Back in the drizzly little town of Forks, Washington, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are caught up in an interesting high school relationship, if one could call it simply that. She's human, he's vampire; she's freshly 18, he's 104. So, other than that, it's your basic teenage romance.

Though Edward's vampire family is quite different from normal vampires in that they refuse to hunt humans, Edward is still concerned for Bella's safety and disappears for a good chunk of the book. This gives Bella plenty of time to nurse her aching heart, as well as to develop her friendship with her younger pal, Jacob Black. As she grows more and more despondent (and reckless!), she and Jacob grow closer...and she learns more than she ever wanted to know about Jacob's deep disdain for the Cullens.

The resulting vampire hunts and blitzes through Italy will either keep you on the edge of your seat...or leaning over the edge of your sink to gag.

As a sequel to the massively popular Twilight, I found New Moon to be generally disappointing and a little nauseating. As in the first book, author Stephenie Meyer writes easily and accessibly, and the reader isn't required to have a lot of background knowledge of the supernatural world, as Meyer fills in the gaps with her own version of mythical history. The prose isn't award-winning by any means, but it's decent. Even though 500+ pages can seem a little overwhelming, I flew through this book in a day or two, and so have most of the teens I've talked to, regardless of reading ability. But that, really, is one of the only notable things about New Moon, and that's a little sad.

The other element that deserves attention is Edward's inward turmoil. Though I don't agree with the way Edward has suddenly been catapulted to Mr. Darcy status amongst readers, I can see a little of his appeal. Edward is quite a gentlemen, and his inner battle is compelling: his desire to do what is best for Bella vs. his desire to be with her. All in all, Edward has a noble streak a mile wide, and it's remarkable to me that he sees anything appealing in Bella by this point.

Yeah, I said it. Bella, who in the last book was likeably stubborn and a little underconfident, becomes a whiny, melodramatic mess in this one. Before, I could relate a lot to her feelings of being ordinary and undeserving of Edward's attention. But rather than developing Bella's personality, Meyer lets her main character mope around for half the book without ever growing as a result of her pain. (One review at LivingSocial mentioned that the hole in Bella's heart might as well have been its own character, as it's referenced so much. Haha!) Instead of empathizing with her, I got annoyed with her rash decisions and ridiculous overstatements (as well as the repetitive descriptions about Edward's god-like looks. Blah blah blah. If she talks any more about his "molded chest" or whatever, I'm going to puke.). She's no one I'd admire or want to be friends with. Especially when she intentionally leads on Jacob Black, then becomes clingy and starts referring to him as her "best friend"--and then, despite actually getting a glimpse of what love really is through this relationship, still grasps onto her Edward-pain like a security blanket.

The story itself kicked up a little earlier than it did in the last book (it took me 250 pages before I really got into Twilight), but the general idea wasn't quite as interesting. Parts of it were: Jacob's history, for instance, and Bella's relationship with him. Other pieces dragged on: mostly, the parts where Bella's moaning about her broken heart. There are a few developments that could prove interesting if done well in the next book.

As far as "clean"ness, there's a smattering of foul language and some blossoming sexuality (which is interestingly conflicted: he often spends the night in her room, yet rarely do they even kiss at length). Of course, there's also blood, as Bella sustains several injuries and many tourists die in the woods. The most disturbing thing for me, though, is Bella's hopeless collapse into "love," which is nothing more than a lot of immature drama based on surging feelings. I know that this is teen fiction, and a lot of young relationships do function this way. However, the problem is when a story like this becomes less descriptive and more prescriptive. The kids I talk to can't stop gushing about how "romantic" the series is, how amazing their love is, how perfect this relationship is--and that's frightening! If this is some sort of field guide to love, it's going to lead a lot of readers right over the cliffs of stupidity.

I don't want to mock heartbreak or emotion. I've been right there with Bella. But her way of handling it (or not handling it) is frustratingly short-sighted and co-dependent. It makes me sick that while Edward is sacrificing so much to keep her from pain, she returns the favor by whining, begging, and deciding suddenly that she'll do whatever it takes to be with him forever, even though she can barely take care of herself day by day.

I'm thankful this book went by fast. I did like a few little things about it, and I will finish out the series, though I'm really hoping the third and fourth books bring in more action and character development. There's enough about the series that has somehow captured my attention, and I want to find out what ultimately happens to Edward and Bella. But overall, it's an okay story that becomes victim to mediocre storytelling, dripping with angst, theatrics, and some strange flicker of hope that things will turn around. (My roommate tells me that this is her least favorite of the series. I suppose those of us who want to get to the end could just consider this a necessary evil. An unnecessarily long evil. :)

Saga Reviews:
Book 1: Twilight
Book 3: Eclipse
Book 4: Breaking Dawn

Recommended: No