Once again, Cassie and I team up to write a review. This time, we review the sequel to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, New Moon. Since, my review was first last time, Cassie's will be first this time. As usual SPOILER ALERT!
Cassie's Review:
New Moon- 8 out of 10 stars
She’s done it again. Stephenie Meyer has spawned yet another cultural phenomenon in the form of New Moon. How does she do it? Meyer’s second novel, coupled with its wildly successful movie, fueled the Twi-mania that has taken the country’s teenage population by storm. There’s even been a rise in the number of werewolf novels on the Teen shelves at bookstores. It seems that New Moon has taken the popularity of the Twilight Saga to new heights (it also happens to be my personal favorite book of the series). Why? Let’s look.
I try not to spoil here, but let’s be real, most everyone in the English-speaking world knows what’s up. Edward breaks up with Bella in the beginning of the novel; Bella had been nearly slaughtered at her birthday party by Jasper when she got a paper cut, so the family moves away for her sake (but she thinks Edward stopped loving her, so she doesn’t know the full extent of it). After screaming fits, tantrums, nightmares, and a general apathetic view of life, Charlie threatens to send Bella back to her mom. Bella goes to a movie with a friend to appease Charlie, and through an encounter with a few creepers at a bar, Bella realizes she hears Edward’s voice when she’s in danger. So Bella obtains a couple motorcycles and turns to Jacob Black for assistance repairing them. Its obvious Jacob has a crush on Bella, and they really are best friends, but then Jacob gets “sick” and tries to cut ties, which sends Bella on a downward path toward depression for the second time. Bella tries to make amends, is shaken off by Jacob, and can’t make heads or tails, all the while having strange dreams about wolves and Edward. She figures out, after a little help from a midnight visit from Jacob, that Jacob is a werewolf. Why can’t Bella be monster-free? It would seem she’s a walking supernatural magnet.
Here’s the secondary conflict: Weird deaths have been happening in Forks, and the police think it’s some kind of wild animal. It’s actually Victoria, the sadist vampire mate of James, who Edward killed in a life or death kerfuffle in Twilight. Victoria is looking for Bella; the way she sees it, she has to kill Bella to get back at Edward for killing James. The werewolves are trying to find her, but she keeps evading them. An intriguing secondary storyline, if you ask me. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
After a few chapters of this werewolf versus vampire deal, Alice shows up at Bella’s house. Through yet another unlikely set of circumstances, Edward thinks Bella committed suicide, and is going to the Volturi clan in Italy so they can kill him (vampires have very few options as far as ending their own life, you see). Bella and Alice go to stop him, and stop him they do. I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll say that it kind of unexpected.
Meyer has obviously improved her writing since Twilight. The plot ambles along with fewer bumps and better quality character development, especially for Jacob. He goes from an eager teenager with a crush on Bella to a mature, responsible young man with an even bigger crush on Bella. The absence of Edward gives readers a better understanding of Bella’s character. We all know she’s still irrational, love-crazed, and ignorant, but we see her in moments of elation, moments of compassion, and in moments of extreme despair. Also, Bella’s struggle with her “failed” relationship with Edward, though very difficult to relate to, is described by Meyer in a way that helps the reader feel compassion for Bella and her plight. In addition, Bella’s mixed feelings about her relationship with Jacob make her seem more human and less fictional, in my opinion; her extreme reaction to Edward’s absence is heartbreaking. Anyone with a heart will feel sympathy for Bella (although I suppose my fellow reviewer won’t share my views on this subject). Meyer’s writing in New Moon is more advanced and less frustrating than Twilight. Props to her, but she still has room for improvement.
Even the most outspoken opposition of this series can’t deny one simple, irrefutable fact: Stephenie Meyer has created a figurative tidal wave in the world of literature. It’s gone as far as to divide readers into two distinct categories (although there are a few fans that are on outlier teams): Team Edward and Team Jacob. However you put it, New Moon has heightened Meyer’s status as one of the most prominent writers of our generation, and the best is yet to come.
