The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer- Review by Carlyn

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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer is a short story written for the Twilight saga for which Meyer created. The story is set during Eclipse, the third novel in the Twilight series from the point of view of Bree Tanner.Bree was a teenage runaway who was spotted by a vampire named Riley. She was searching through some garbage for food and he offered her a ride. Instead of food, she was turned into a vampire by Riley’s girlfriend, Victoria. Victoria creates an army of vampires so that she can have her revenge against the Cullens for killing her lover named James. However, Victoria tells her coven that the Cullens want to kill them so they can take over their territory which is a lie.

As a vampire, Bree is stronger than she’s ever been before. She’s able to run at super speed, lift extremely large objects and she has enhanced hearing and vision. Bree also has an extreme thirst for blood which can overpower her at times. The blood lust must be controlled so as not to expose the existence of vampires to the human population.

Many of the newborn vampires were chosen because they were miscreants that nobody would miss. Combined with their anti-social personalities and blood lust, they are easily provoked into violence and aggression. Bree tries to keep a low profile to avoid being killed by members of her coven. She sits with a vampire named Fred, who the others like to avoid. Fred has a mysterious ability to keep others away. Bree also makes friends with Diego who is Riley’s second in command. The two discover that Riley and Victoria have been keeping secrets from them and that they may be the real enemy.

The idea of this book came when Meyer was still writing Eclipse and she was writing character profiles of people. Bree Tanner was one of the characters and she has a small role in Eclipse. The Twilight saga is from the point of view of Bella Swan who is a human and the reader can only know what she knows so Bree’s story was unnecessary. This is not a standalone book. It’s best read by someone who has read the Twilight series or at least watched the movies. However, it is possible to read the book and fill in the gaps yourself or going on Wikipedia.

I’m still reading the Twilight books. I’m currently onto the last book Breaking Dawn. I really liked The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I thought it was interesting to see from a vampire’s perspective in the Twilight world. In the Twilight books, Edward Cullen spends a great deal of time, telling Bella that he’s a monster and his efforts to control his bloodlust. I could understand his difficulty after reading this book. Bree  always talks about having an unquenchable thirst which only gets sated for a little while after each feed. Her blood lust is so great that she starts to view people as only food. Older vampires still have the blood lust but it is not as intense as newborn vampires.

I also liked reading Bree’s perspective when she meets the Cullens. They are certainly fascinating vampires as they are “vegetarian” for only drinking animal blood and they are civilized. Bree learns that she can have a normal life away from the violence and chaos that she has known.

Unfortunately, Bree doesn’t get a happy ending. It was no surprise since she meets her end in Eclipse.  I felt bad for her as she had only been fifteen when she had turned into a vampire and she had come from a broken home. Bree was also smart, resourceful and kindhearted. She would have made an excellent addition the to the Cullen family. This book is a great addition to the Twilight saga as it gives a new insight into the vampire world from a vampire’s perspective. It shows the uniqueness of the Cullen family and how they live peacefully and productively. They have come a long way to be civilized.