“New Moon” review
by V.E. on July 14th, 2008
filed under recap/review, writing
I just finished reading listening to New Moon (an audiobook courtesy of Audible.com) on Friday evening. It was better than Twilight, which is unfortunate; many people won’t even get to New Moon because of how mediocre Twilight is. But, I have hope for the third one, since the second was better than the first. That’s not to say the second in the saga was flawless. Far from it. But it was better than Twilight, so that’s something.
I think, though, that it was better because it has less of one of the main characters in it—and that’s not really a good sign. Edward, the male lead, is absent from a big chunk of the middle chapters of the book. Bella, the female lead, narrates again and she’s in the whole thing, but Edward, her love interest, leaves early in the novel and doesn’t return until near the end. In his place (sort of) is Jacob Black, a 16 year old Quileute Indian who lives in La Push, the Indian reservation near Forks, Washington, where Bella lives. There are legends about the descendents of the first Quileute Indians—about how they are Protectors of their lands in… interesting ways… like becoming wolves. Enter a new type of “monster” (Bella’s word, not mine): werewolves. Jacob (aka: Jake) has a thing for Bella, but—even after being dumped by Edward—she’s not interested.
She equates her relationship to Jake with that of Juliet and Paris, and her relationship to Edward with that of Juliet and Romeo—except in the play, Romeo doesn’t ditch Juliet and leave her worrying for her sanity (literally) and a gaping hole in her chest (figuratively). In New Moon, Bella starts hearing voices after her break up with Edward. (“Just one voice; yours,” she corrects him later in the novel.) She spends a lot of her time doing stupid, reckless things—including riding a motorcycle and jumping off a cliff—so that she can keep hearing Edward’s voice in her head. She learns through trial and error that she hears him only in dangerous situations (hence the motorcycle and cliff). And, in fact, she really does nearly die after cliff diving; but Jake saves her at the last minute.
The describing adjectives in this novel are better than in the first, and Bella doesn’t spend nearly as much time doting on Edward’s supposed perfection. But, she’s literally heartsick for most of the book and can’t even think Edward’s name, much less say it to anyone else. She talks a lot about a gaping, ragged hole in her chest that was left by Edward’s harsh words and departure, so it’s really one description traded for another. Instead of perfection, she stresses how bad she feels all the time—or that she’s so hurt that she doesn’t feel anything at all. By becoming numb, she thinks, she can survive. Honestly, I nearly stopped listening half way through because I was just so depressed by how depressed Bella was. Maybe that was the point, but I don’t think it’s a good thing if a reader stops reading your novel because he feels bad when reading it!
Oh, and another thing. Meyer (the author) DID THE SAME THING as she did in the first book! She added three new characters AND sent the main characters on a trip (to Italy this time!) in the last 5 chapters! Why? WHY did she do that? The book was going so well; there was character development and plot and structure and then suddenly… Bella and Alice (Edward’s sister) are on a flight to Italy to stop Edward from killing himself. W.T.F. I see a pattern developing here, and I don’t like it one bit.
Kudos to Jacob Black, though, because he really made the book worth reading for me. I hope he’s in the third installment as well. I’ll keep reading and let you know if Eclipse is worth it.
oh honey, get used to it. the third book also has all the action happening in the end. also, edward is in the whole book. and the agony of realizing the difference between a YA and an adult book becomes painfully obvious. regardless, i have read and re-read (and re-re-read) all three… i just continue to remind myself that it is solely written for entertainment and not for the classics. also, if you dislike them, i highly suggest you do not read her “adult” novel, The Host. “terrible” would be a nice way to describe it.