NEW MOON

New Moon Stephenie Meyer

2006 * p. 563* YA Supernatural

Bella Swan has had the happiest summer of her life. She has her unbelievably gorgeous vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen, at her side. Edward has even relaxed a little from his incessant worrying over Bella's safety in his vampire world.

But when his brother Jasper takes a snap at Bella after she cut her finger, Edward's fears are realized again. He leaves, telling Bella that its just too much to handle. With all of the Cullens gone, Bella feels utterly abandoned. She soon becomes a shell of a person. A walking zombie.

After months of this depression, Bella decides if Edward left her she can do whatever she wants. She no longer has to keep a promise to try and be safe. So she seeks thrills and escapes.

Thus enters Jacob Black. Bella's friend on the Quilete Reservation. Jacob's infectious optimism and sunny personality bring Bella back to the land of the living and together they seek adventures riding motorcycles, hiking and cliffdiving.

But just when Bella begins to finally cope, Jacob abandons her too. He has a secret that he can't share and Bella blames the reservation boys. She thinks he has been taken into a cult. But like everything else in Forks, nothing is what it seems.

Bella finds herself between the world of vampires and werewolves. And like everything with Bella, danger finds her.

This is my fourth time reading New Moon. Needless to say, I love it. Many readers dislike New Moon because it lacks a dominant appearance by Edward. I love Edward, too. But...I think this book was masterful in carving an even deeper understanding of the conneciton between Edward and Bella. They cannot live without each other and the book showcases this. Without his absence, the reader would not see how attached they are, that their love is more than a mere adolescent infatuation. It also deepens the struggle Bella has as she teeters between the world of immortality and normal human life.

-Reading level: age 14 & up

-A few mild swear words, recklessness, disobedience to parents

-Themes of love and friendship

-WONDERFUL!!!!