternate perspective on the fight with the newborns. I thought it was so interesting to be back there again and seeing it from a different point of view. Eclipse was my favorite in the series and To just read about bella and edward and the cullens again was great! I hope there are more of these stories to come!

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Bree is one of the "newborn" vampires we meet during the Eclipse book. She's only around for a heartbeat, but this book tells her side of the story. Told from her point-of-view we see what the vampire army was like before they attacked the Cullens. She was in an impossible situation, which quickly

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spiraled out of control. An interesting glimpse at the Twilight world from the outside, but it's nothing you can really sink your teeth into... pun intended.

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This book was a short breezy snack back into Meyer's Twilight series. Since it is from a newborn vampire's point of view it adds some depth to series. The book does not have the same dreamlike quality of the series that keeps you turning page after page into the night, but if you liked the series

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you will enjoy this book. Now I want to know what happens with Fred - the only talented newborn who escapes from the pack.

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I really enjoyed getting to know Bree but in a way it was torturous because you know how it ends, having read Eclipse. It was like throughout the whole book I was telling her to do something, knowing that she wouldn’t. I was hoping the whole time that she would make it end differently. The story

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behind Bree really made you sad for her, because of the way Stephenie creates her character. She gives her depth and meaning, where some of the other characters in this novella, you wouldn’t mind seeing stomped out. But I guess that is the same with any book, and yet it doesn’t ever change the ending, now matter how much you care for the characters.

It pulled at my heart strings because it was like seeing a ghost in your dreams, of someone who you wish was still around. Reading Edward and Bella again made me wish I could experience the whole Twilight saga for the first time all over again, or have her come out with another book.

It was too short (but I loved it) because it left me wanting more, and excited for the movie release of Eclipse in a few short weeks.

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I liked this book more than I expected to- I wasn't even sure I was going to get it. Bree is stuck in a bad situation that isn't going to end well- we know that from the beginning, but as we get to know Bree and Diego, we wish that wasn't the case. I'd definitely like to read more about Fred

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though... I admit it- I'm still not going to pick up "The Host", but I'll read any of Stephenie Meyer's vampires.

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What a nice addition to the Twilight saga! LIke many others, I so look forward to whatever Meyer writes. This exploration of a minor character was fun and just flushes out a bit more of the whole story. I hope that "Fred" will get his own story next!!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a companion book to Eclipse from the ever popular Twilight series. The book gives readers a look in inside a newborn vampires mind and the difficulties they get used to their new lives. This book explains what really happened with the newborn army, Riley, the

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Volturi and Victoria.
Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire, is wary of herself and other new vampires as she begins her second life in Riley’s clan. Scared of others, she hides behind another vampire, Fred who seems to have an ability to make people stay away from him. One day she finds another friend in Riley’s closest vampire, Diego and together they discover secrets that Riley tries to hide from the clan. Diego realises that the clan is all part of a bigger plan and they are all pawns under the mysterious figure named ‘her’. Bree and Diego follow Riley on one of his mysterious visits to ‘her’ and unknowingly find the ‘dark cloaks’, known to readers as the formidable Volturi clan. As events become desperate to Riley, he begins training the vampires in combat to ‘protect’ the clan from another clan anxious to take Seattle as their feeding ground. Soon, Bree makes plans to escape but while looking for Diego is left in the heat of the battle left to die in the hands of the Volturi.
A book filled with battles, plots and inner turmoil, it is perfect for those eager to go to the enemy’s side and find out the secret’s that only the world’s ‘vampire hottie’ knew.

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Yawn. Who cares? Does anyone care anymore?

I loved this book much more than I thought I would. I didn't want it to end.

This book has the same Eclipse ending but it's different because it only talks about the life of the newborn vampires. This book is great for anyone who likes the saga. It's descriptive, well written, and it's an easy read.