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Book review: 'New Moon,' second
of Meyer series, suspenseful but somewhat unsatisfying
By Seili Lewis
February 27, 2008 | New Moon by Stephenie
Meyer is the second installment in the epic love story
of Bella and Edward. By this time you already know that
Edward is a vampire, but the tables are turned when
yet another incident puts Bella's life at risk. It's
a mere paper cut, but in a coven of vampires it's not
such a slight thing. Edward seems to think that the
best thing he can do for Bella is to leave her behind
and to go on with life without each other.
Bella doesn't take to the transition too well; she
becomes a bit of a zombie because her better half has
gone missing. She soon finds herself with a near death
wish. She finds that she can have a nearly perfect illusion
of Edward chiding her each time she puts herself in
danger.
Motorcycles were the answer to a death wish. She acquired
two broken-down machines. Because her father had banned
such a machine from the household she didn't bother
taking her motorcycles home. She took them to an old
friend. Here we come to get to know who Jacob Black
really is.
More than just the son of a family friend Jacob is
a mechanically minded 16-year-old who has an affinity
for more than just Bella's motorcycle. They spend hours
together fixing the bikes. Bella mostly watches while
Jacob does the work, and Bella starts to think of Jacob
as her own personal sunshine. Jacob helps to, not exactly,
heal the hole in Bella's heart left by Edward, but he
seems to put a patch around the edges to keep it from
fraying. As time progresses Jacob becomes aware of his
own type of family secret. I won't tell you what it
is because that would spoil things.
Bella is yet again in mortal danger from the vampires
of James' coven. His red-haired girlfriend has come
back for vengeance and is posing a major threat to Bella's
life. All the while Edward is still on the lam from
his feelings, Jacob takes over as protector and lover
of Bella. Though Bella doesn't love Jacob as more than
a brother; he gives his all to protecting her with his
cool new talents.
There are so many twist and turns in the plot that
it is a quick read. You can't put the book down because
you just can't stand the fact that Edward is gone, and
Bella is losing it fast in his absence. You read frantically
wishing for some glimmer of hope. There are so many
tense moments that this page turner will seem like its
really true and could actually happen, thanks to Meyer's
talent for writing the suspenseful adventures that put
Bella's life at stake.
I won't lie to you that this is my least favorite
of the series, but these books, out of the hundred I've
read lately, have captured my particular attention and
have topped my list of favorites just above Harry
Potter but not nearly as classic as Lord of
the Rings. I couldn't put it down because I just
had to know what happened. I was less patient when it
came to reading Eclipse the third installment of the
series and I'm just as anxious for the release of Breaking
Dawn Aug. 2, the next chapter in this thrill fest.
MS
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