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The International Writers
Magazine:
Book Review
New
Moon by Stepahnie Meyer
Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: ATOM April 2007
ISBN-10: 1904233864
ISBN-13: 978-1904233862
Nicole Foulger review
Stephenie Meyer
loses none of the drama in New Moon the sequel to the breathtaking
Twilight. We enter back into the mind and life of ordinary
teen Bella who has the most extraordinary boyfriend-Edward Cullen,
a Vampire. Meyer
still writes with stunning refinement that really puts you into
Bellas head and lets you feel the emotions that course through
her. I was just as anguished as Bella is when Edward leaves her
following a horrible incident on Bellas birthday where she
is confronted with the reality of the danger of dating a vampire-she
cant so much as graze herself in the presence of his family
without being plunged into danger.
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Part of me felt for
Edward who must have been leaving for what he thinks is Bellas own
good but Meyer makes sure to leave the small niggling doubt in your mind
that says he isnt coming back. What follows is a series of pages
that have the months October to January written on them-a clever and unusual
device to show the passing of time since Edwards departure and the
dulling and effect it has had on Bellas mind. She is simply numb
without him there and I found myself understanding and feeling the grief
of her loss.
I have to admit that it didnt take long however for me to get annoyed
with her. Without Edward, Bella is a different person, a weak person.
Whether or not this was the impression Meyer wanted to give I dont
know but Bella is so hideously dependant on Edward she can hardly function
without him. I found myself almost shouting at the pages "Pull yourself
together girl!" Meyer certainly shows just how compelling and wonderful
Edwards character is through the hole left by his departure; perfectly
displaying vampires in a sinisterly romantic way. So what does that leave
us with? A broken and devastated young girl who doesnt think she
can possibly go on without the love of a boy. Not much drama in that I
have to say but a hell of a lot of depression.
Bella finds her solace in her old friend Jacob Black. But there is something
odd about Jacob and the reader is thrown into a wonderful guessing game.
Finally! Some drama and intrigue to break the numbness! Is Jacob really
a werewolf and what are the strange hallucinations Bella is experiencing
involving Edward-is he really watching over her from afar? Meyer weaves
a wonderful mystery where the reader is not sure whether Bella and Jacob
will become an item, whether there are werewolves in Forks as well as
Vampires and whether or not Edward will be coming back.
Just as Jacob is revealed as a Werewolf, just as we think things are coming
right for Bella once more her life is thrown back into turmoil. Edward
is in trouble and Bella will have to choose between her friend and the
vampire she loves. Werewolves and Vampires are, of course, sworn enemies.
Cleverly the reader is also forced to make a choice-we can either succumb
to the hypnotic attraction that is Edward or we can hope Bella will stay
with loyal and dependable Jacob. The drama picks up dramatically after
what is perhaps a rather long mid-section of the book devoted to Bellas
grief and pain.
I wont spoil the ending because if youve read Twilight
you really should read this. Meyer continues to enthral the reader by
adding Werewolves into fray. We are still left wanting more, we are still
disappointed that Bella is not yet aloud to become a vampire and Meyer
leaves tantalisingly loose ends that are begging to be tied up in third
instalment.
The criticism? Bellas need for a man. Im afraid that the message
being sent out to young girls is that you have to have a boyfriend to
be happy and that the pain of heartbreak is completely unbearable. Yes,
Bella comes out of her depression-if very slowly. But only because Jacob
wades in to save her. Perhaps the story would not have worked if Bella
was stronger in herself but it is a shame that she isnt a little
more able to take care of herself. How can she possibly survive the instincts
of the vampires she wants to become and that she finds so repelling
if she was to become one when she can hardly survive without someone to
save her as a human?
© Nicole
Foulger July 2007
nicolefoulger@hotmail.com
Twilight
by Stephanie Meyer
Nicole Foulger
A gripping romantic vampire story with bite...
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