Search - New Moon (Twilight, Bk 2)

One of my favorite books of all time. Supposed to be for "young adults" but I am not all that young (tee hee) and I could not put it down. I loved that the story was about vampires and shapeshifters without all of the explicit (and often unnecessary)sex. I cant wait for the next installment.

Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com

NEW MOON is the much-anticipated sequel to last year's exceptional vampire romance, TWILIGHT. When I first got my hands on a thick copy of TWILIGHT, I ended up losing sleep for a week until I finished it. Night after night I could not put down the gripping tale of 17-year-old Isabella Swan and the family of vampires who virtually adopt her - some more willingly than others.

With the thrill of TWILIGHT fresh in my mind, I eagerly plunged into NEW MOON. The story takes up several months after TWILIGHT ended. Bella has enjoyed a magical summer with her vampire love, Edward Cullen, but as she closes in on her eighteenth birthday, her own mortality weighs heavily on her. Edward will be eternally young and beautiful, while Bella is doomed to age like a normal human.

In this sequel, author Stephenie Meyer starts out strong. For example, she offers some foreshadowing when Bella and Edward discuss Romeo and Juliet for a school assignment. Also, Meyer masterfully set up a potentially epic conflict that must be resolved in the next book. I'm already on the edge of my seat waiting for that one.

Unfortunately, NEW MOON did not captivate me and keep me awake way too late the way its predecessor did. It was largely lacking in the two things I liked best about the first book. First, the vampiric Cullen family did not feature as prominently here. Yes, Bella managed to make other unusual friends, but these new pals were not as compelling as the eternal Cullens.

The other thing I missed in NEW MOON was that it did not emphasize the heroine's stumbling, bumbling klutziness. That aspect of her character made her endearing in the first novel, but while it existed here to some degree, it did not provide the same level of comic relief that I enjoyed in TWILIGHT. Overall this felt like a more serious book.

NEW MOON's rating doubtless suffered from the extraordinary expectations created by TWILIGHT. I loved NEW MOON's beginning and its end, but I only liked the middle. Despite the criticisms, this is an intriguing tale that I highly recommend. And I can't wait to see what happens next.

Amazing sequel to Twilight. While in my eyes it does not compare to magnificent book before it, still part of an amazing story. As I read this book I found myself going through all the same emotions as Bella and was wrapped up tight in what she was going through. Captivating and a must read.

This was the worst of the 4. It was incredibly sad but at the same time made Bella seem a little pathetic. It is however a must read since its #2 in the saga.

The second book of the Twilight Saga picks up where the first left off, and is another excellent read. The relationship between Edward and Bella faces more of the troubles and dangers that come with a vampire and a human being together, and we also get some werewolves mixed in, just to make it more interesting. Like the first book, I highly recommend it for everyone, despite having the same writing and editing flaws as the first volume. It is yet another example of a book I couldn't put down.

I really enjoyed the Twilight Saga even though I had been warned that it was a "whiny" teenage story and I wouldn't like it. New Moon goes deeper into the story and builds the connection between Bella and Jacob.

I'd seen the movies and wanted to read to books to see what the movies left out. I'm really glad I did.