New Moon (The Twilight Saga)
by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of New Moon (The Twilight Saga)
Book Review: More Depth, Less Plot?
Summary: 4 Stars
There are a few things that really draw me into Stephenie Meyer's writing. First, I still maintain that Bella is a very well fleshed out character. Meyer's weaknesses do not include characterization. Second, her descriptions while at times are way over the top, at other times hit the mark of genius. She does have a gift with words, albeit one that doesn't seem to have reached its peak yet.
In New Moon, Meyer reaches new levels of description with Bella's struggles and her healing. It all worked brilliantly--right up until Edward re-entered the scene. His explanations for being gone made sense logically, but not emotionally. Yes, I can understand his leaving Bella to allow her to start over. Yes, I can see that he had to lie to her. Yep, check off the give-her-a-chance-to-move-on theory. But to decide to go provoke the Volturi based on second-hand information? No can-do. Doesn't add up. What about Carlisle, who chose to save him? First, Edward acts unselfishly for Bella's sake. Then, once he thinks Bella's out of the picture, he abandons everyone else who cares about him to hasten his own eternal end? Really, Bella is a pillar of maturity compared to Edward. She and Edward should have played Jacob's "real age" game. So we have two options--either Edward's character doesn't make a lot of sense, or, Meyer really did mean for him to resemble Romeo. If the latter is the case, I might as well check out of the series now--there's a reason the Tempest is my favorite Shakespearean work, and Romeo and Juliet has ranked far lower down my list. Even Hamlet is more stable than Romeo....
I'm operating off the assumption that Meyer knew exactly what she was doing in creating Edward's total resemblance to Romeo. I'm willing to give her that much credit. In this case, she really has set up a star-crossed pair in Bella and Edward. Bella idolizes Edward--she doesn't love him. Bella loves Jacob. According to Edward, Jacob is the far more dangerous of the two (except for the fact that he thinks Bella will lose her soul by becoming a vampire. What's a little scar or two compared to eternal damnation?). I'm a show-me-the-money kind of gal, though--and what I've seen so far is that out of the three, Jacob is the most mature and the least likely to hurt Bella. Jacob is *real,* in the best sense of the word.
And seriously, what is the reluctance to get married? As far as I can follow Bella, it makes no sense. She's a perfect housewife, she wants to be with Edward forever, Edward made the offer to "turn" her if she would marry him (which she wants more than anything else), but she won't agree to marry him? It's one of the few instances where Meyer's writing feels contrived. No acceptable explanation was offered, though we might see one in Eclipse.
Although Twilight has one of the thinnest plots available, New Moon's withered at the end. It was a really strong book up till that point--a great deal of that strength comes from watching Bella's emergence out of her depression and the blossoming of Jacob's character. I'm grudgingly going on to the other books, because I made a promise to a good friend to do so. If Meyer wanted Bella to make the lesser choice as a part of the star-crossed nature of the relationship, I can accept that, and I can give Meyer props for doing such a great job of it. But if Meyer truly wanted us to agree that Edward is better for Bella, I'm not buying it. He's too much like Romeo, and that's not a good thing.
Book Review: Not Romeo and Juliet
Summary: 2 Stars
This book was meant to be a modern day Romeo and Juliet with a sort of supernatural twist...though assuming such a thing is really being somewhat overly generous on my part.
I have to admit I'm biased in that, as much as I love Shakespeare, and I do, I have never been overly impressed with the idea of Romeo and Juliet. Bunch of teenaged idiots thinking with their loins...
That being said, however, whether you find Romeo and Juliet engaging or not simply will not have much impact on whether or not you like this book.
Characters with the potential to be round, flawed, and interesting in Twilight (read: Bella and--perhaps even to a greater extent Edward) have become undeniably and unequivocally flat, superficial and completely uninteresting. In Edward's case, this is because nearly the entire novel finds him absent. In Bella's case, this is because she has become absolutely obsessed with herself and her own rather ridiculous teenaged suffering.
The romantic plot of the story is injured beyond repair through Bella's failure as a character. Many reviews of Twilight complain she always mentions Edward's physical beauty in conjunction with her love for him...that was bad enough, but at least potentially tied to the new and alienating experience of lust and desire.
In New Moon, Bella's love for Edward is consistently described in mere terms of her dependence upon him to be able to function properly--which in my opinion leaves her as desperately in need of counseling as (one of the few still interesting characters) Charlie seems to assume--or, even more disturbingly, in terms of her wish for immortality.
Now, handled properly, a desire to live forever and a belief in indestructability often attributed to teenagers could produce an extremely compelling novel...but New Moon simply never makes it beyond the initial wish to live forever.
