New Moon

Alright, I JUST finished New Moon yesterday after reading it obsessively for about three days straight. I got the whole series for Christmas after reading Twilight, seeing the movie, and becoming a fan, and now I've just immersed myself halfway through the series.

I'm reading the series with my roommate, but she reads the book after I do, which leaves me with no one to discuss the book with. But I'm only halfway through, so it's hard for me to talk with people who have read the whole series because they know everything that happens, so it can kind of hinder that innocence of only knowing so much.

Anyway, I really do believe that Meyer is talented in the fact that she can hook readers (especially teenage readers in a time where reading isn't very cool anymore) and make them read so many pages, like JK Rowling also does. I feel myself getting lost in this psuedo-world of teenage-hood where I am experiencing that first-love situation where everything is new and fresh and scary and dangerous.

I wonder if the characters are symbolic for non-fantasy items in the real world...?

Vampires, werewolves, etc...?

For whatever reason, I didn't see the werewolf part coming at me at all. I guess I can be a gullible reader in that way. I picked up on it later on, but I was surprised that they went that route. It makes the story even more of a fantasy and makes me wonder: What other beings will they or might they introduce?

I was also surprised that Bella jumps full force into this relationship with Jacob, whose intentions I wonder on the part of Bella. She wants him so close, but doesn't want to be with him, but then "loves him" and "can't live without him." I mean I guess we do have friendships like that, but she did compliment him on his appearance and looks, his chiseled body and beautiful face. She is definitely the definition of a tease.

Oh but poor Jacob. You can't win over Edward Cullen, the "Romeo" of the story. He is the dark dashing prince who even apologizes his heart out at the end of the book. I was wondering what the hell he was doing leaving her for so long, but no boy would ever profess love like that or would say they're sorry like that. That is setting young girls up for disappointment in their real lives.

Speaking of Romeo, I did think it was a bit cheesy that they continued to use the Romeo and Juliet comparison with Paris and the whole bit. They couldn't have used another plot? That one is too over-done and obvious. It was too much, too dramatic for me.

And what I want to know is, why doesn't Edward want Bella to be a vampire? Now I understand that he thinks that vampires are evil and bad and that people should be given a chance to live, not to be a "monster," but he could have his whole life with her, his whole immortal life. Why wouldn't he want to live that with her? I guess he's not being selfish by doing so, but who wants to love an old woman? If I was Bella, I couldn't stay with a 17 year old when I was turning 40. It just gets weird. Either get out of the relationship or turn vampire. Simple as that.

I just don't get Edward's stubbornness and insistance.

But, Meyer does hook me to see if she will turn vampire in the next few books, especially because it throws a wrench in the works with her family situation. That is very hard. Would you give up your family for love and excitement? Would you lie? I wonder what Meyer's message to teenagers is going to be.

So, a bit dramatic (too many slip-ups and klutzy moves on Bella's part) but that's the series. What else can you expect? But, it is still a must-read, and I'm hooked.

And, I get the title. They mention moons a lot in the story, but what about the picture of the feather on the cover? The Twilight cover has the red apple, Bella as the forbidden fruit, but what about the bloody white feather?

So what did you think of New Moon?