New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: clock tolled, Jacob Black, Sam Uley, Port Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Recovered from the vampire attack that hospitalized her in the conclusion of Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005), Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step. Vampire fans will appreciate the subsequently dour mood that permeates the novel, and it's not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella's emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends. Less streamlined than Twilight yet just as exciting, New Moon will more than feed the bloodthirsty hankerings of fans of the first volume and leave them breathless for the third.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. "Which is tempting you more, my blood or my body?" Things are heating up between Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen, in this sequel to the immensely popular Twilight (2005). Then Bella is injured at her birthday party, and the Cullens' reaction to her blood sends Edward's family packing. Bella is inconsolable until she discovers that reckless behavior allows her to hear Edward's warning voice in her head. To keep him close, she decides to live as dangerously as possible, acquiring two motorcycles and developing a close friendship with Jacob, who helps her rebuild them. Romantics will miss Edward's presence, but the suspense created by a pack of werewolves bent on protecting Bella from a vindictive vampire will keep them occupied until the lovers can be reunited. The writing is a bit melodramatic, but readers won't care. Bella's dismay at being ordinary (after all, she's only human) will strike a chord even among girls who have no desire to be immortal, and like the vampires who watch Bella bleed with "fevered eyes," teens will relish this new adventure and hunger for more. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Paperback Edition edition (May 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316024961
• ISBN-13: 978-0316024969
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,157 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #8 in	Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction
  #10 in	Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Love & Romance
  #10 in	Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

• This is item 2 in The Twilight Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

254 of 320 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Vapid Vampires finally get shunted aside, but all for naught., January 2, 2007

By	Laura Jennings "garrick40" (Kempner, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) (Hardcover)

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 ..."

118 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So You Want to Be A Vampire..., July 24, 2008

By	Alanna Evans - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) (Hardcover)

There are already alot of reviews for this book, but here's one more for you.

I bought it on a whim. I did not like "Twilight" - I thought it was poorly written. It had a romance that had no real flare or reason behind it, the heroine had a brain full of marbles. And there was the ridiculous stuff - vampires playing baseball, glittering in daylight, etc.

Why did I get "New Moon" then? Because it was at Wal Mart and I had run out of books and it was literally the only thing that seemed interesting. I wasn't completely revulsed by "Twilight" so I thought I'd give her vampire world another chance.

And she blew it. The breakup was ridiculous. Bella leading Jake around as she did was irresponsible and completely horrible. Of course she was hurting him and she knew it and did not care. Bella is a selfish character in general, and a delusional one at that. Despite the fact that Jake cared about her, she kept using him to force herself into more "dangerous" situations so she could "break her promise" and "even the score" to counter the promise that her vampire wannabe lover did not keep (that she supposed anyway). So "dangerous" motorcycle riding (oh shock, that's the worst you can think of?) and cliff jumping come into play so she could hear Edward's voice (it came to her only to warn her of doing stupid things, which of course, made her want to do even more stupid things).

Trying to get into a situation with some potentially dangerous strangers hanging out in front of a bar, while she was out walking in a dangerous area WITH HER FRIEND was even worse. Just so she could hear that voice and get her delusion fix. They could have been attacked, raped, or worse.

The book gets stupider, just as Bella does. Her relationship with her father makes her seem more like a 12 year old than an 18 year old legal adult. Through it all I think the most disgusting part was this: Throughout the whole entire book - Bella is begging to become a vampire like Edward so they can be together forever (she is afraid Edward will leave her once she's over the age of 20 or something since he is "forever 17" and as long as she's human she will still age). She manages to make a deal with "The Family" regarding the future state of her mortality after a particular set of circumstances. This makes future issues become nonissues. Edward is against this but says that he would help her along her road to immortality if she would marry him first.

Which she won't commit to.

EXCUSE ME?

You are willing to be bitten and changed by vampires to become an unsleeping, glittery-in-the-sun blood sucker for the rest of ETERNITY, and leave your parents and friends to rot and suffer without you, but you will NOT agree to marry the man that you *kept trying to kill yourself over just so you could hear his voice after he had faux dumped you?*. The one you absolutely cannot live without? Who gives you that freakin HOLE in your soul that we had to read about ten billion times while she ignored her friends and wallowed in self pity. The heck?

