BOOK REVIEW: New Moon (Twilight, #2), by Stephenie Meyer ~ Still my ABSOLUTE favourite book in the entire Saga! *SPOILERS & DISCUSSION*
~ New Moon (Twilight, #2), by Stephenie Meyer
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It almost feels surreal when you reread a favourite book after almost a decade and you realise that, until this day, it remains one of your absolute favourite books, a book that still holds a very special place in your heart and one that still makes you burst into tears like a five-year-old, using every single tissue there’s left in the house.
That is exactly the case with New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series.
“I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.
I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough…. But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn’t running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.
FOR BELLA SWAN THERE IS ONE THING more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning….
LEGIONS OF READERS ENTRANCED BY THE New York Timesbestseller Twilight are hungry for the continuing story of star-crossed lovers Bell and Edward. In New Moon, Stephanie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural spin. passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.”
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Starting with the spoiler-free part of this review, let me just say that the descriptions in this novel felt so much more intense, colourful and real in my mind’s eye, that I couldn’t help but get lost in the story itself. Although the writing style wasn’t something exceptional or lyrical (and honestly, it would’ve felt so out of place if that was the case), the narration felt effortless, the dialogues so very real and full of emotions, that I truly invested myself and I felt really nostalgic while taking my time to fully appreciate this reread.
I’m saying this because, as you’ve probably already realised thanks to the title of this post, I started crying when I was only on chapter two of New Moon. That much I love this book and the characters’ journey and that emotional I get every single time I read the book.
Last but not least, before delving deeper into the spoilers and the discussion part of this review, although I know that there are plenty of problematic stuff in terms of the Quileute legends’ representation, this reread made me realise that I need to educate myself more about this tribe’s myths, origins and stories, and to not accept everything without putting some critical thinking in it first.
So, with all that being said, let’s get to the spoilery section of this review.
Let me start with something that pops up inside my head every time I think of New Moon. This book makes me feel this desperate need to visit Italy and even spend some time in the legendary Volturi fortress, without having a painful end of course.
The last 150 pages of the book are so intense, with so many ups and downs, and this whole Roman setting add to this paranormal, romantic, yet dangerous sensation.
On to the main characters of the book, and I’m gonna talk of course about Bella, Edward and Jacob, I need to establish a very important thing.
NEVER, under any circumstances, put yourself in danger, just because you broke up with someone. This simply shows how immature Bella still is, at least on what comes to certain issues, and how completely and utterly alone she was left to deal with a severe depression. If the book was written in 2015, let’s say, I wanna believe that there would’ve been something more than just a brief reference of therapy mentioned in the novel.
Yet, all we get is Bella drowning in her despair, with no one there to help her, except perhaps an equally immature Jacob, who simply wants to make Bella like him more and, maybe, fall in love with him, just as he thinks that he has fallen in love with her.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re Team Jacob, congrats, you can still ship that character. But to me, who for just a split second thought that he might’ve been the better, wiser, healthier choice, Jacob ended up being an even more hatable character, and that is because he’s super controlling, he doesn’t give a F*&^% about what Bella wants AND he’s equally toxic, if not more, as Edward is to Bella.
What I’ve learned over the past 27 years is that, if you love someone, just as Jacob claims that he loves Bella, you let that person free to choose what feels right for them. You don’t push them towards the direction that simply feels right, or maybe more convenient to you. You simply don’t. Plus, you don’t try to manipulate the other person’s feelings towards you, just to make sure that you’ll remain a (toxic, slightly abusive) part of their live.
On what comes to Rosalie’s reckless decision to inform Edward about the fact that Bella jumps off a cliff towards the end of the book, this is simply what I just said: a reckless, STUPID decision. Even though Rosalie is one of my favourite characters in the entire Saga, along with Carlisle and Emmet, at this point she was wrong. She should’ve contacted Alice first, before breaking the news to Edward, who’s just as extreme to his reactions as Bella is.
Last but not least, the only thing that was a bit of a downfall to me what that, although Victoria is mentioned A LOT throughout the book, we don’t get to see to much action from this certain villain, except perhaps the information that Jacob gives to Bella here and there. For a villain, and a likeable that villain is, she should’ve been more present, if you ask me.
“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason. …And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason, for anything.”
All in all, I adored my reread of New Moon. It felt nostalgic and another major wake-up call, after my Twilight reread.
I ended up rating the book with 5/5 stars, simply for all the feels and the nostalgia.
If you wanna get more updates about my Twilight Saga reread experience, you can follow me on Instagram, where I upload stories while rereading the books (I’m currently rereading Eclipse) and I host lives every time a finish one of the books.
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Thank you all so very much for stopping by once again. It truly means the world to me and I want you to know that I most certainly don’t take your presence here for granted.
Please let me know in the comment section down below what you think of New Moon and which is your favourite book in the Twilight series.
Have a lovely weekend everyone! 
Till next time… Toodles!
