New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (compared to other books in series)
Pages: 563
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal)
Series: Twilight
Publication Date: 2006


Synopsis (From Inside Cover):

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...

Review:

I would first like to start out by saying that I am not a Twilight fan. I am only reading this book a) to finish the series, b) because I am slightly interested to know if Bella becomes a vampire and c) because my roommate is a fan and ever now and than will talk about the book and have to stop because I haven't completed the series. Now on to the review.

When it come to Meyer's writing I follow the Stephen King school of thought. She is just not that good, in fact she is quite horrible. Meyer has a tendency to repeat herself over and over again. It's like beating a dead horse. I get it already, Edward is beautiful, your feelings are hurt. Can we move on now? Meyer also puts to many details in awkward places in the story. Towards the end of the story (the climax) she put in all these details that just slowed it down and dragged it out. I even skipped paragraphs and did not miss a thing. She also did this in "Twilight" but she has gotten slightly better in "New Moon"

I have a serious issue with some of the characters in the story. Mainly Bella. I have never seen a weaker female character. I don't read many young adult books but I hope this is not the trend. Bella does not need a boyfriend she needs a shrink. I have never seen some many psychological problems portrayed in one character that was "normal". Here is the list that I can up with

• Lack of Confidence
• Panic Attacks (Anxiety)
• Uncoordinated
• Emotional Dependent
• Emotional Underdeveloped
• Disregard for Personal Safety
  

Now if she had just one or two of these problems than I might consider her "normal" but anyone who has that many issues needs professional help. I had this talk with my roommate and she stated that Bella was the quintessential 15 year old girl. There in lies the problem. Bella is not 15, she is 18. And I don't believe that 15 year old girls have that many problems. Some of them, yes all of them no. And if they do not to the extent that Bella does. The only good quality that Meyer's gives her is that she is smart. But she lacks common sense. So, what good is book smarts? There was no growth in Bella's character's between the beginning of "Twilight" and the end of "New Moon" and that is disappointing.

I did enjoy Jacob's character. Mostly because his character seemed to grow and develop a little more than the other characters in the story. I like him much better that Edward. He seemed more believable to me. When I read "Twilight" for the first time Edward came off as stalkerish to me and the view hasn't changed. But Jacob's character seems to have a more normal reaction to Bella. He likes hers, wants to be with her, and protect her. But he his behavior is more "normal" when compared to Edwards.

When my roommate first described this book to me she said that this book contains a lot of waiting for stuff to happen. After I read it, I figured out that waiting for stuff to happen meant waiting for Edwards reappearance. I didn't miss Edward at all. I think the part of the story were he was missing flowed better and was more entertaining (minus Bella's melodramatic rambling about her broken heart). When he finally reappeared I wish he would leave again. I got tired of hearing about his beauty and how she cared more for him than she did for herself (another reason that she needs a shrink).


Pros: Jacob
Cons: Writing, Characters, Pace


Overall Recommendation:

Only read it if you have read "Twilight" and want to finish the whole series.

Challenges:
Library Challenge (5 Books out of 25)
Series Challenge (3 Books out of 15)
TBR Challenge (6 Books out of 12)

If you have a review of this book or any other book reviewed on my site. Post a link to that review in the comment section so, I can link back to you.