The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is written by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series. This book, in particular, is labeled as an Eclipse novella. For all my readers who haven't visited a literature class in awhile, let me remind you of the definition for a novella. A "novella" is a short story or a short novel. So, this book is a short story about a bigger book in the Twilight series. Don't you feel smarter now?The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner follows a girl named Bree, who falls prey to some nasty vampires in Forks, WA. Bree is targeted to become part of a newborn vampire army set to destroy Bella Swan, the heroine in the Twilight series. In this book, Stephenie Meyer gives us a glimpse into the nuances of being a vampire in Meyer's world and the evil behind one of Bella's enemies, Victoria. Bree is a young woman pulled into a chaotic world of malice and death. She learns quickly how to save herself from daily feedings by her peers. In these lessons, she also makes a friend who shares the lies involved with her captors, Victoria and Riley. After we get to know Bree and develop sympathy for her, Meyer cuts off her young life in the epic battle scenes of Eclipse.
If you haven't read the Twilight series, then this book will fall to the wayside of your reading path. If you have read Meyer's top sellers, then The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner will extend your Twilight euphoria for 178 more pages. It is a quick read, and the story adds some additional insight into the madness of Victoria's newborn army. The purity of living by carnality is quite evident in this story. Life by natural desires promotes selfishness and strife. I am reminded of this same type of life, which the apostle Paul described in Ephesians. He says this...
And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. Ephesians 4:17-19, The Message
In real life, we can also live by our carnality - our human instincts for evil. I love how Paul describes this existence as "empty-headed" and "mindless." Living by the flesh, as many Bible translators put it, actually tears down our character and intellect. Yet Paul and so many other authors of the Bible offer this solution for us.
But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. Ephesians 4:20-24, The Message
A life outside of God, a life based in our humanity, is "rotten through and through." God offer us real life with a new beginning and ever-increasing character. Our intellect grows as we become rooted in the truth of God. Ignorance is no longer an option. That's what many of the newborn vampires have in the Twilight series and this novella - ignorance. I am so thankful for a better option in this life and beyond
