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New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $10.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1106 reviews
Sales Rank: 11
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.9 x 2.1
ISBN: 0316160199
EAN: 9780316160193
Publication Date: August 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 9 to 13 days
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Product Description
"Shoot," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened very quickly then. Edward threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table... I tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. I felt the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow. Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm-into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires. Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1101 more reviews...
 A Dalliance with Wolves September 27, 2006
289 out of 332 found this review helpful
4.5 stars
NOTE: I'm adding, rather late, apparently, that there's a bit of a spoiler in this review. So, read with caution. That said, if you paid attention while reading Twilight, I'm puzzled as to how my spoiler could possibly be a spoiler. Myers spelled it out, in the book and interviews, almost as clearly as she spells out Bella's awed perception of Edward.
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In my review of Twilight, I said that the book had more in common with "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pride and Prejudice" than it did with any vampire novels or stories. That still holds true, although be certain: I'm not comparing Twilight or New Moon to these books in terms of literary quality. There are few that match either.
In New Moon we miss the vampires for most of the story, and Bella spends time with her friend Jacob, an Indian fated with becoming a werewolf, and fated to hate all "bloodsuckers", regardless of whether or not the bloodsuckers took human lives. (Btw, that little bit is cleared up at the end...what exactly their treaty entails. It's interesting, kind of, but I have to wonder if the author thought of it as the story was being written, and that it wasn't planned when the "treaty" was first mentioned. I suppose it doesn't matter.)
If you're reading this story because you like vampire stories, you will be disappointed. Edward's only around for a bit less than 1/3 of the book. When he is around, however, his presence is appreciated. One thing that the author didn't do this time, and it was similarly appreciated, was to have Bella writing down every single thought that she had regarding his absolute perfection (remember, this is a first person narrative).
While spending time with "the wolves", Bella goes through some interesting growth patterns. I say interesting, because I'm not entirely certain that I followed them or that if I understood them that I agreed with them. That said, I've never been a teenage girl, and the author has been a teenage girl, so I have to bow to her experience in this.
Many readers will look at Bella's behavior during her "dalliance with wolves" as bizarre and entirely unbelievable. I don't think they were. For anyone that has had the absolute love of their life torn from them, with the *absolute* belief that this love would not return, and if you happen to be emotionally immature to top all of this off, your behavior wouldn't be too far off from Bella's. I'm not saying exactly like Bella's, just not too far off.
Again, this is not a vampire story. The fact that vampires were not around in this book as often as some may have liked did not lessen the quality of the story. What was missing, though, was the urgency, and the mystery. For example, we never knew why, in Twilight, Edward recoiled upon first seeing Bella until the very end. We had a reaction, and a resolution, and during that time we had lots of questions. That type of immediacy was missing here. Everything was rather straightforward.
When Edward lies to Bella, we know that he is lying, and we know that there will be resolution. The problem is that we know he's lying, and we know the resolution won't be too surprising.
I did enjoy the unique take on werewolves, but I felt that since we had seen so much of the vampires in the first book, that we should have seen and felt more of the werewolves in this book.
One thing that I found particularly frustrating was the similarity of emotion that both Jake and Edward have for Bella. Yes, Bella is a clutz, and she definitely needs protecting. But to have two main characters, in two separate books, respond to her in a nearly identical manner (both fearing for, and being vocal about, her need to be less careless), is tough to buy.
There were some hints of future issues between the Cullens and Jake's clan. I hope we see them. And I hope that this story can survive the necessary metamorphosis - at some point, it will need to be less about Bella's intense love for Edward, and more about the actual situations surrounding them.
This may sound like a negative review. It's not. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've seen others that gave Twilight 5 stars give this 1 or 2 stars, and I've questioned that. I think that given the nature of this story, readers need to be more aware of what this story is really about. See the first paragraph of this review for that.
I'm anxiously awaiting the third book. There are a lot of possibilities, and I can't help but wonder which possibility the author will choose, and how she will resolve whatever roadblocks her choices give her.
