The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

On June 5th Stephenie Meyer released a short Eclipse novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I will admit I am a Twilight fan, but the first two books in the series are my favorite. Bree Tanner wasn't a character I even remember from reading Eclipse. It really wasn't something that interested me, but since the Eclipse movie is coming out soon I figured I'd give it a try.

The actual book was released on the 5th, but Stephenie Meyer has made it available online from June 7th to July 5th. A friend offered me the book before I decided I wanted to read it, but I declined. So I had the experience of reading the novella online. Although I generally don't like reading for pleasure online, it wasn't too bad for a short novel. At first I found the print a bit small, but then I finally noticed there are options to make the font bigger and easier to read.

Bree is part of Victoria's army of newborn vampires. Riley, the head of this army, looks for runaways, gang members, or other teenagers that won't be missed. Bree, who fled from an abusive father, became a vampire after Riley offered her a burger. (Victoria was waiting for her in the shadows). Bree learns to keep a low profile around the other vampires since fights and "accidents" are common. She learns to stays by Fred and later finds out that he has the "gift" to repulse other vampires.

While out hunting one day she meets Diego. He is one of Riley's favorites. They both find out they have the ability to think and delay the immediate gratification most newborn vampire want, human blood. Together they discover that Riley has told them lies about vampires. They won't burn in the sun; they just sparkle. They know that Victoria has plans to use them and that they are probably just pawns, but for what exact purpose?

If you remember Bree's small part in Eclipse then you'll remember how her story ends. However, it was very interesting to read her back story and feel more sympathetic towards her character. In the introduction to the book Stephenie Meyer explains that Bree was a character she became more interested in developing as she looked at what was happening behind the scenes as she edited Eclipse. She said she grew to care about her.

Want to know more? Check out this wiki. This is a bit of a spoiler, if you're one who doesn't know the end of the story. Check out this excerpt from Eclipse about Bree and the actress who plays her character.