New Moon: Stephenie Meyer’s Second Twilight Novel, Where Bella Loses Edward
Bella Swan has always felt out of place. She does not fit in. But since she met Edward Cullen her life has changed, and she finally feels she has a purpose: to become what Edward is, a vampire. New Moon (2006) is the second book of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Title: New Moon (2006), Twilight Saga book 2
Format: English paperback (Atom), 497 pages
Scope: Young-adult paranormal romance; follows Twilight, followed by Eclipse
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/1904233880 (ASIN 1904233880)
Edward’s Side
Since meeting Bella, Edward has been far happier with his life. For a very long time he regretted the things he had done and wished that Carlisle, his adoptive father, had let him die all those years ago. But once he met Bella he knew she was the one: her blood called to him in a way no one else’s did. Although Edward wanted to drink Bella’s blood, he would not, because he is what the Cullens jokingly call a ’vegetarian’, a vampire who feeds only on animals.
More Dangerous Than She Imagined
But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could have imagined. Edward has already rescued her from the clutches of an evil vampire; now, when a tiny paper cut at her eighteenth-birthday party sends the Cullens into a frenzy, their daring relationship threatens everything they both hold dear, and Edward decides the only way to protect her is to leave.
Without him, Bella drifts through the months until she finds an unexpected friendship with Jacob Black, who has secrets of his own.
Jacob Black
When Edward leaves Forks, convinced that his presence puts Bella in danger, she sinks into a depression so deep that Meyer marks the passing months with almost blank pages bearing only their names, October, November, December, January. She is slowly pulled back by her friendship with Jacob Black, a warm, cheerful boy from the Quileute reservation, until she discovers that Jacob and his friends are werewolves, sworn enemies of vampires. This is the book that turned the saga into a love triangle and divided fans into "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob".
Romeo and Juliet in Volterra
Meyer opens the novel with lines from Romeo and Juliet, and the tragedy shadows the plot: a misunderstanding leads Edward to believe Bella is dead, and he travels to Italy to provoke the Volturi, the ancient vampire rulers who live in Volterra, into killing him. Bella’s race to reach him before noon in the crowded town square is the book’s climax, and it introduces the Volturi, who will matter enormously in the books to come.
The Saga and the Films
Meyer has said that Twilight began with a dream she had in 2003, and the series grew into four novels, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, later retold from Edward’s point of view in Midnight Sun (2020). The film of New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz, was released in 2009. The title refers to the darkest phase of the moon, a fitting image for Bella’s months of grief.
Who Will Enjoy It
Teenage readers drawn to intense romance and the supernatural, and anyone curious about one of the publishing phenomena of the 2000s.
A Note for Parents
Bella’s dependence on Edward has been widely debated; it is worth discussing with younger readers rather than simply admiring.
Why Read It
Packed with emotion, danger and surprises, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality, as its publisher promised. New Moon is the darkest and most melancholy of the four novels, and it is where the Twilight love triangle really begins.
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