New Moon is Worse Than Twilight: Here's Why (Spoiler Filled Review)

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! 

Today is another book review! This one is a review for the second book in the Twilight Saga, New Moon. Two weeks ago, I reviewed Twilight. Now, it's time to talk about the sequel.

There are major spoilers ahead for both Twilight and New Moon, so if you've never read them and wish to (for whatever reason), I'd recommend closing this tab, because this entire review is a spoiler. 

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get into the (minor rant) review! 

I cannot fathom how high the average rating is for this book on Goodreads. This one has an average rating is 3.55 (granted, this is a pretty low average as far as Goodreads reviews go, but it is still higher than I believe it should be). Twilight fine. It's better than this one. This one has so many more problems than the first one. Let's just get into the review. I'd rather not drag this one out any longer than it has to be.

The writing:

The writing is still mediocre and weak. There are words sprinkled in here and there (not subtly, either) that are "large" and "fancy" words that seem as if they're there just to make us think that Mrs. Meyer is clever. I couldn't get over how much use there is of the word "russet." Every single time Jacob comes onto the page, Bella (and Mrs. Meyer) feels the need to mention that he has russet skin. We know he's brown, can we get other descriptors? Oh wait. We did. He has dark brown (almost black eyes). Other than that, he's just a towering sixteen year old after his transformation. 

There is also an abundance of the phrase "velvet voice" to describe Edward. What does velvet even sound like? As far as I know, it is a fabric and the soft, downy fur that deer have when their antlers are growing. Does Edward have a velvet voice because of the many deer he kills because he's a vegetarian? What does velvet sound like? I can't even imagine Edward's voice (Robert Pattinson doesn't count). In Jacob's defense, at least I know what russet looks like. I can't say the same about Edward's velvet voice. Velvet is used a total of 16 times within these first two books (12 in New Moon)! Russet is used 7 times within two books (5 in New Moon).

The story:

The main thing I despise about the Twilight Saga is the amount of red flags in these books (for Edward, Jacob, and Bella; everyone has done something that contributes to an unhealthy relationship, Bella included; I'll elaborate on this later) and the fact that we read the books from Bella's point of view. That's the worst part. I don't want to read 500+ pages worth of this girl's thoughts. She's boring, dense, and not the kind of girl I would be friends with, much less talk to. 

New Moon begins on Bella's eighteenth birthday. Bella accidentally gets a paper cut while opening a gift from the Cullens. A drop of her blood drips from her finger. This leads Jasper to have an episode where he tries to attack her. Luckily, he doesn't succeed; the other Cullens are able to stop him. 

A few days later, Edward tells Bella that he and his family are leaving. Not long after, Bella finds out that there are no remnants Edward even existed. Her birthday present (which was a car radio) has been ripped out of her truck and the photos she and Edward took together have vanished. 

Bella falls into a deep depression for four months (though I know it's closer to 6-9) because Edward is no longer involved in her life. 

I'm not going to go too in detail with the plot because, in complete honesty, not much happens. Three-quarters of the book is spent by Bella's mundane thoughts, doing dangerous things, and messing with her best friend's feelings.

In another plot point, Jacob is now a werewolf and has had a growth spurt. He can transform at will into a wolf (this plot point is largely based on the La Push Reservation Quileute folklore; see this link: Seattle Art Museum)

She begins spending a lot of time with Jacob Black (who was initially introduced in Twilight, but didn't get much page-time). They find some motorcycles, Jacob fixes them, and they proceed to ride them. Jacob promises to take Bella cliff-diving.

They find out that the redheaded vampire who was James' mate (the vampire who tried to kill Bella in Twilight), Victoria, is at large trying to kill Bella as revenge. She believes that killing Bella will be suitable revenge for Edward killing her mate.

On the day Jacob intends to take Bella cliff-diving, he and his Quileute pack patrol for Victoria. This causes Bella to jump off a cliff alone, knowing that the only way Edward will come back and be with her is if she endangers herself by doing something reckless (she had promised him that she wouldn't do anything reckless when he left). 

Bella determines her life isn't worth living if she isn't living with Edward. This sends a bad message for the target audience (people around my age and younger). It paints a picture that life is only worth living if it's with a man/significant other (an undead one at that). 

I'm the kind of person who would like to get married and have a family, but I definitely don't live my life for the sole purpose of finding a man who'll love me. If I had my heart broken (which is most likely inevitable), I wouldn't think it was the end of the world. I'd still have my hobbies and my family. My life wouldn't suddenly fall apart if one guy in billions doesn't want to love me forever. 

Bella's sole goal in life (if she even has a life), is being with Edward. Edward is her life, Edward is her sole reason of existing. This book is problematic because it makes it seem like a person should be dependent on another, regardless of gender, as demonstrated by Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined. This is a really harmful and incomplete way of living. 

My main problem with the representation of depression in this book is the same problem I mentioned in my Best and Worst Books I Read in 2020 (linked here: Best and Worst Books I Read in 2020 (opens in new window)  post. Personally, I have never been diagnosed with a mental illness, but due to being diagnosed with autoimmune disease, I have experienced depressive episodes (my sister can attest to that), and I am at a higher risk of developing a mental illness in the future. My problem is that by the end of New Moon, Bella has seemingly been cured of the depression that she was in for months. It isn't like she was depressed for a few days to a week. She was depressed for literal months, and then the moment Edward comes back to her, this issue is never spoken of again. Ever. 