Spineless dependency and a tendency to use people are not attractive, and they are not interesting. They are not the flaws of the tragic hero or rebellious anti-hero. They are merely very, very sad, and very, very disturbing...which may be the one argument for their inclusion in a dark fantasy novel.
Anyone who writes angst and emotional drama as poorly as Stephanie does in New Moon ought to avoid it and concentrate on writing elements to which his or her talents as a writer are more suited.
In Meyer's case, this is undeniably light social and romantic comedy, which at times though unintentional is still quite blatant throughout the book--in fact, one of the book's two saving graces in my opinion was a long scene of nothing but (Shakespearan no less)sexual puns that had me laughing so hard I could barely read.
The best parts of this book were the parts where the supernatural was noticeably absent and the narrative concentrated on Jake (whose characterization in the first half of the novel was far more interesting than that of the latter half after the supernatural had taken over).
Some of these scenes were reminiscent of "The Outsiders" (a book I do highly recommend), but never really developed as fully as I would have preferred.
I hope, however, that the interesting idea and compelling themes hidden behind this poor development might be salvaged. I will attempt to read the third book in the series in the hopes things will improve, but I am not optimistic.
Book Review: Still unlikable "heroine", but at least I get why she's such a mess
Summary: 3 Stars
Boy is a vampire. Girl is a human (and, in my opinion, an unlikable one at that). But boy and girl think they can't exist without each other. But boy decides that girl would be better off without him when his brother tries to kill her after she gives herself a paper cut, so he leaves. Girl is devastated. She becomes a shell of herself.
She eventually finds solace in an old friend. Girl knows that said friend has a crush on her, but she's replacing her need for the boy with her need for this friend. Friend falls in love with girl. Friend becomes wolfman, the only known enemy of vampires. Girl, of course, isn't freaked out by this because she's been down the mythology weirdness road before. So they stay friends. And that's it. Girl is too much of a needy mess to cut poor friend loose and stopping hurting him by only wanting to be "just friends".
Oh, and girl starts doing stupid and reckless things to have delusions of boy talking to her in her head. She even puts her friends in danger. Girl acts like a typical hurt and selfish teenager.
A misunderstanding causes boy to think girl is dead, so he pulls a Romeo and goes to off himself (as only a vampire could, by pissing off the vampire mafia). Girl abandons friend and chases after boy. Boy and girl reunite in tense moment, almost die (again). Girl thinks boy can't possibly love her, despite his seeming devotion throughout said almost dying, so she decides to just pretend that he loves her until he leaves again (WHAT?!). Boy has a hell of a time convincing girl that he loves her but finally does.
Girl has been begging boy to make her a vampire since the last book and now boy must actually follow through (at some point) or face having girl killed by vampire mafia. Boy has a condition though... Girl must marry him first. Girl freaks out because the thought of becoming his wife is more terrifying than becoming a vampire. Girl is stupid.
Okay, enough boy/girl/friend stuff... Bella is still annoying and even more needy and selfish in this book. But, at least in my opinion, she has a bit more motivation for said behavior. She's had her heart broken, and while I do think she's just a bit TOO devastated in the chapters following Edward's departure (though, damn, those chapters just titled with the months made me cry), at least she's not acting like a vanilla non-person for no apparent reason (see Twilight).
I'm still not getting why all the guys dig her though. Jacob was kind of a lovesick puppy in the first book and became a lovesick wolfmanchild in this one. I'm not quite sure why these pretty incredible beings are choosing her as the object of their affection. I don't remember my ability to be a needy brat as a teenager pulling in too many guys. I seem to remember being confident as a much more effective and attractive personality trait.
So Bella continues to win the award for worst female role model in a Young Adult series that I've read (though, admittedly, I haven't read many). And I'm still not convinced that Bella and Edward are in love. I'm still feeling a bit like this is the story of an incredible (and I do mean in-credible) infatuation turned obsession.
Funny though... I'm still interested enough to keep reading. The cool vampire and werewolf stuff is enough to keep me going. I'm finding my attitude toward this series strangely similar to my attitude toward Grey's Anatomy...
Book Review: New Moon: Twilight's Extended Denouement
Summary: 2 Stars
First--I am new to the Twilight Saga, and I've decided to review these books in order, as I read them.
Second--I'll admit I genuinely enjoyed the first book, Twilight, despite its flaws (which one only has to peruse the numerous 1-star reviews for to get a sense of what those flaws are). I gave it a fair 3-star review, just for the sheer FUN I had reading it.
So why am I giving New Moon only 2 stars?
1) I realize I'm not the first to point out that Stephanie Meyer's first-person style of writing often reads like a glorified fan fiction. Indeed, I have read numerous fan fictions that invoke many of the same characteristics that seem to be ubiquitous in Meyer's writing: inane details, unimaginative surroundings, lengthy paragraphs describing feelings and emotions, too-convenient circumstances, and ridiculous plot devices--all told from a very "Mary Sue" type of perspective. However, I was hoping Meyer had gotten most of these things out of her system in Twilight, but they regrettably return in New Moon, to an even more laughable degree.
