goodreads | New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

Title: New Moon
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 563
Date read: August 2007, November 2009, August 2014, September 2024

Recovered from the vampire attack that hospitalized her in the conclusion of "Twilight", Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step, and it's not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella's emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends.

While a lot darker in atmosphere than "Twilight", I still think it lives up to the expectations set by the first book in the series. I'm especially impressed by Stephenie Meyer's way of describing the first months after Edward left - most authors would have been tempted to go on and on in order to tell us Bella's catatonic state. Stephenie Meyer managed to show it very, very efficiently instead.

Stephenie Meyer's talent for writing shows clearly in these first few chapters - few authors can convey that much heartbreak that eloquently. I may have my own feelings about the amount of heartbreak, but the pain is undeniable and well expressed.

I'm firmly on Team Edward, but I do appreciate the friendship that develops between Bella and Jacob in "New Moon" - although the animosity between werewolves and vampires annoys me - how neither race can see any good in the other. I'd get really, really frustrated too, if I were Bella.

Probably my least favourite of the series.