There are two more books after this that follow Bella's point-of-view, and her mental health isn't anything that is touched upon. It's just this one-time occurrence, and I have a problem with that. I may not be diagnosed with depression, but it is a chronic mental illness, and as someone who lives with a chronic illness (albeit different), it is extremely unrealistic for Bella to have these feelings for months, and be completely a-okay afterward. Depression, mental illness, chronic illness, and autoimmune disease aren’t curable, and for Bella to be cured completely once Edward is back is ridiculous. She rarely even gets sad in the later books. She never experiences the same exact feelings and thoughts that she did in New Moon. 

It seems as if depression and mental illness was just something Mrs. Meyer decided to throw in for drama and angst. Otherwise, it's pointless. I'm just going to say this real quick. I need to get it off my chest:

"You can't love someone out of chronic illness or mental illness."

Does love and having a support network help? Of course they do. But at the end of the day, that person you love will still have depression. No matter how much someone loves me in the future, I'll still have autoimmune disease. I'll still have a chronic illness that I will have to manage for the rest of my life. I could be given all the love in the world, and I still won't be cured. 

With that thought, I'll continue on. I've ranted enough about this.

It is revealed later in the book that Alice saw Bella jump off the cliff in one of her premonitions. Rosalie tells Edward that Bella is dead because she dove off a cliff. This causes Edward to become suicidal, so he decides to travel to Italy to the Volturi (the largest vampire coven who are basically the unofficial royal vampires). He intends to provoke them so they will kill him (a vampire can only be killed by another vampire). Bella and Alice then travel to Italy to stop him.

By the end of the book, everything is resolved. Once again, everyone lives happily ever after.

___________________________________________________

Three quarters of these books are spent with Bella's mundane "life" that is full of boring events, and then more boring events, especially in this book. You could make the argument that the first Twilight is romantic. I don't believe that's the case (see my review here: Book Review: Twilight (opens in new window)), but to each their own. You can't even make that argument with this book. I wouldn't count what Bella and Jacob have as "romance." It's kind of similar to the first book, where there are many things about it that are dysfunctional on many levels. 

I say it isn't "romance," because for the majority of the book, Bella only uses Jacob for her own personal gain. She only uses him as a way to escape her thoughts and hallucinations of Edward. To me, what Jacob and Bella had in this book wasn't romantic. It was pages upon pages of a girl using her best friend to get what she wants, and nothing else. 

It was hundreds of pages of Bella selfishly using Jacob without caring about the consequences. Granted, I have my issues with Jacob, which will be touched upon in my review of Eclipse.

The characters:

Bella Swan 

She's still an annoying, dramatic girl with no life. Edward leaves her and she falls into a depression for at least four months (I know it's more). I get heartbreak is just that--heartbreaking--but she is so dramatic, it's ridiculous. She's still flatter than a piece of paper. She still doesn't have any hobbies besides reading and re-reading Wuthering Heights for the millionth time (though I'm not even sure she does that). 

Let's talk about that thing I mentioned I would discuss later in a previous paragraph, which is how Bella also contributes to an unhealthy relationship almost as much as Edward. 

Bella befriends Jacob in the first book, but he's barely there. They become closer in this book after Edward leaves Bella. She realizes she has feelings for him, though the love she feels for Edward never leaves. She mentions many times that Edward is perfect, and Jacob could never be Edward (obviously). She comments that there is pretty much no competition between Jacob and Edward, but she would settle for Jacob if she can't have Edward. 

This is wrong on so many levels. The entire book Bella pretty much uses Jacob for her own personal gain. She's settling for second-best, which is Jacob. She can see a happy life with him, but still dwells on Edward.

This is what I have the problem with. Bella pretty much leads Jacob to try to engage in a relationship with her. She is only using Jacob to do irresponsible things, which she believes will alleviate her heartbreak (motorcycling, cliff diving, etc.). She only uses Jacob as much as he is useful. The minute Edward comes back, she pretty much forgets about him. They're still (kind of) friends, but Bella never puts her foot down and tells Jacob that their relationship will never go farther than a platonic friendship. She basically plays with Jacob's feelings. 

All I know is that since I read these books, Bella hasn't made any sense to me, and I doubt she ever will.

Edward Cullen

Edward was better than in the last book, though that isn't saying much. He left Bella, believing she was better off without him, but obviously didn't know Bella well enough to realize she would shatter the minute he walked away.

Jacob Black

Okay, I'm cheating a bit. Technically, Jacob was introduced in the last book. He is the one who basically tells Bella what Edward is. I just didn't talk about him in my review for the last book, because I didn't deem it necessary. I decided to focus on Edward and Bella, but now I can't skip out on Jacob anymore, seeing as he's in almost three-quarters of the book. I liked Jacob. He was there for Bella when she needed happiness and joy. Jacob was an enjoyable character to read about. He genuinely cared about Bella, and tried to make sure she was as happy as possible. 

Alice Cullen

Alice is still my second favorite character (second only to Jasper, who we sadly didn't get much of). I don't feel the need to comment much on her, because I don't really have any issues with her. 

Rosalie Cullen

Not going to lie, I don't like Rosalie. I mean, I guess that's the point, but she just seems entitled. She was the one who told Edward that Bella had jumped of the cliff to commit suicide (that's what she believed). She is "married" (I only put the quotations because she's gotten remarried a million times) to Emmett, who I don't feel the need to talk about. One, because I don't have a problem with him, and two, because I don't care enough about him to feel as if he's worth discussing.

Overall Thoughts

If you want my more in-depth (and cynical) thoughts regarding this book, check out this post on my sister's blog at The Real World According To Sam (opens in new window). 

Overall, I give New Moon a rating of 1.5 stars. It is arguably the worst book I've ever read (tied with City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare)

So those were my thoughts on New Moon. I hope you enjoyed this review!

Until next time,

Lexi K🖌