Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I went into New Moon wanting to like it, and in certain sections I will admit that I did. Naturally I am a fan of Meyer's previous book, Twilight, and was expecting to see at least a hearty attempt to recreate the magic that Twilight spun in excess. New Moon revolves like a flat tire; the story was trying to get somewhere, but the going was rough, uncomfortable, and by the ending all I could think of was the word "unsatisfactory". In New Moon we are tossed into a story of separated lovers, and the book makes no attempt to tone down the obvious allusions to Shakespeare. This is Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella style. It gets so heavy handed that in more than a few places Bella is actively casting herself, Edward and Jacob into prominent roles in the play, and Edward takes the suicide plot and runs with it far beyond necessary. I appreciate the attempts by the author to explain just how deep the connection is between Bella and Edward, but the Romeo and Juliet plotline is a recycled one at best, and it quickly grows sour when layered so thickly over the narrative. Besides Bella and Edward's love `til death or suicide drama, Jacob Black is a revitalizing breath of fresh air. The newly inherited ability to turn into a werewolf adds Jacob in as an interesting dynamic to Bella's life (and love life) and I sincerely hope Meyer continues to play with the meaning of what Jacob is to Bella besides a second option to Edward. It would be unfair to cast Jacob as a plainly obvious second fiddle to Edward when he has so much potential. As far as Bella, while at first her clumsy antics were amusing they also fall flat in New Moon. Bella's accidental ability to injure herself flies off the chart in New Moon, so much so that I found myself skimming past her new and not so ingenious ways of torturing herself for the fleeting seconds when her subconscious summons up Edward's voice in order to tell her how to not act like a clumsy fool. There had to be a better way of passing her time without Edward. For one: growing up would have suited Bella nicely. She's 18, yet everyone in New Moon manages to treat her as either an invalid or an infant, either saving her from herself or actively carting, hauling, or carrying her around. The moment Bella stands up for herself and takes care of herself will be a landmark in this book series, because she spends so much time mourning Edward's loss and so much time trying to patch Jacob into the holes Edward previously filled you must wonder when Bella can fix herself rather than relying on her male friends to figure it out for her. By the end of the book, the nature of Bella and Edward's relationship changes little. Edward comes back, scolds Bella for having acted so insane in his absence because of course he loves her, Bella is shocked that he does indeed love her (although I thought that was already established, and if not why was he trying to commit suicide if he didn't love her?) and Edward's still immaturely gung ho on suicide, no matter Bella's say in it. Overall, New Moon is a disappointing follow-up. Things felt rushed and ultimately pointless, not to mention the numerous typos found in a first edition copy. Twilight is still a wonderful story, but I can't say that I'm liking where the story is going.