New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

Customer Reviews

• Vapid Vampires finally get shunted aside, but all for naught.  Jan 3, 2007 (264 of 334 found this helpful)

  In the first book Bella was dreamless, hobby-less, and hopeless. Now she becomes a lush for adrenaline because her precious vampire boyfriend dumps her. One can only wish she'd succeed instead of making the reader suffer along with her for 500 pages. Bella's self-confidence and self-worth rest on the whims of a boy, and a vampire at that, and that's hardly a good message for any girl to take away from the book. You get sick of hearing Bella whine about the hole in her chest.
  The werewolves are actually decent, and one embellished the most also achieves what neither Bella nor Edward can: actual reader interest. Jacob Black has a hobby! He has some legitimate angst! He is flawed! And he and Bella actually have chemistry that goes beyond "You are my sun, my moon, my stars, my love!" Jacob strikes me as the kind of guy one could actually LIVE with for the rest of one's existence, morning breath and all. But don't expect Bella to actually LISTEN to any of this logic.
  Perhaps more jaded sorts, such as myself, shouldn't read this. I am not a romance reader; I'm a fantasy buff and a stickler for character logic. I just kind of ended up in the wrong kind of territory. It baffles me that shallow, blah characters like Eragon and this series can become bestsellers hand over fist. I think in order for these books to work for me I'd have to believe in the happily-ever-after for these characters, and all I find myself thinking is "Okay, what are they going to DO for the rest of eternity? Stroking each other's ego's over how beautiful they are would get really old really fast ..."

• Shoot me, shoot me now *spoilers*  Jun 3, 2008 (43 of 52 found this helpful)

  You end the book hating the character of Bella more then you could have ever thought possible. She comes off as two things throughout the book. First a bit of a bitch to one her father, for ignoring him for months then running off to Italy with only a note to tell him where she is. Also for obviously jerking Jacob around by his heart strings throughout the book.
  
  The second thing? She comes off as very much not in her right mind. She goes catatonic for a week and into a zombie trance for months because Edward left her. I'm sorry I refuse to believe one's soul mate leaving them would warrant a reaction like that. She's obsessive about Edward to a degree that if it weren't for the fact he's equally as obsessed, we would have a set of psychotic stalkers on our hands. Instead it's true love, ain't that just the most darling message?
  
  Edward comes off as a dick for leaving Bella, who is very much not in her right mind (she goes catatonic for a week then goes zombie trance for months?), and honestly seems very suicidal. He constantly tosses around the idea of suicide so much and how he's going as soon as she goes, you get the idea that he's going to cut her brakes, just so he can off himself.
  
  Any actual plot was procrastinated off to the very end, when Alice deus ex machina's in and tells Bella about suicidal Edward. Then it's off to Italy, a narrow save of Edward (who could have seen that coming?), and the Volturi lovingly shoving it down our throats that Bella is the most special snowflake of the lot.
  
  And I very much appreciated the Romeo and Juliet comparisons being shoved down my throat every other chapter. Ms. Meyer, I'm sure you've read it (because Bella is so obviously a young Mary-Sue version of yourself), the main things I took away was a cautionary tale of feuding and how it will destroy what you care for most.I never saw the true love of the play, and it always seemed like a plot point more then anything, for the rest of a more interesting story to go off of. Hey maybe New Moon is more like it then I thought... except with the lacking of a more interesting story.
  
  In review what does her brand of true love tells us what? You can't live without your man. It's perfectly okay to drop entire lives for someone you love. It's perfectly okay to commit suicide just to hear your ex's voice. It's perfectly okay to go comatose because you where dumped.
  
  
  I only have one question after being forced to read this book. Why. Ms. Meyer, Why?

• The Vampires May Glittler, but it's only Skin Deep  Jan 15, 2007 (50 of 61 found this helpful)

  This book perturbed me. A lot. Though I did enjoy Ms. Meyer's first installation of this series very much (even though the vampires glitter. go figure.) this one fell quite short of even being engaging. The Fault line? The protagonist. Where in Twilight Bella is her own person, intelligent, competent and refreshingly mature for her age, in New Moon she is selfish, codependent, bored, boring, stupid, irrational and just all around irritating. Instead of being someone who makes things happen, most of the book's major events transpire as a result of Bella's odd gravitational pull for danger. This gets old. Very old. Mostly, it is Bella's irreverent and irate actions that pull the story down and drown the reader. After a certain event (avoiding spoilers here) near the start of the book, Bella simply dissolves into a puddle of pathetic mush. Why should I give a hoot about her if she doesn't even give a hoot about her?? Never once did I feel an ounce of pity for her. Truthfully, she had more than enough for herself. Get a grip Bella! Pick yourself up! Be a strong character! DO something for crying out loud!
  If I could smack her, I would.
  
  P.S.
  This book's saving grace was Jacob Black, the only character I could sympathize with. Don't worry Jacob, you're not missing much...

• Agony For the Characters and For the Reader  Mar 31, 2007 (67 of 83 found this helpful)

  Twilight was a good read (the first time, not so much the others) so I felt compelled to pick up this one and find out how our "star-crossed" lovers were doing.
  
  Instantly I was launched into a story of angst and Emo! to the extreme, cardboard cutouts, and plot-lackingness abound.
  
  For the majority of the story all Bella does is mope around and play with another boy's affections until Edward finally returns and it concludes with the decision of whether she is to become a vampire or not. In the end nobody goes home a better person and another long and drawn out chapter in the life of the Twilight saga has ended.
  
  I resisted throwing this book at the wall in disgust. Well written, my neck. On the topic of necks, I'm not betting my neck (or Bella's) that the next one will be any better.

• Plot Sypnosis  May 23, 2008 (39 of 47 found this helpful)

  Do you remember when you were a teenager and your first real boyfriend left you? You know, when you went suicidal and started doing things that were very hazardous to your health? Well, that's exactly how painful reading this book was.