New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

the twilight books are just great reading! The writer makes you feel as if you are there. That's as good as it gets.

After reading Twilight, I became obsessed with the saga. I ordered the next three books right away and this one is just as good as the first. I highly recommend the books to any readers who are interested in Twilight at all!

This second book is spectacular. I felt Bella's sorrow and cried for her when Edward left. We get to know Jacob better and can't help but fell sorry for him as well when Bella chooses Edward when Edward returns. The feel of this book, the whole of this book is wonderful. Meyers did it again. Absolutely love it.

My daughter (age 12) purchased Twilight because her friends had read it and loved it. We both started to read it, but she saw the movie and quit reading the book. I was hooked at that point and finished it quickly. I bought her New Moon for Christmas, but as she was still working on Twilight, I read it and finished it in just a few days. I really wanted to like the book as I did enjoy Twilight, but I found myself skimming through parts of it because of Bella's inability get over Edward and try to attain some semblance of a normal life. Now, I am not a teenager - I'm 48 - but I still remember how hard young love can be. However, Bella's constant sinking back into depression over every minor setback in her feeble attempts to move forward got old quickly for me. I did enjoy the relationship with Jacob and the building of that throughout the book, and I do hope that develops more in future books. I do like Edward and the Cullen family, and I can see why Bella would like to be a part of that. I am not sure if that is where the series is headed, but I hope that Bella does consider what that would mean for her family. It does bother me a bit that someone who has never had a boyfriend before would so quickly throw herself into a relationship such as this, and I do agree with some other reviewers who felt that she is setting a poor example for young women everywhere with her over-dependence on a man to make her feel whole. Frankly, I am not sure if I will read the rest of the series, so disappointed was I by this book overall. Bella really needed to develop a spine and would have benefited greatly by taking some time to develop stronger relationships with her friends and find ways to grow and help others rather than focusing so much on her own pain. I ended up genuinely disliking her by the end of the book.

For those who don't 'get' Twilight obsession this review might not apply, but I thought it was a worthy, well written sequel, firmly establishing the second leading male character in Bella's life, Jacob Black, and introducing the shape shifting abilities of the Quileute tribe. I thought Bella's despair and depression that she suffers were very well written - almost too well and hit too close to home for me after losing my dad this year - a very realistic description of the terrible suffering one can endure when one has lost someone dearly loved. And thinks never to see them again - Bella believes that Edward has gone forever so it's like a death to her. And the happiness and the sacrifice to try and help him when she learns that he thinks that she has died - to try and keep him from his own destruction - true to the themes that Meyer introduced in the first novel of love and self sacrifice. All in all an enjoyable read. Looking forward to the film version.