I personally didn’t like New Moon as I did Twilight. Bella, Bella, Bella…there is nothing I can say about you. This book made Bella seem pathetic and clingy and…whatnot. The book at the end seemed rushed, just not as great as the first book, Twilight. I hope the last two books are better.

SPOILER ALERT
After reading Twilight, I expected a lot more from the follow-up than what I got. I realize that post-relationship catatonia can be difficult to endure, but it was even more difficult to endure 13 chapters about Bella’s heart-hole. Ugh.

On the plus side, Jacob-love him or hate him-has a lot more character development, this time. His personality matches his fate, obviously a stark and calculated contrast to Edward’s (literally) cold-and-distant routine at the beginning of the book. Charlie was also a more believable parent, in New Moon. He showed genuine concern for his daughter, and faltered in his many attempts to help her. Other characters were incredibly shallow/flawed, though. Jane and Alec were intriguing, as were a few of the other Volturi, but they felt like a teaser for another book. They couldn’t stand on two legs if New Moon were the final installment.

The literary techniques were annoying. Romeo & Juliet, required reading in most high school English classes, makes sense as a reference to Edward, Bella, and familial drama, but it’s too easy to see the end of the book, once things actually start moving. (And seriously, if she intends to ruin Wuthering Heights for me too, I’m going to roll my eyes so far into my skull that they get stuck there.) All-yes, ALL-of the transitions were clunky. They didn’t have me on the edge of my seat, going, “ooh, ahh” at the twists and turns. Rather, they left me muttering, “What?! Where the bleep did that come from?” Jacob’s “illness,” Bella’s cliff diving, the mortality vote…all had some element of foreshadowing before they arrived, but they all felt rushed and more than a little contrived/ridiculous.

Yes, I’m still going to read the other books, and I’m glad to know that a)almost no one that I respect liked New Moon as much as Twilight, and b)those same people assure me that it gets better.

SPOILER ALERT

One thing that really bugs me about the way this book has moved the story is Bella’s relationship with Jacob. I seriously don’t get it, it makes literally no sense to me, and seems completely contrived. I just don’t see how she could authentically feel the way she does about Edward, and then somehow have some sort of quasi-romantic feelings for Jacob?! It feels totally forced and inconsistent with her character.

Also, I’m pretty disappointed with the basic nature of vampires in these books – they’re strong, intelligent, cunning, et. al., but also drug down by their lust for the flesh, i.e., they become total savages just from smelling/seeing human blood, and revert to a sort of animal state. Seems silly to me an utterly contrived, and doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose except to create a conflict between Edward and Bella (and provide a convenient means of keeping the sexuality in the book to a PG level. Come on – a girl has no problem with a vampire biting her and transforming her into a vampire, but she won’t have sex with him? Not even when she’s madly in love with him, and he’s presented as her soulmate? The only way to avoid the logical implication is some deus ex machina – if he gets aroused, he’ll “go native” and who knows what will happen. Ugh >_< )

This book progresses rather slowly at first, but if you stick with it you’ll get to the good parts. If you didn’t like Jacob Black in Twilight, prepare to dislike him even more ;-)