New Moon

* Bibliographic information
Meyer, S. New Moon. Little, Brown, and Company, 2006. ISBN:

- Second book in the Twilight Saga


* Plot Summary
Bella is feeling like her whole world is complete as she kisses her amazing vampire boyfriend, Edward before her birthday party. Then everything falls apart as Edward pushes his brother, Jasper to keep him from attacking Bella when she cuts her finger. Jasper is new to not feeding on humans. Later Edward decides to leave Bella so she will be safe and away from vampires. Bella feels as if her heart has been pulled from her body and cannot move. After she is found in the woods on the ground crying her life continues on, without her. She goes through every day in a haze, feeling numb until Jacobs pulls her from her fog. She begins spending time with her new best friend Jacob and even feels bits of normalcy from time to time. Then she discovers she can hear Edward in her head anytime she does something reckless. She starts taking risks and being careless just so she can hear his voice again. Meanwhile Jacob is falling in love with her. The longer Edward is gone, the more Bella starts to think she might be able to love Jacob back in the way he loves her.


* Critical Evaluation
Even without Edward, this book is just as intense as the first book in the series. The depression and despair that Bella feels is felt by the reader because Meyer is that good at describing it and putting us right there with Bella. The relationship with Jacob is new and gets some fans wishing Bella would just pick Jacob and forget about Edward. This is a trait of someone who writes great books. People really feel for Meyer’s characters and feel loyal to certain ones. This is why people argue over being “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob”. She creates a situation where people think and want to know what decision Bella will make. Her books invoke a lot of emotion from readers because the characters become so real to them. Her writing is not as good as many writers in the field but her stories and characters have created a cult phenomenon with fans of all ages.


* Reader’s Annotation
Edward has left Bella and she can feel the hole in her heart growing every day. Is Jacob enough to fill that hole or is she destined to fade away.


* Information about the author
Meyer lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons. She has a degree in English literature from Brigham Young University. She was a stay at home mother until she had a dream about the character of Edward and got to work writing Twilight, three months later it was done and she submitted it to literary agents. Eventually it was picked up and published in 2005 followed quickly by the other three books in 2006, 2007, and 2008. To find out more about Stephanie Meyer or the Twilight Saga, check out her website, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html.


* Genre
Teen Fiction; Fantasy, Romance


* Curriculum Ties, if any
N/A


* Booktalking Ideas
1) Why do you think the author decided to develop Bella and Jacob’s relationship only after Edward left instead of before she started dating him?
2) The Volturi could have killed Bella when they had the chance and the book says it is out of curiosity that they let her live, do you think there were other reasons?
3) Talk about Bella and Jacob’s relationship and the one Edward and Bella have. Who do you think she should be with?
4) Edward is missing for most of the book and he briefly explains what he was doing. Discuss what other things he may have been doing. What do you think he was doing and feeling while he was gone?


* Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8 and Up / 14 and Up


* Challenge Issues and Defense
N/A


* Why did you include this book in your titles you selected?
With the popularity of the Twilight series and the insane amount of people who have gone to see the New Moon movie it would seem ridiculous not to include this book with my other selections. Once again, Meyer has created a book that readers cannot put down; me included. I think Bella is a strong female character who has very real emotions and her story needs to be told because there are so many girls out there who feel the same. Many people think it is bad to portray such an intense obsessive love where one person feels like nothing without the other, but it happens. Teens are dramatic and they do live by their emotions. By not showing these types of feelings, it does not take them away from teens it just takes away their chance to feel like someone else has gone through it, and it is possible to start feeling better. I also think the books should not be taken too literally because after all, Bella is in love with a vampire and best friends with a werewolf.