The Twilight Sage: New Moon

New Moon By Stephenie Meyer

Borders Description

Star-crossed lovers Bella and Edward face new obstacles in this vampire love story--the second installment of Meyer's #1 "New York Times"-bestselling Twilight saga. Meyer's runaway #1 "New York Times" bestseller is another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. Star-crossed lovers Bella and Edward face new obstacles in this vampire love story--the second installment of the Twilight Saga. Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. 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 is well on its way to literary immortality.

Be prepared…I am a little chatty today…

This was my least favorite book of the series.  That being said, it truly still is a great book.  I am just Team Edward all the way.  I was never one that was on the fence on whether Bella belonged with Jacob.  It never occurred to me the first time through the series that Jacob was ever even a serious candidate. It took me three times through the series to even realize that Bella actually did love Jacob more than a brother.  I was blissfully oblivious to this.

New Moon breaks my heart every time I read it. Stephenie Meyer conveys the pain Bella experiences with such emotion that I feel like my heart breaks along with Bella’s.  I do not cry often…however, every time I read the break up scene, I can’t help but let a few tears slip. The thought of having your soul mate ripped away from you with no choice but to accept the decision is horrible. Then to be told that he doesn’t love you or want you, yeah, I think Bella handled it better than I could have. Seeing hallucinations would have been the least of my worries...(lol)

“There were no footprints, the leaves were still again, but I walked forward without thinking. I could not do anything else. I had to keep moving. If I stopped looking for him, it was over. Love, life, meaning… over.”
Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 3, p.73

I thought Edward was an IDOIT! Why would he think it was all his decision and give Bella no choices?  But, I do realize that it had to be done. In the end, both Edward and Bella learned so much from the separation.  They realized that they truly cannot live without each other. It also gave the characters a chance to grow and learn about themselves.  It also gave their intense love for each other more credibility. The reader can believe the depth of it because they have seen the result of their separation.

Stephenie Meyer brought another supernatural element into the series in this book….the werewolves.  They are the polar opposite of the vampires and for good reason. Bella was left heartbroken by the vampires and a werewolf is there to pick up the pieces and protect her when the vampires aren’t.

I can give credit to Jacob for cleaning up the mess that Edward left. He brought some life back to Bella. As I said before, I was oblivious to the extent of the love that Bella developed for Jacob. I was however, well aware, that Jacob was head over heels for Bella.  Their relationship was light.  Jacob was good for Bella, but he was never enough. Could you blame someone for refusing to accept less when they know what true love really is?

He thought time and patience would change me, and, though I knew he was dead wrong, I also knew that I would let him try.
Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 9, p.219

The reunion scene was perfect. Stephenie portrays it with just the right amount of suspense. My heart was actually racing as Bella ran toward the clock tower to save Edward in time (And I knew pretty much how it would turn out since there were 2 more books in the series…so that is saying something, right?) And then finally they are reunited and it was heaven (cue the angels singing)…until it wasn’t due to the Volturi.

Side note here, one thing I thought was clever in the book was the fact that Bella and Edward did not kiss until after they returned to Forks (as opposed to the make out session in the movie – which I love for different reasons). But back to the cleverness, Bella could have been so freaking happy that nothing else mattered, but she didn’t want Edward to kiss her. Why, because it would make it just that more difficult when he left her again. Now as the reader, I figured there was no way in hell he was leaving her side again. But this was a perfect example of just how damn broken Bella really was.

Even though the overall mood of the book is somber, new elements are brought in and keep the suspense coming so the overall depressive mood did not drag the book out.

I couldn’t put the book down. I just couldn’t… I needed to know how Stephenie Meyer was going to make it right with me after she broke my heart when she took Edward away from Me (ummmm) Bella. I couldn’t imagine how she was going to make a book without much of Edward as good as the previous book where the epic love story started. But, she did it and she did it well.

“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars--points of light and reason...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.” ~Edward Cullen, New Moon pg. 514

On to the movie…just a few quick thoughts...

I felt that this movie is so much closer to the book.  There were a few liberties taken, but I think they did a great job. The pain and anguish Bella experiences is portrayed well. The almost comatose scene is Bella’s bedroom was genius. The movie passes the months just as Stephenie passed them in the book…with nothing. Another thing, the letters to Alice…Genius again. I love that.  We were kept up on what was going on inside Bella’s head without Bella just talking to herself or voice over.

The movie was honestly beautiful. The color scheme was so much warmer than Twilight. Another beautiful thing, or rather beautiful things....

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Edward looks great, but Sassy said it well, "I'm Team Edward unless Jacob is SHIRTLESS!"








I need to quit now, I have made this into an epically long blog post. 

To sum it up...I loved the book, I loved the movie...read it, watch it! And then do it again! :o)

As ever, let me know what you think....tag your it...

-Izzy