'Breaking Dawn' Book Summary

Zimbio.com: Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final book in the Twilight series. It's broken up into three parts, the first of which describes the wedding and honeymoon of Bella Swan to Edward Cullen. The second part focuses on Bella's pregnancy and the birth of her and Edward's half-vampire daughter, Renesmee. The third part involves the conflict between the Cullens and the Volturi coven who enforce the rules that vampires live by throughout the world.

Part 1: The Wedding and Honeymoon
Edward and Bella's wedding is easily a bigger moment than her graduation in Eclipse. Her friends and family mix with the vampires invited to join the Cullens in celebration of their union. After the wedding, the two head to Isle Esme off the coast of Brazil for their long-awaited honeymoon. Bella is excited for Edward to turn her into a vampire so they can be together forever, but Edward fears that Bella doesn't understand what she would be giving up.

Kristen Stewart plays Bella Swan in the 'Breaking Dawn' movie. (Getty Images)
All that sexual tension built up in the first three books is finally broken in a sex scene that leaves the bed in tatters and Bella bruised, but euphorically happy. It isn't long before Bella notices the signs that she's pregnant, and to her surprise the pregnancy is moving along alarmingly fast.

By the time the two rush back to Forks, Bella already appears to be several months pregnant. Edward is distressed by the pregnancy and wishes to abort the child if possible because he believes it will kill Bella. Bella grows fiercely protective of her unborn child and forms an alliance with Rosalie Cullen to help her keep anyone from trying to harm the unborn child.

Part 2: The Pregnancy and Birth
Bella's pregnancy leaves her bedridden in the Cullens' home in Forks. She finds she must drink blood, provided by the Cullens, to sate the hunger she feels because of the baby. Upon hearing about the unborn child, the Quileute wolf pack decides the child poses a threat and should be killed before it is born, which means killing Bella in the process. Jacob protests and leaves the pack, forming a new small pack with Seth and Leah Clearwater in the progress. Jacob visits Bella, and while he's angry at the situation, he can't hide his concern for her.

When it comes time to give birth, the process is shockingly violent. Many of Bella's bones are broken and author Stephenie Meyer describes a fountain of blood that gushes from Bella as her daughter is born. In one particularly gory moment Edward has to tear the placenta around the baby with his teeth to bring her out. The child is named Renesmee after Bella's mother, Renee, and Edward's adoptive mother, Esme. Immediately following the birth, Edward bites Bella, who is dying, to change her into a vampire.

Part 3: The Final Conflict
After Renesmee is born and Bella is turned into a vampire, the Volturi catch wind of the child and worry that it might be a liability. They plan to visit Forks and destroy the child.

When Jacob meets the newborn Renesmee, he imprints on her. Meyer is vague about exactly what it means for a werewolf to imprint on someone, but it's basically like an undying, protective feeling of love, though not necessarily romantic love. When Bella wakes up after changing, she's voraciously hungry. Edward takes her to hunt in the woods where she kills a mountain lion and drinks its blood.

All this time, the Cullens know the Volturi will come soon, so Carlisle is calling in his friends to come and stand with him against them if they need to do so. Bella discovers that she has a special vampire power that allows her to place a shield around people, which could help greatly in a fight against the Volturi.

When the Volturi finally arrive, they find themselves facing an army of both vampires and werewolves who have joined the Cullens. The Cullens convince the Volturi that Renesmee poses no threat to them by producing a 150-year-old half-breed who has lived a full life without exposing his true nature to humans, and the Volturi leave.

At the very end of the book, it's implied that Jacob Black and Renesmee Cullen have a future together, and Edward even calls Jacob his "son" at one point. Who knows? Perhaps this could be the starting point for another epic storyline.