Breaking Dawn: Two worlds *not* colliding

Critics have theorized that one of the reasons Harry Potter connects to readers so well is that we see the fantastical world of the wizards through the eyes of an outsider. Harry did not grow up in the wizarding world, so he is constantly encountering new and amazing things, which Ron and Hermione explain to him, and incidentally, to us, the readers.

The first book in the Twilight series is similar: we see Edward through Bella's eyes, and with her, we are awed by his mysteriousness, and his exotic beauty. The wonder continues as she delves deeper and deeper into his world.

But things begin to change as the series progresses. The further Bella goes into the world of vampires, the less time the books spend looking at this world through human eyes. And slowly, inevitably, sadly, by the time we get to Breaking Dawn, the vampire world has become almost mundane.

I think this is why the chapters about J Jenks are some of my favorites in Breaking Dawn. In a sea of vampire mythology, they reconnect us with the human world, and allow me to once again marvel at how strange it would be to meet a vampire.