2) The story in this book really let me down. Without giving too much away: We finally get to see Bella on her own, left to her own devices, making her own choices. And I kept waiting for her to get ANGRY at her situation; to finally grow a spine and be the independent girl I was hoping she'd be. But it never happened. I thought Edward's decision in the beginning would take this series an in an entirely new direction; allowing Bella to flourish in her freedom and pursue her new found desires. Instead we get chapter after chapter of suicidal thoughts, reckless behavior, using people, lying, and hallucinations, all for the sake of someone who, in my opinion, does not deserve her affections. It felt utterly pathetic to watch this unfold.
3) By the end of the book, I had the nagging feeling that this series has already long since "jumped the shark" and that New Moon was just Twilight's extended denouement. I enjoyed Jacob's story (even though its emergence could not have possibly been more predictable) but couldn't help but feel that it was all filler. I was almost certain all the involvement with Jacob was going to build up to and play a major role in this book's climax, but no. Instead we get an angsty and entirely self-inflicted pointless conflict so ridiculous that it almost seems like Meyer went out of her way to allow it to happen. And just as ridiculously, it was all swept under the rug and forgiven with very little action or consequences.
So why did I read New Moon? And why do I plan to read the next 2 books? Why do I have an infuriating desire to WANT to like these books? The correct answer, I suspect, is a carefully-mixed cocktail of brilliant marketing, movie hype, and a basic storyline that is specifically meant to appeal to readers of literature's lowest common denominator--trashy romance novels. Yet I will keep reading because, despite my complaints, I do care about the characters Meyer has created, even if I don't care for the way she writes them; which seems to be without subtlety or any true depth. There have been so many times in these first 2 books that the story has hinted at taking an interesting or unexpected turn, but instead continues along its predictable and unimaginative path. I sincerely hope that things will get better in the next 2 books.
Book Review: 4 Pink Hearts from Kooritsuki's Romance Novels Reviews
Summary: 4 Stars
New Moon is the second book of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Continuing on with the incredible paranormal love story between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, this book is guaranteed to make you cry and break your heart. It is certainly worth a solid 4 Pink Hearts, great read in the paranormal romance novels genre.
Summary:
With Bella recovered from the Vampire, James', attack, she was all the more in love with Edward, and well blended in with the Cullen's family. Until a paper cut on her birthday party ruined everything. Just a week after the episode, Edward broke up with her, and the whole family of Cullen's moved out of Forks in a fortnight, leaving Bella torn and heart-broken.
After being in a zombie-state for months after the breakup, Bella accidentally discovered that she would hear Edward's worried voice in her head if she begin to do things that are reckless. So, when one day she saw some broken bikes to be disposed of by a neighbor, she brought them to Jacob Black, her friend in the reserve, to fix up. The two became very close friends as Bella slowly recovered from her depression, but Jacob wanted much more than friendship from her.
What I liked:
The story was, once again, well-written for the Young Adults genre, and is definitely engaging with many surprises (good and bad). Stephenie Meyer did a fantastic job in describing the emotions Bella went through during and after the break up, and made every single one of her actions thereafter very believable and logical. The reader is bound to be led into a series of emotions throughout the book along with the heroine, Bella Swan.
What I didn't like:
Although the hero remained to be Edward Cullen, the leading male character in New Moon was actually Jacob, as Edward was MIA for almost 3/4 of the book. In the beginning, I didn't really mind having Edward out of the story for a little while, as the book was written in a first person POV, a separation between the two is bound to have him missing for a while. Unfortunately, that part had dragged on for too long. Jacob was not a character I particularly enjoyed reading. Throughout the whole series, for me, he was more of a necessary evil, a character that was necessary only to have the story move on the way it should. Therefore, having him present throughout more than half of the book was somewhat annoying. I couldn't help but to flip through the pages to see how much longer must I endure his presence before I see Edward appearing in the story again. (I was a good girl, and did not skip through chapters though)
New Moon was also not much of a re-reading material. I did re-read some parts a couple of times after I finished the book, however, because the majority of the story was so sad, I wouldn't even want to touch most of it again.
Conclusion:
As much as I did enjoy New Moon of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, and as much as I would recommend the book to those who liked the novel Twilight, please be warned that reading this novel will require the accompaniment of a full box of Kleenex. Be prepared that Edward would not be present for most of the novel, and instead, you will be reading a lot about an immature Jacob. Also, this book cannot be read as a stand-alone, without reading Twilight, New Moon will not make any sense whatsoever.