New Moon

D. Ekstrand
563 Pages
Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2006.

After viewing the film Twilight I decided to read for myself the sequel to the novel Twilight, New Moon. New Moon begins with an extravagant 18th birthday party that the main character's vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen throws for his love Bella Swan. A conflict first arises when Bella gets a paper cut at her party and Edward's brother Jasper furiously attacks Bella due to the scent of blood. Edward and his family are forced to leave Forks Washington in an attempt to keep Bella safe from vampires. Bella goes through emotional turmoil and becomes depressed that her true love has left. To find comfort, Bella develops a close relationship with a family friend Jacob Black. After finding that dangerous situations brings her back memories of Edward Bella finds herself craving more and more danger. Bella attempts cliff diving and is caught in a riptide that almost kills her, but is saved by Jacob. Alice Cullen, Edwards sister has a premonition that Bella dies as she dives off the cliff. Edward is however mistakenly informed that Bella is dead by his other sister Rosalie. Will Alice inform Edward that Bella is not dead before he too does something dangerous? Or will the furious Victoria whose brother was killed by the Cullen's interfere? Will Bella and Edward ever be reunited?

Bella is the main character and is the protagonist. Bella's love for Edward is what creates the conflicts that arise in the story. He is a vampire but she is a human. Contrasting lives that are like oil and water and can never mix. Edward's family also plays a role of creating tension. They are aware of Bella's knowledge of them being vampires and they often get her into dangerous situations. The importance of the setting is extremely important as it sets up the mood and tone of the story. To help with the mysterious and dark mood that surrounds vampires it is set in Forks, Washington. This is a constantly rainy town that is surrounded by forests. I was very surprised by the author's imagery she used to draw out each and every part of the book creating a vivid picture in the reader's mind. It was also very easy to read and found it hard to set the book down once I started to read.