David's Review:
1 out of 10 stars
Upon reading the first book in this series, Twilight, I thought it impossible that I would ever read a book worse then it. Unfortunately, after reading New Moon, I was proven wrong. Personally, I believe this book should have been called Twilight 2.0 Now With Werewolves, because, that’s all it was, the same exact plot line (or lack of) as the original, but now with new monsters.
Like in the original book, I must bring up the fact of plot. In the beginning, I thought that there might actually be one, what with Edward leaving, but then it vanishes into thin air, not to return until almost halfway through the book. But, even worse, it disappears at the end, causing a perfect set-up for Meyer to (unfortunately) write a third book. So, let’s examine our plot, and the irrational actions of our characters (mainly Bella).
It starts with Bella’s eighteenth birthday, and the Cullen’s, the family of vampires Bella has grown close to because of her dating Edward, throwing her a party. Somehow, Bella manages to cut herself on a piece of tape (don’t ask me how, because I’m pretty sure nobody can actually do this). This causes Jasper, the most recent addition to the Cullen clan, to go crazy over the scent of her blood. Edward then pushes her back into a table with a cake and glass plates on it (I’m not sure why they have glass plates around Bella, because she’s admittedly clumsy), causing Bella to receive multiple more injuries, and almost all the Cullens to leave to stop themselves from eating her, which, in my opinion, would have made the book better. After this whole ordeal, Edward decides it’s best to leave Bella, to keep her safe, and tells her not to do stupid things (which after Twilight, is a little bit of a joke).
The plot then fades to nothing as Bella goes through a time of what appears to be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which really makes me wonder. Raise your hand if any of you, after dating somebody for around a year would begin having night terrors about them, and not be able to function regularly for months. Wait, none of you put your hands up! Oh yeah, I just remembered, nobody acts like that. I mean, seriously Stephanie Meyer, I understand it’s a fictional work involving vampires and werewolves, but everybody still has to act rationally, otherwise the story will be even more unbelievable.
The only person Bella finds solace in is her Native American friend, Jacob Black. She then finds out that when she’s reckless and stupid, as Edward told her not to be, she hears this perfect voice (here we go with the whole perfection thing every time Edwards around). Bella now begins to use Jacob so she can have crazy adrenaline rushes and hear Edward’s voice again. But, over time, Bella begins to fall for Jacob, and eventually, can’t tell if she loves him or Edward.
This again brings up the argument of love or infatuation. Does Bella love Jacob, or does she love Edward? Has she ever actually loved either of them? Does she love both of them? Personally, I think Bella wants to have a masculine figure by her side at all times, which once again ruins Meyer’s premise, because Bella’s dad is a police officer, one of the best suited people to protect her.
Bella decides she loves Edward and continues using Jacob. Fast forward, because it gets pretty boring. Jacob avoids Bella. Fast forward. Bella meets the vampire Laurent, an enemy from Twilight, and is saved by five giant wolves. Fast forward. Jacob’s a werewolf, meant to protect the people of La Push (the reservation) and Forks from vampires. The werewolves vow to protect Bella from Victoria, who’s out to kill her after Edward killed her vampire mate, James.
So finally, after a lot of boring things, Jacob promises Bella that they will go cliff diving. But, on the day they want to cliff dive, the wolves think they can catch Victoria. Bella decides that she’ll jump off the tallest cliff all by herself. She nearly drowns, which, once again, would have been a better ending. Seeing that Bella jumped off a cliff, and thinking she died, Alice comes to Forks to console Charlie. Lo and behold though, Bella’s alright. So the two of them catch a plane to Italy to stop Edward from killing himself (he can’t live if Bella doesn’t). In another anticlimactic ending, that is only slightly more thrilling than the ending in Twilight, Bella stops Edward. The end.
I gave this book one out of ten stars for many reasons. The plot is completely unoriginal, as it’s basically the same series of events that happened in the first book, only with werewolves instead of vampires. The writing is just as bad, if not worse than the original, which is odd because you think Meyer would get better as she wrote, but I guess some people just aren’t talented, right? The clichés are over the top and just horrible. The ending when Bella learns that Edward left because he loved her, made me, and probably anybody with a drop of testosterone in them, want to barf, a lot. Overall, this was just a terrible book, and I wouldn’t recommend it even as punishment for criminals.
