Here we are again in Forks, Washington, about three months after the end of Twilight. It is Bella Swan’s birthday. This is a bit contrived, I must say, but it does serve its purpose. Bella’s birthday party serves as a catalyst to get Edward out of the picture. This installment in the saga was inspired by Romeo and Juliet, one of my favourite love stories, but here it’s a little off.
Where Romeo has no choice but to leave due to certain events; here the events that ‘force’ Edward to leave feel contrived. Like he was just looking for an excuse to leave. I would have found it more believable had this book picked up right where the last one left off, and Edward not wanting to endanger her again; OR had Alice had a vision of certain doom headed for Forks and Bella if they stayed.
Other than that, I find this story so much more moving than R&J. With R&J, I don’t cry until the very end when love’s labours cost all that each involved had wanted. With New Moon, I cry everywhere, mostly because I think I can really relate to Bella here. I, too, have had a hole in my chest that would not allow me to draw breath, but I won’t get into that here. Just the bleak hopelessness has me sobbing within 150 pages.
This is a heart rending story and again we see Bella streaking toward certain death in order to save those she loves. But its not just Bella who is hurting, there is also her best friend, her Sun, her Jacob. Where Paris was merely a cardboard cut-out, representing a danger and a deadline, Jacob is a three dimensional person with a heart that beats and bleeds. I have found my preference for this story over R&J, because of Jacob. It is just so much more real to be than any production of R&J ever was. And then there is the love triangle. In R&J, Paris is a stooge, but here, Bella cares for Jacob, and we see how that affects them both.
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