Birthday nightmares August 11, 2006
52 out of 61 found this review helpful
Life is far from normal for Bella Swan during her senior year of high school. True, her life is full of drama and boy troubles, but for Bella who sees herself as a danger magnet life holds much much more. Edward Cullen, her ever-handsome boyfriend who just happens to be a vampire, breaks her heart when he leaves after Bella receives a near-fatal paper cut at her eighteenth birthday party. Realizing that his family no matter how determined to avoid human blood, can within seconds be overwhelmed with tempation and violence leads him to place Bella's safety ahead of his own desires. To say that Bella is devastated is an understatment, she becomes zombie-like in her loss, a fact which is finally realized when Bella and one of her friends are watching a Zombie movie. "It wasn't until almost the very end, as I watched a haggard zombie shambling after the last shrieking survivor, that I realized what the problem was. The scene kept cutting between the horrified face of the heroine, and the dead emotionless face of her pursuer, back and forth as it closed the distance. And I realized which one resembled me the most. . . But it was ironic, all things considered, that, in the end, I would wind up a zombie. I hadn't seen that one coming. Not that I hadn't dreamed of becoming a mythical monster once--just never a grotesque, animated corpse. . . It was depressing to realize that I wasn't the heroine anymore, that my story was over." (106) But Bella's story is far from over. Reintroduce into the picture, Jacob Black, the young man who first shared with Bella the fact that she was falling in love with a vampire, this new friendship reenergizes Bella's existence and gives her a reason to continue on. But is her friendship with Jacob any safer for her than her relationship with Edward was? Or is Jacob hiding a dangerous secret of his own? Is Edward out of the picture for good, or will he make a comeback to try to reclaim her heart?
Stephenie Meyer's novel NEW MOON, sequel to TWILIGHT, is an exciting read, and one that I highly recommend.
Can't even wait to finish the book to write a review August 19, 2006
176 out of 217 found this review helpful
I just received my book in the mail two days ago and I have been devouring it ever since.
The book begins with seeing Bella become very comfortable with Edward and his family. I was delighted to see Alice's character take on more depth as we began to see more of her personality, but this may quickly turn into disappointment for some, when she is whisked away all too soon. Bella is given a birthday party and accidentally gets a paper cut. This leads to a tense moment when one of the family members cannot contain themselves and makes a leap for Bella. Edward is forced to protect her, but this makes it all to clear that keeping Bella close to the family puts her at risk. Edward begins to withdraw himself emotionally in order to (we readers know what is going to happen, but Bella seems to be in denial)leave her.
Naturally, Bella's grief is heartwrenching to read. Any girl who has felt the pain of lost or unrequited love will shed a few tears during this chapter. It is hard to get over being furious at Edward's behavior at the begining of the book, but this simply shows you how easy it is to get pulled into almost believing these characters are real.
Bella becomes seriously withdrawn from the world after his departure and considering their strange and magical relationship, this is to be expected. I do miss Edward's presence-he was such a strong character in Twilight- but I did something I never do, I flipped to the back of the book to assure myself of his return. Ms. Meyer realizes how addicted her audience is to Edward, so he does make token appearances in a roundabout way. Bella begins to hear Edward's voice warning her when she puts herself in harm's way and in this way Bella begins to court danger.
Jacob, the young native American from Twilight, makes a reappearance in New Moon. He becomes a very close friend of Bella's and helps her through her depression. His character takes the place of Edward and he becomes a major player in this story. He is also the complete opposite of Edward's sophisticated, wordly one. Jacob is lovable, akward, attractive (in a regular way) and warm-blooded. His story is one of interest and I don't believe any reader who has already read Twilight, will be surprised at the turn of events in which Jacob is involved.
The book is certainly excellent, as Ms. Meyer is a fabulous writer, but I do find myself impatiently turning the pages and skimming ahead to see when one of the Cullens' family members will appear. Even with those minor faults, I still find myself staying up way too late to finish another chapter. I have read half the book in the past two days instead of working on lesson plans for my class, during the first week of school, no less. This is a real indicator of just how wonderful New Moon is.
My ultimate disappointment will be when I am finished and must wait another year for the next book to come out. I don't believe Stephenie Meyer can whip these out fast enough to appease her growing leagues of fans. This is a very desirable position to be in for a writer and this should guarantee many Bella and Edward stories in the future.
*Update
The ending was very good and the reader finds out some interesting information concerning Bella and how special she really is. The twist adds a new dimension to the novel it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. There is no complete closure for a few important issues and obviously this leaves it wide open for the third novel in the series.
