Book Review
Title: New Moon (Twilight Book 2) by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I read Twilight for the first time this year and I have to admit that it wasn’t bad and I am finally getting into New Moon which I think is the book that I will have the most issues with. We re-join Bella and Edward as Bella turn 18 which is a huge thing for her now she is older than Edward but he is being stubborn about turning her. As they relax after school she learns that he contemplated suicide during the incident with James and that Carlisle has attempted it in the past as he explains who the Volturi are to her and their role within vampire society. She makes him swear never to try anything like that again and he agrees even though we know after the fact that Edward was already planning to leave Bella at this point. They head over to the Cullen house where they are throwing a birthday party for Bella and everything is going fine until she gets a papercut. Jasper reacts negatively to this but rather than being calm and removing him from the situation Edward launches Bella into some crystal cutting her even worse. This scene honestly made me laugh because of how stupid Edward is and people bash Jasper in this scene but he is an empath meaning he is now only feeling his own thirst but the thirst of the others as well especially Edward. The aftermath of this scene made me so angry especially since Bella realises in an unconscious sense that Edward is planning to leave her and doesn’t say or do anything about it.
The way Edward distances himself from Bella before crushing her emotionally and destroying all the confidence she worked to build in the previous novel actually disgusted me a little and I don’t think I will ever like Edward as a characters because of it. The worst thing for me though was how he not only removed himself and his family from her life in a cruel way but took all the photographs and presents they had given her as well except for her truck’s stereo so she had absolutely nothing to remember them by which was heart-breaking to witness especially when Bella claws the stereo out of her truck in anger afterwards. After this Bella falls into a deep depression leaving her a walking zombie before months which leaves Charlie at his wits end and he threatens to send Bella home and when she refuses he advises that she seeks professional help because she is just lifeless. Bella realises that she has to try harder to hide her pain because if she is sent to Jacksonville end if Edward return he could never come to find her. Bella starts with little things like going to see a movie with Jessica but her impulse to do something dangerous and rash just to see if Edward emerges gets the better of her and while the motorcycle ride doesn’t happen like it does in the movies, it really reflects Bella’s state of mind right now. In order to fulfil this need for adrenaline, Bella gets hold of a pair of motorcycles that she plans to fix up with Jacob but she is coming alive a little bit more now. While her depression and pain are still crippling her, she can function enough to not cause people to worry about her or to appear suspicious to others.
This is the point where I am begin making a case for Team Jacob. While I agree that both Edward and Jacob are very toxic characters in different ways early on Jacob is the one to help Bella start healing. He’s the one that helps her focusing on something else, he doesn’t pressure her into making decision (yes he is dropping hints and is thinking of Bella in a romantic sense but he isn’t pressuring her right now). He moves everything at Bella’s pace even when it means he has to change is own way of doing things and he never questions her decisions or makes her second guess herself the way Edward did almost constantly throughout the first book. However, he does notice something is up with Bella but doesn’t say anything about it even when he should but he shares a lot about his life too. Many movie only fans might not even know that Jacob has a sister and at this point he is ignorant of the secret the tribe is keeping despite noticing strange things about others like Sam and Paul. When things become dangerous Jacob makes Bella see reason and gets her to slow down a little moving her attention elsewhere so that she isn’t tempted to do dangerous things on her own which is another point in his favour even though I do have issue with him in New Moon and later in Eclipse. I also wasn’t enjoying the relationship between Charlie and Bella, I know they didn’t spend a lot time together when she was growing up but you should always be able to talk to your parents yet she doesn’t seek any help or advice from her father and when he asks about things or make suggestions she usually ends up ignoring him or snapping at him which isn’t fair to Charlie as he is trying his best especially when you realise he has a lot going on with work because of so called animal attacks happening more frequently.
We can see Jacob and Bella getting closer to the point where Bella even considers a relationship with Jacob but dismisses the idea because she believes the damage done to her can’t be fixed by anyone. However, when things begin happening that causes Jacob to withdraw from her, Bella is desperate as the only time she has been able to fight off the numbness and depression is with Jacob and she can’t lose that now or she risks regressing to where she was before. Bella pleads with Jacob and Billy to see him but is refused and even when she goes to La Push, Jacob isn’t there. She tries to be patient and throws all her energy into finding the meadow near the Cullen house but when she does she ends up meeting Laurent again. This time it seems welcome because he is proof that the Cullens did exist and were part of her life but when Laurent explains he is there as a favour to Victoria she becomes scared. It becomes clear that Laurent intends to kill Bella and he has already confessed that he can’t stick to the vegetarian lifestyle the Cullens have and Bella has resigned herself to death despite Edward’s voice coaching her through the encounter. This doesn’t happen as the encounter is broken up by huge wolves who chase Laurent into the forest utterly terrifying Bella who flees home to tell Charlie that they shouldn’t be looking for a bear but a pack of huge wolves. After this Bella decides to make one more trip to La Push where she learns that Jacob has fallen in with Sam’s gang just like he feared but when she speaks to him he can’t tell her anything except that he was wrong about Sam. When Bella pushes for more information he confesses to knowing about vampires and the Cullens and that they are to blame for his new behaviour which Bella can’t accept. Jacob tells her they can’t be friends now because of this change and it breaks something inside Bella. It also puts a strain on the long standing friendship with Billy and Charlie as Billy tries to pin everything on Bella and Charlie defends his daughter but Bella is terrified that Victoria is going to reappear and this time there will be no one to save her.
