Book Review: New Moon (Twilight, #2) by Stephenie Meyer

Immediately upon finishing Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, I picked up my copy of New Moon (Twilight, #2) and began reading. I couldn't wait to see what happened next with Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Unfortunately, New Moon ended up being my least favorite book of the entire Twilight series. That's not to say I didn't like it because I did. Because it was a building book, it seemed to move a lot slower than the preceding book, and that is why I didn't like it as much. Of all the books in the series, this one took me the longest to read at 2.5 to 3 days. And, that is interrupted reading because I had to work.

Another thing that made me not like New Moon as much as Twilight was the fact that so much of it was about how heartbroken Bella was over Edward leaving her. Everyone goes through heartbreak when their significant other leaves them, but at a certain point, I just wanted to shake Bella and tell her to move on because it wasn't worth being so miserable over a guy for such a long time. I know a lot of people think that Stephenie Meyer sends a bad message to young girls about relationships and breakups, but I'd have to disagree. It is a teaching moment. One of the reasons I think Bella wanted to spend every moment with Edward was that he was the one constant in her life at that point. Her father was either working or fishing with friends. And, let's be honest . . . as a tween or teenager, you definitely become a bit obsessive with your first love and want to spend all of your time with them. As far as the breakup, everyone goes through a mourning and anger period after a breakup, and it is a tough thing to go through. Those who think people don't go through a mourning and/or anger period are just kidding themselves (or delusional). But, to each their own.

Things I did love about the book was getting to know some of the other characters in the series, especially Jacob "Jake" Black because it really ties them into the story a lot more than the first book did. I could really relate to his unrequited love to Bella as who hasn't been in that in that same situation? I also liked the fact that the Quileute Tribe that Jacob belongs to is an actual real life tribe. Stephenie Meyer did include some very basic information in the book that was true of the tribe as well. An example is that Jacob and some of the other members of the tribes can turn into wolves because their ancestors were wolves. In real life, the tribe does believe they come from wolves based on their website at quileutenation.org/history/.

With all of this being said, I did enjoy New Moon, and the ending made it even better. I gave it four out of five stars.

Synopsis of New Moon:  With Bella Swan's 18th birthday approaching, she realizes that she will be technically older than Edward and wants nothing more than to be turned into a vampire. When there is a mishap at her birthday party at the Cullen household, Edward realizes they're a danger to Bella, and the entire family leaves Forks, Washington to protect her.

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