Pure Brilliance! August 14, 2006
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
This sequel to Twilight, though not exactly what most readers expected, exceeded those expectations with an amazingly unpredictable story line- complete with the familiar characters we love so much!
It starts out just a few months from where Twilight left off- Bella Swan is in true love with Edward Cullen, and his family of fellow friendly vampires. But then... a papercut at her birthday party leads the vampires to have a sudden urge to feed- only on her! In the days following the accident, none of her night dwelling friends are the same- not even Edward- phased and embaressed by their actions. But Bella doesn't expect Edward to break up with her and the Cullens to leave!
Bella is left in a numb, zombie-like state for months, until she begins to wake from her dream state in January. She discovers that if she takes a few risks, takes just a little step out of line, she is able to hear the warning voice of Edward in her mind! Thrilled at the chance to hear his voice- even if she might be going crazy-, Bella begins to pursue the reckless behavior he made her promise to keep away from.
Let's just say that Bella soon has her hands full. She renews her old friendships- including that with Jacob Black. Rumors of werewolves and vengeful vampiresses are circulating full throttle- and to top it off, she has the challenge of her own mind; forgetting and saving the Cullens at the same time.
I refuse to delve an inch further into the plot- to spoil its wonderful tactics would be a sin!
This book is just as amazing as its predecessor- if not more of a thrill ride. At first I thought its lack of romantic outlook between Edward and Bella would be a complete downcast- but I found myself, as I'm sure all readers will, being so drawn into Bella's emotions and struggles that it made not a difference to the book's loveability.
The only thing I have to note to the negativity of the book is that the next installment could not possibly come out quickly enough to do justice to this story's complex ending! Just as everything ties together, it also leaves the reader hanging for the the future! I also wish that we could have been further introduced as to the ways and habits of new characters we are shown- to further understand their motives to come. Well, at least it goes without saying that there will be enough future plot to fuel the oncoming stories quite generously!
Stephanie Meyer's words draw you so into the story; you feel as though it is your heart being completely broken and later completely refilled, just as it is Bella's! Her descriptions and portrayals of human emotion through Bella and the other characters can at times be ardent enough to bring tears to the reader's eyes! Literally!
You want to continue reading so fast, that rarely would you feel any pacing problems a bit! Though quite a large book in length, it fills up the time passing throughout the story impeccably well! I cannot sing enough praise for New Moon!
For all of those that have read Twilight, and have not yet picked up New Moon for fear of 'sequel disappointment', have no worries! Even those who are not particularly fond of vampire stories, as myself, will enjoy New Moon and its prequel of Twilight to no end! What else to say other than that the story of Bella and the Cullens is pure brilliance?
A brief review of New Moon AND Twilight, the first novel September 6, 2006
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
So many of the reviews are more about the character's actions- I'd prefer to actually discuss the book. My sister just started high school, she's 15 and she lent New Moon and the first book, Twilight to me. Despite our age gap (I'm sixteen years older) I found them a very engaging and entertaining read. I'm glad to share these with her and I'd suggest them to anyone who is staring at a younger, somewhat mysterious female relative wondering what to buy them for Christmas.
The pacing is good. The book is a quick, satisfying read. My feeling is that the author works through scenes rather than writing in a linear fashion- and the scenes are fairly cinematic in their structure which I personally like. She gets to the point in her stories and fits a lot of action and significant detail in without overwhelming you with a density of vision.
If you're concerned about the content, as in "Is this appropriate to give my neice/cousin's kid etc" you can be assured that the romantic tension captured here is through restraint rather than exploration. Not too surprizingly this is highly seductive. Several reviews seem disappointed by the character's actions and have given fewer stars. However, I'd like to say that this book is clearly part of a larger work and we're seeing Bella at a certain point in her personal growth. It is not a conclusion novel so it doesn't feel like one. She acts like, well, a confused person in love. I think the depiction is honest and it is a good thing when a character can annoy or drive you crazy: it means you're engaged and the author has done their job well.
I'll be honest- I wasn't expecting to be drawn in, now I'm a bit annoyed I have to wait until next fall.
New Moon is the sequel to Twilight, so I'm covering both in my review. I think it could stand alone but I'd stronly recommend reading Twilight first as it really gives the foundations and 'rules' of Bella's world.
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