Jacob doesn’t like the way he has left things with Bella so he goes to visit her where he tries to explain what is going on but he is bound and can’t really openly say anything but he knows Bella can work it out herself if he gives her the right clues and he reminds her of the stories he told her when they meet down at La Push for the first time. Bella is exhausted though and doesn’t figure it out until the next morning what Jacob is and she decides to go and confront him as she believes that the wolves are killing the hikers but when she arrives at the Black house and finds Jacob asleep she can’t bring herself to wake him and waits for him down on the beach. When Jacob arrives they have an argument and he believes that she hates him because of what he is when in reality it is because she thinks he is responsible for the local murders. Jacob explains that the wolves are protectors and it is a vampire killing the humans and they instantly relax. Bella realises that the wolves killed Laurent and that the other vampire in Forks right now is Victoria and she explains to Jacob why Victoria wants her. After learning this information Jacob contacts the pack for a meeting and takes Bella along so she can explain everything to them learning a little about the wolves along the way. However, the meeting doesn’t got as planned as Paul lashes out and Jacob jumps to defend Bella, later on at Sam and Emily’s home, Bella informs them of everything and they decides to use Bella as bait to try and draw Victoria out but they promise to protect her and Charlie and Bella agrees to the plan as she knows she can never lives happily without looking over her shoulder as long as Victoria is alive.
With Victoria still at large Bella seems torn between the loyalty she has for the Cullens and the love she is coming to feel for Jacob. It isn’t the same as her love for Edward but it is something that could grow into love given time as she is sure Edward isn’t coming back at all. However, thinking about the Cullens so often makes Bella’s numbness return so she goes cliff diving without Jacob almost drowning in the process. Jacob and the other wolves save her but there is more going on as a family friend, Harry Clearwater is in the hospital after having a heart attack. Harry does eventually pass on but Bella also realises during this time that Victoria was swimming in the harbour too, she was close enough to get to her if the wolves hadn’t have been there. When Jacob takes her home, he smells a vampire there and wants to take Bella away but she recognises the car as Carlisle’s and wants to go back. She and Jacob have another argument because Bella is refusing to believe that the wolves and vampires are natural enemies when she is under the naïve impression that the wolves will get on with the Cullens if she says there is nothing to worry about which isn’t the case at all, the vampire turns out to be Alice not Carlisle. Alice explains that she saw Bella die but we soon learn this is because Alice can’t see the wolves in her vision which means she also can’t see Bella when she’s with the wolves. Bella is very clingy with Alice thinking she is going to leave at any moment but she decides to stay for a little while and it is Charlie who explains to Alice what Bella was like when they were gone and neither are sure if Alice staying is a good thing yet. However, when Edward calls the house mimicking Carlisle Jacob tells him that Charlie is at a funeral and Edward assumes it is Bella’s. Alice sees that Edward is going to the Volturi in order to kill himself and they don’t have long to get to him as the only way to convince him Bella is alive is by him seeing her. As they make their way to Italy, Alice is keeping track of Edward and learns the Volturi rejects his plea but Edward is going to reveal himself to the humans forcing their hand. They only have until midday to get to Edward but he will see Alice coming so Bella is going to have to make the last part of the journey alone so that Edward doesn’t change his mind about anything and they set up a plan as they enter Volterra.
Bella does say Edward but he has already drawn the attention of the Volturi and the presence of a human has only increased that attention as they are all summoned back before Aro. Edward does try to refuse the summons but the second Jane appears it is as if all the fight leaves Edward because we soon learn that he cannot compete with Jane’s gift so they are make their way before the Volturi. The whole scene with Aro learning the truth of things, testing out his gift and Jane’s on Bella and seeing her turned into a vampire in Alice’s vision was amazing. We don’t see much of Caius or Marcus during these scenes but Marcus’ interaction with Aro were interesting considering the history we learn about him later on in the series. While they are free to leave for now, Edward has been told that the Volturi will be checking up on him and the rest of his coven in order to make sure he follows through with turning Bella. Watching the return from Italy and Bella standing up for herself was amazing, the way she told Edward that he brought the Volturi down on not only himself but his entire family and because of that the subject of Bella’s mentality isn’t on between him and her but between them all and she decides to put it to a vote on whether or not she will stay human. The vote ends in favour of Bella becoming a vampire the only ones who vote against it are Edward and Rose, although Rose has a very good reason for saying no which we learn that one. After that Edward imposes condition on the change, saying Bella has to wait a year and marry him before he will consider turning her himself as she doesn’t want Carlisle or Alice to do even though they have both offered. The novel ends with the tensions between the vampires and wolves rising as Victoria is still on the loose but the tone is far more hopeful than the beginning of the novel.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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