After ‘Twilight,’ there’s a ‘New Moon’

By Sarah Abbott
South Charleston High School

It all began with a paper cut.

In Stephenie Meyer’s debut album, “Twilight,” readers were introduced to 17-year-old Bella Swan, who fell in love with a vampire. The eagerly-awaited sequel, “New Moon,” came out in August and was greeted with an almost scary euphoria by fans.

The book starts, as the first one did, with a foreboding prologue, setting the tone for the rest of the story. On Bella’s 18th birthday, she is at the vampire family’s house and gets a paper cut opening a present, causing the less capable vampires to lose control in the face of her blood. This knocks over the first domino, so to speak, setting a series of events into motion.

One of the highlights of the book’s predecessor was the extremely likable Edward Cullen, the vampire hero. Unfortunately he is absent throughout more than two-thirds of “New Moon.”

Edward is convinced that he is not right for Bella, that he is endangering her. Nothing she says can change his mind. While romance buffs will miss his presence, the plot of this new book will hook them soon enough.

There are many surprises in “New Moon.” For starters, it is much darker and more smoothly written than “Twilight.” The first book was an introduction. “New Moon” not only furthers the plot but explores the very nature of humanity.

With Edward’s absence, Bella falls into a depression. She becomes a zombie, just going through the days for her father’s sake.

Jacob Black, a cheerful 17-year-old (who was barely mentioned in “Twilight”) starts to pull her out of this depression. She’s no longer dark; she’s reckless.

Jacob teaches her to ride a motorcycle, which makes those of us fans from the first book cringe. But she stays true to the klutzy aspect of her character, and Jacob takes her to the emergency room often enough. As her wild behavior increases, Bella’s lies to her father become increasingly implausible.

She jumps off high cliffs into dangerous waters just to take her mind off Edward. Where she was a slightly whiny, weak character in “Twilight,” Bella has become a force of nature in “New Moon.” She’s wild, maybe, but strong enough to take care of herself.

But even the most dangerous extracurricular activities can’t heal her completely. And when a menace from the past returns to threaten Bella, no one’s there to protect her — until Jacob proves to be more than just Bella’s best friend.

Despite Jacob’s way of helping Bella cope with Edward’s absence, fans will be glad to see the vampire again, even if the circumstances of the star-crossed pair’s reunion are a little shaky.

“New Moon” is darker, sadder, but, in my mind, better than “Twilight.” The first book made me laugh more, but I cried unashamedly several times throughout the second. Stephenie Meyer has worked her magic once again, and I can’t wait until “Eclipse,” the third book in the series, comes out this fall.