Author Stephenie Meyer's female protagonist in Breaking Dawn, the fourth instalment in Meyer's Twilight teen fiction series, has prompted a group of fans to organize a 'return your book' protest. (David Stone, Little, Brown and Company/Canadian Press)

A little more than a week ago, the literary world was lauding novelist Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon stay-at-home mother, as the new J.K. Rowling amid the excitement surrounding the release of the fourth instalment in her Twilight teen fiction series, Breaking Dawn.

Today, the bestselling book is the subject of a backlash that has prompted a group in the U.S. to organize a 'return your book' protest.

On Amazon's U.S. website, a group of readers, led by a one-time bookstore employee, is urging former fans to return their copies of Breaking Dawn in order to deprive Meyer of royalties.

Employees of the Borders bookstore chain in the U.S. have reported that some copies are being returned by indignant readers. A representative of the Chapters-Indigo chain in Canada, where the book sold 100,000 copies last weekend, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

"Seriously, folks – don't burn your copies of the book, return them," wrote protest organizer, nicknamed Baby Strange, on Amazon.com. "I think Meyer's fans will send a much more powerful message if, instead of a book-burning tour, they staged a book-returning tour."

What's the beef for readers? Some are complaining about Meyer's portrayal of her heroine, Bella, as being disturbingly desperate to hold on to her new husband, Edward the vampire. Others are taking issue with the book's focus on Bella's unexpected but post-marital teen pregnancy, while still others see an off-putting anti-abortion message in Breaking Dawn.

About half of the Canadian readers weighing in on Amazon's Canuck website aren't happy with Bella's behaviour and the turn of events in Breaking Dawn.

"Not only is this girl seriously melodramatic and clumsy, she's the most weak-willed and pathetic character ever written," wrote a 28-year-old Canadian fan named Claire R.

"She has said numerous times that she would simply die if Edward ever left her. It's like her entire life revolves around him. What are you trying to tell young women, Ms. Meyer ... don't girls have enough self-esteem problems already? Should they really be reading books about a girl who has no life outside of her boyfriend, a girl who readily admits that she would die if he were to ever leave her?"

Another Canadian reader, Annette from Vancouver, said she hated the way Breaking Dawn focuses on Bella's pregnancy.

"I think most readers would have settled for maybe a surprise pregnancy at the end [or something to that effect if Meyer really wanted a baby in this story], but the fact that it swallowed the whole plot just plain sucks," she wrote. "I was extremely disappointed with the fourth book. I want my money back."

Book industry observers say Meyer's entire Twilight series owes much of its success to its avid online following of young female readers, and many of the complaints about Breaking Dawn can be found on blogs and websites.

A reviewer on the Gawker Media blog, Jezebel.com, took issue with the anti-abortion theme in Breaking Dawn, not a surprising element considering that Meyer has described herself as "really, really religious." The reviewer notes how the novel makes "teen pregnancy look rad."

"I wanted him like I wanted air to breathe," Bella says in the book upon discovering she's carrying a male vampire who might kill her if she carries him to term. "Not a choice – a necessity."

Jezebel wrote: "This creepy anti-abortion allegory quickly gets literal, as the half-vampire fetus starts killing Bella from the inside out. Even as it breaks her ribs and sucked the life from her, she proclaims, 'I won't kill him.' But does she have to face the consequences of this choice? No, because vampire magic suddenly allows mother and father to hear the fetus's thoughts, and to discover that it already loves them."

The book's publisher, Little Brown, has denied a major backlash is afoot. Spokeswoman Melanie Chang told Publishers Weekly this week that the company has not received any negative feedback, and added that a wide range of opinions among readers is common with any popular novel.

"With a book as eagerly anticipated as Breaking Dawn, there are going to be diverse reactions," she said. "Stephenie Meyer's fans are incredibly passionate about her books, so it's no surprise that readers respond with equal passion."