I know the author may be trying to discourage young marriages, but that just smacks of ridiculousness. I have no problems suspending disbelief for good fantasy takes on reality but its things like this that just blow it right out of context. It's also strange how attached she is to these people. When her vampire-friend Alice showed up, she was hanging on to her so hard and being so obsessive and overflowing with love that I thought they would end up being a same sex couple before the book was over.

In short "New Moon" is implausible, ridiculous, emo in the whiniest way, and finishes with a clunking thud. Character development is nonexistant, there is no sensual spark between Edward and Bella - just a creepy obsession, and thus leaves no reason left to read it. Yet, I'm sure there are zillions out there that lap this up like its the best thing since sliced bread.

107 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Meyers' books are GREAT...., April 4, 2008

By	Smarmstress (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) (Hardcover)

...if you're an aspiring writer in need of a primer that gives never-ending examples of what NOT TO DO.

I'm working on a teen fantasy novel of my own, and Meyers' Twilight series never fails to remind me of the things I want to completely avoid in my own writing. Let's consult the list, shall we?

1) THE BORING SUE HERIONE. You may have heard of the Mary Sue, the perfect female protagonist who can do no wrong, who has unnatural beauty, who is beloved by all; Bella isn't quite a Mary Sue. She's described (by herself, at least) as plain and is endlessly clumsy (though her clumsiness is so contrived that it seems like a magical Sue ability, practically). She also has no interests, hobbies, or anything that she excels at in particular. Despite these flaws, Bella nevertheless ends up a Sue because everyone loves her for reasons that defy explanation or logic. Even when she is behaving in a selfish, whiny, and intolerable way, Bella is never called out for her behavior. The only character who ever seems disgusted by Bella is Jessica, but since Jessica is written as a shrew anyway, we're clearly not meant to put much stock in her opinion.

2) FATED TRUE LOVE. In my world, Fated True Love isn't romantic, it's lazy. It says "hey, instead of working out why these characters are attracted to each other and showing how their relationship develops, I'm gonna just put it in the hands of FATE and have them fall in love for no reason whatsoever!" Edward loves Bella because she smells good, which means Edward loves Bella like I love freshly baked bread. Bella loves Edward because he's beautiful. God-like. So beautiful...really BEAUTIFUL, in case you missed it in all the numerous descriptive reminders. But really, why do they love each other? I have no idea. Shakespeare was all too aware of the ridiculousness of star-crossed love, which is why he was smart and killed his teenaged lovers off. But Bella and Edward's happiness hinges entirely on their togetherness. What a strong, solid message to send to the young women of the world: happiness isn't something you create for yourself, oh no, it's something you can ONLY find in a beautiful, immortal man. Bella's slow recognition of Jacob as a potential suitor was far more interesting and realistic, and it was teeth-gnashingly disappointing to see Bella repeatedly insist to herself that no one would ever do it for her again but Edward.

3) THE ZERO-HOUR PLOT. Nothing much happens in Meyers' books, aside from Bella's enthrallment/suffering over Edward. In the last few chapters, Meyers will attempt to inject some kind of conflict into the narrative, either in the form of James, Victoria, and Laurent ("Twilight") or the Volturi ("New Moon"). It's difficult to get invested in this conflict at the last minute, and again feels like a lazy, tacked-on, "oh right, I am writing a book, maybe something should happen!" move from the author.

Of course, as someone who hopes to be successful at writing teen fantasy, it's depressing to know that all I would need to do to achieve this success is construct a BORING SUE HEROINE, a FATED TRUE LOVE, and a ZERO HOUR PLOT.

Or maybe it's not depressing...maybe it's an incredible relief! After all, coming up with those three things shouldn't be too hard. If a lazy writer like Meyers can do it, anyone can!

For readers looking for good, solid teen-level fantasy featuring interesting heroines, more complex and realistic portrayals of love, and truly gripping plot, I recommend Diana Wynne Jones and Libba Bray.