Review of New Moon (Twilight Saga #2) by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon is the second book in the Twilight Saga.

When Edward leaves Forks, Bella is left lost and depressed. She strikes up a close friendship with Jacob Black, and her life improves and depression lifts.

But there's more to the world of monsters than she understands and danger lurks at every turn.

As when I reread Twilight, I understand why the books have been so engrossing to teens and adults alike. They're easy, fast reads and the plot clips along at a good pace.

The descriptions were good enough to populate Bella's world, but not fantastic, making the setting passable but not excellent. Stephenie Meyer continues to get things wrong about the region where the books take place, namely the weather. She says in the book that it never gets bright and sunny when it's bright and sunny most of the summer here (I live only a few hours from Forks). It rains a lot, but it's barely sprinkling most of the time. We almost never get pouring rain, and when we do, it's for a few minutes maximum. Heavy rain here would be considered light or average rain elsewhere. Here, rain is measured in hundredths of an inch. Two stereotypical assumptions about the region that simply aren't true. Research, Ms. Meyer!

The dialog was smooth and easy to read. That can be hard, so it was nice to read something smooth like that.

That brings us to characters. Let's dive in.

Edward Cullen is portrayed as a selfless saint once the truth of why he left comes out. It's frustrating because in leaving her for the reasons he did, he took away her choices, asserting control over her in a way no person ever should. Then by denying her the choice to change to a vampire, he's again asserting that control. Bella has the right to choose her own path, and if Edward loves her, he would accept that and work with her to make a life together. But he instead manipulates and controls her to get her to do what he wants.

Bella Swan has no identity outside Edward. It's frankly worrying and not normal or romantic. That teenage girls would read this and think this is the way they should act after a breakup if they loved their partner is concerning. Bella's severe depression after Edward leaves lasts far too long, and while the descriptions of how she feels are accurate for depression, the length of time this goes on is not normal. If she had her own identity, this wouldn't have happened. She says at one point in the book that she's like the moon of a planet that's been destroyed, stubbornly ignoring the laws of gravity as it continued to orbit the empty space. It's an apt description for Bella's behavior, and also a great analogy for how unnatural her depression is.

I'm not saying someone can't be sad or depressed after a breakup, and the longer one spends with their partner, the harder it is to get over them. It's perfectly natural to spend some time mourning the loss of a relationship, but the intensity and time Bella spends in this manner is worrying. It's eight months of never-ending depression, longer than the relationship itself lasted.

And then there's Jacob Black, who on the surface seems very happy-go-lucky and friendly, but he's manipulating her with his handholding and casual affection that she accepts because it feels nice, but it means a lot more to him. He's trying to make a play for Bella, but subtly so she'll adjust to the idea and not reject him. He tries to push it a couple of times only to be rejected. While he seems upfront and happy on the surface, Jacob is also manipulating Bella.

It's just not normal. And the fact that this is a young adult book displaying this disturbing behavior by all three characters is more than a little concerning. Teen girls will read this and think it's romantic for a boy to behave that way and expected that when a boy breaks up with you, you spiral into this deep depression. Teenagers are very impressionable, and great care must be taken to give them good sources of influence. In my opinion, this isn't a good influence.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want a daughter of mine to read these books without a long talk about normal behavior and why the characters' behavior is not normal.

This sequel is in line with the first book in quality and subject matter, which is a struggle in itself for a writer. But the behavior of the characters isn't something I can dismiss.

As with my Twilight reread, I also watched the movie again.

The adaptation was okay. Most of the problem with the movie is the poor acting by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, both very good, very accomplished actors. That leads me to believe that the directors and scripts are also to blame.

Some of the logic in the book was lost in translation, like the logic behind the vote on Bella's mortality. I wouldn't think that would be difficult to convey, but it was largely missing. It changed from Bella thinking Edward was being selfish and wanting to give others who would be affected a voice to Bella not accepting Edward's perspective and wanting to elicit support from his family to show him he was wrong. 

A script has no way of containing all that a book holds because the mediums are so different, but there are crucial things to express in the film version. The Twilight movies don't carry all the essence of the novels onto film.

Photo Credit Katherine Elizabeth

Stars Image Credit lovethenerddesigns