Sadly, David had to fly back to NYC yesterday after his quick trip out West for Sashie and Will’s wedding … because he’s got, like, a million things to take care of in NYC he couldn’t stay longer. It’s gonna be a little while until I’ll get to see him again … I have a week trip in Detroit coming up and then a couple weeks back here in LA before I jet off to NY again for his birthday next month.
Anyways, I was able to finally finish Book 2 of the Twilight series, New Moon, last night and again found that I enjoyed the book very much:
I liked the way the story shifted in this second book … introducing the werewolves was a very smart move and I liked the author’s allusions to the Romeo and Juliet story (likening the protagonist’s feelings for Edward and Jacob to Juliet‘s feelings towards Romeo and Paris, respectively). My one complaint with the series, thus far, is the weakness of the main character Bella. She is always hurting herself and causing accidents that put her in harm’s way … she is always overdramatically pining for Edward, sometimes to the point of nausea. I mean, I get that young girls may eat this stuff up but I think making the character a little stronger, a little less reliant on the boys in the story would make her more interesting. I have a hard time feeling sympathy for a girl who cries profusely at the sight of the beautiful boy she’s in desperate love of … and then hates herself for crying so much that her tears keep her from being able to look at him (this actually happens at the end of New Moon). That being said, tho, the story is compelling … once you get into it, you don’t want to put down the books. I’m looking forward to starting Book 3, Eclipse, later on today.
I have a dinner date later on with my good friends Gillian and Tim, who I haven’t seen in a couple of months … we’re long overdue for hanging out so I’m really looking forward to seeing them tonight. So yeah, reading and hanging … keeping things pretty quiet these days :)
I’m seventeen, I’m not a hermit, I go out, have a boyfriend, live a normal life, but I am personally in love with the Twilight series. These books don’t show girls how to be weak, this book is about love, danger, romance, heartbreak, all the things teenage girls(and boys) dream and think about. Bella was in love, her first love, she changed for him, yes, but who doesn’t change a little, make compromises for the one you love? You have to, or it wouldn’t work. Bella wasn’t a weak character either, she was in love, her life felt like it ended because she lost the one person who was meant for her, think about your first love, if they had up and left, said they didn’t want you, and left your life, what would you of done? you would of been devasted, and if you say you wouldn’t of been, you’re lying to yourself.
I have never left a comment before but my sister gave me these books for my birthday (the first two) and i flew through them (even with working about 10 hours a day)! I thought both New Moon and Twilight were fantastic, and i wasn’t bothered by Bella’s “weakness.” I attribute a lot of that to her being young and in love for the first time, and a human among mythical creatures. She stands up when she needs to (when Edward went to Italy) and for Jacob when she thought he was joining a cult. I have ordered the last two books and will probably fly through them like i did these (my husband thinks i am crazy btw). Anyway, it is nice to see someone else is at the same point in the series!
I think the point that most people are missing is that TONS of girls Bellas age are EXACTLY like her. I LOVE that she isn’t the perfect cheerleader that has perfect poise and grace, I love that she has REAL feelings and they are RAW and BELIEVEABLE. Needless to say I loved the entire saga and plan on re-reading it soon. My husband understood my obsession with Harry Potter novels, he isn’t quite as savy with the Twilight series. :)
First, let me say that I love the series. I’m almost done with Breaking Dawn and I still enjoy it. With that said, I am not a fan of Bella. I think it’s unfortunate that Stephanie Meyer has inadvertently injected her some of her religious views into the story by creating a heroine who’s entire existence revolves around a man. If this were an adult book, it wouldn’t bother me near as much, but the fact is that the series is aimed at teenage girls. Bella sets an extremely poor example for how teenage girls should handle a relationship. She’s obsessive in a rather unhealthy way and constantly needs “saving” from herself by all the men around her.
Obviously some of you people haven’t been in love. I think Ms. Meyers totally captured the feeling of having lost the one you love without a real explination. And HELLOOOOO bella is always getting hurt cuz she is clumbsy!! She said so herself in Twilight. Plus she is a “danger magnet!” Without her getting into these messes there wouldn’t be a NEW MOON or Eclipse cuz they revolve around her getting into trouble. She is not weak she is just plain HUMAN!!! If you have a love/hate feeling toward the books its because you haven’t complete found the meaning behind them its not just leisure reading people!!! Like Stephenie Meyers said…they become real and obviously they haven’t for you. This is coming from a pure and true Twilighter.
I just finished “Eclipse.” I found this to be the weakest of the 3 so far. Bella is extremely annoying and as a strong woman I think her character is sending the wrong idea to young teens. Girls are strong and need to know that they can take care of themselves……..
I am almost finished with ‘new moon’ and I totally agree with you on the bella story…
Anyhow… I can’t wait till the film is coming out… and finish book 2 :)
I’m almost done with New Moon and I love the series. I’m not a romance reader but I’m a Vampire reader and I plan on reading the recommendations listed above, thank you all so much.
Not every girl is strong, and independent, especially at 17, and I’ve been that inlove before where I just about fell to pieces when my love broke up with me, but I bounce back, but if you’ve never been there, you won’t get it.
I’ll read all for even if Bella starts to piss me off, cuz I love me some Edward Cullen!
[...] »Pink is the New Blog has a review of New Moon. [...]
i loved twilight and new moon and eclipse and breaking dawn. you are going to love eclipse even more than new moon! its soo good. when you read the books you just get so into them and everytime i read new moon i cry and get depressed for a few day then when i finish it and go on to eclipse im happy again! i think you will LOVEE eclipse!
