Review: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon
(The Twilight Saga #2)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher:
Publication date: Sept. 6, 2006
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Rating: Little, Brown and Company

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough…. But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn’t running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.

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 could ever 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….

After an incident at the Cullen house, Edward is reminded just how fragile and how complicated his relationship with Bella is. So, he decides to pack up with his family and cut all ties with Bella.  You know, for her own good. Obviously, this story is a lot of heartbreak for Bella because of this.

Now, I have to be honest, New Moon isn’t my favorite from the series. There’s just too much angst. Too much depression and moping from Bella all because Edward left. However, I liked that this story opened the way for Jacob’s story to shine through. We’re able to see Jacob in a new light and he really takes on a more important role as not only her friend, but her rock as well. He’s able to pull her out of this depressed state that she’s been in for months. Plus, I really liked that Jacob has a secret and mystery of his own that adds a whole other layer to Bella’s world.

While I enjoyed Jacob’s role in this story, I was a little annoyed with Bella’s character. She spends months moping around because her boyfriend left. Then, when she starts to try to pull her life back together, she decides to become reckless and do stupid stunts because when her adrenaline is running, she can hear his voice (sort of like her subconscious). So, she just continuously finds ways to push the envelope so that she can continue to hear Edward in her head. It was all a little too much for me.

Even though this is a mopey, depressed story, there was still the mystery and suspense underlying everything. Victoria (a bad vampire from the first book), is still on the loose and you know that she is just looking for the opportunity to settle the score and kill Bella. Add onto that the mystery behind what’s really happening on Jacob’s reservation, La Push. There appears to be some sort of gang among his peers and they keep looking to him like they want him to join their ranks. I think those two things were what really kept me reading this story.

Like I said, New Moon was a much more somber story. The one thing I really enjoyed was Jacob’s time in the spotlight. We got introduced to a whole new crew since Bella spends so much time on La Push. I think if it wasn’t for Jacob playing such a major role in this story, I would have a hard time finishing it.