REVIEW: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis

In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.


About the Author
from Barnes and Noble

According to Stephenie Meyer, the idea for her sensational debut novel, Twilight, came to her in a vividly detailed dream in 2003. Over the course of three months, writing at night when her children were in bed, the young Mormon mother of three developed that dream into the spellbinding story of 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to the tiny town of Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a beautiful, mysterious vampire named Edward Cullen. After feverish writing, painstaking editing, and a brief but frustrating round of queries, submissions, and rejections, Meyer finally connected with an editor at Little, Brown who fell in love with the manuscript and signed her to a three-book deal.

Twilight debuted in October, 2005. An immediate sensation, it appeared on several year-end best books lists and earned its author a rabid cult following among teenage girls. Since then, Meyer has continued Bella and Edward's story in bestselling sequels that have proved equally successful. Young readers cannot get enough of these riveting novels -- a captivating blend of vampires, romance, and suspense -- and parents rest easy knowing the books do not contain the graphic language and sexually provocative material that pervades some YA series.

Whether or not the Twilight Saga proves to have "Harry Potter legs" remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Meyer continues writing. She forayed into adult fiction with 2008's The Host, a chilling science fiction tale about the end of humanity, told from the perspective of an alien invader. And she makes it clear the door is open for further installments in her vampire romance. Clearly, this talented author has many more stories to tell.

My Thoughts

The saga continues. In the sequel to Twilight, Edward has withdrawn from Bella, and as a result Bella develops a deeper friendship with her Quileute friend Jacob. I'm afraid to say too much, as I don't want to spoil the story.

I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first, but it's interesting and enjoyable. It really is disturbing how attached Bella is to Edward and her family. It's really unhealthy. Bella doesn't seem quite stable. She is such a "needy" character. Even her moments of recklessness and strength seem to be motivated by her own need to feel close to Edward. I mean, talk about "co-dependent"-- Bella is the epitome of it! She's in a co-dependent relationship with her mother, with Charlie, with Edward and Jacob. She is the typical "caretaker". There are moments when she is so needy that I just want to shake her and tell her to toughen up! She is a total defeatest-- she just gives up on life when Edward isn't there, and literally believes that she is incomplete without him. Come on, Bella! Be your own person!

The writing really is kinda "simplistic". There is nothing complex about it, which can be a good thing. It is a good read when you're just looking to escape and don't want to think too much.

There is a moment near the beginning of the book when a chapter ends and you see a page labeled "October". You turn the page expecting the next chapter to begin, but it is simply labeled "November", the next page "December", and then another "January". You turn each page, realizing months are passing by. It really had an interesting effect, implying the bleakness of those months. I liked that little touch to the story.

So I still like the sequel, but a little less than the first. I am concurrently touched by Bella's devotion to Edward while being repelled by her neediness. So I have something of a love/hate relationship with Bella, as I do with Edward. Jacob is a character that I really like, although he is immature at times. And the book did its job, leaving me wanting for more, and eager for the third book and the final conclusion to this whole soap opera!


My Rating: 8 out of 10