Couldn’t agree more Trent, I started New Moon and couldn’t finish it, I couldn’t take Bella anymore. This is definitely a book for young teen girls…the pining for Edward was driving me nuts.
YAY I LOVE THE TWILIGHT SERIES ALSO !!!! THE FOURTH BOOK BREAKING DAWN IS AWESOME ALSO DON’T LISTEN TO THE IMMATURE READERS WHO DIDN’T GET IT REALLY GET OVER IT !!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY THE REST OF THE SERIES !!!!
I loved Breaking Dawn. I think the teenagers are immature sometimes and they just don’t get it ! WHEN YOU HAVE A BABY THAT’S WHAT YOUR FOCUS IS ON AND IT’S NORMAL TO HAVE A FAMILY AFTER GETTING MARRIED !
and for VAMPIRES NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE BABIES PLEASE VAMPIRES ARE FICTIONAL PEOPLE STEPHENIE CAN DO WHATEVER SHE WANTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND THE SERIES ENDED GREAT WITH MY ENDING.
I think I can probably beat you all with the age thing – I am 43 and am a chapter away from finishing the 2nd book – and am loving it. I am a vampire/romance reader and this series is just fun. If you like this type of book – on a more adult level – the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon and the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward are great reads. Hot guys with supernatural powers!
Personally, New Moon was not my favorite book out of the series because of Jacob mostly.
Now, Bella really isn’t a weak character. To reiterate, she appears weak because she is a human among vampires and werewolves, the inhumanly strong supernatural. Were the book only about humans, she would very likely be a strong character. She has strong tendencies. A lot of people don’t see that she is a lot like Edward, a strong character. She is willing to put herself in danger to save others, just as Edward is himself. Take James, Victoria and the Volturi into consideration. She is extremely strong there. She just appears weak because she can’t do what her company does. Also, Edward is not as controlling as people perceive him to be. He gives Bella her choices. She can decide what she wants. She can leave him, be with Jacob or whoever she wants, stay with him, forget him. She can choose what her future is; she just decided that she wanted Edward. That is a characteristic of a strong character for me: choice. Bella has that.
As for being pining, what girl isn’t at some point? We all fall in love and feel devastated when that love is taken away, whether real or unrequited love. That’s what happens to humans and teenagers in particular; we feel overly dramatic when something important to us is taken away.
And finally, in consideration that the series is teaching girls not to be strong women, that is hardly true. I know plenty of strong independent women that love and obsess over this series, but they haven’t given up their independence for a guy or anything. If the series teaches us anything, it is that we do not have to settle for second rate men. We can have high standards and wait for a gentleman that has morals and knows what’s best for him and him letting us decide what’s best for us.
hi Trent! I’m LC from Manila, Philippines and i always visit your site. It’s already part of my routinely schedule here in the office when i check my mails. Anyway, i’m glad you like the first 2 books of the Twilight Saga. I’m sure you will love all 4 books as much as i did! I’m also a Twilight fan… you should check out the movie Twilight which will be in cinemas coming November. Can’t wait for that too! Also, there’s this TV show in CBS called Moonlight, not sure if you’ve heard of it but the storyline is sort of like Twilight… that vampire-human love story but the show has already been canceled so maybe you can watch it online… =) Cheers!
XOXO,
LC
well i see what you mean as bella not having enough women empowerment, but you have to understand that she is a 17 year old human who has never come across something life theatening and supernatural. i mean its not like she can win a fight against a band of crazy indestructable newborns… it makes ALOT more sense in the 4th book you won’t be disappointed=]]] and the whole breakup aftermath is understandable once you read stephenie meyer’s Q&A. she wanted to see what it would be like when one loses the truest of true love.. the one person one was MEANT to be with… not some teenage infatuation…. but yea… i hope your opinion changes=] enjoy the books!
All i have to say is come on people give the character bella and the book series a break!! i am a huge fan of TWILIGHT and loved everything about the book!! and yes i have read all the books!! its about finding true love and it gives inspiration to find that guy who is right for you!! but the thing is its a book and bella is supposed to be small and normal not super strong and independent she wasnt meant to be super man!! so stop calling the book anti- feminist!!! and plus if you actually read the books and find the meaning she really is a strong character and cares for others around her!! bella only appears weak in edward’s eyes cuz he sees her as breakable but other than that she is fabulous!! she is a great role model but to be honest its just a book and its not real!! so finally STOP BASHING THE TWILIGHT BOOKS!!! THEY ARE GREAT AND INSPIRATIONAL!!! STEPHENIE MEYER IS AN AWESOME WRITER!!! SO STOP!!!
so,read almost all the series,need BD.bad. and i LOVE bella. all you guys just like edward cuz he’s hot. and sometimes i really dont like edward. He’s annoying for me. But bella. i love bella. but sometimes,when she’s confused-it’s a bit annoying.
dont bash me,that’s what i think. respect that.
Yay Trent !!!!!! I didn’t know you were reading the series!! That just makes you 100,000 times more awesome =] I agree with you about Bella, but I still love the books anyway…. maybe because I’m not an impressionable 12 year old girl, thus I already have had strong feminist values instilled in me by my mother (screw cooking – I hate it!), and have already had REAL LIFE relationships and know they are nothing like Bella’s and Edward’s! You’ll like Eclipse! (But the first book is still my favorite… I’m gonna go look for your review of it right now~!)