TA TALKS BACK: THOUGHTS ON NEW MOON (THE BOOK)

Posted April 5th, 2009 By: 15 Comments »

TA forum member Candice14690 writes about enjoying New Moon (the book):

Thoughts on New Moon (the book)

There are many reasons to enjoy reading New Moon. We get to really know Jacob, and we witness Bella mature into a smart young woman. However, for a lot of readers, New Moon is the saddest and most heartbreaking book of the series. It was hard for me to get through the book the first time I read it, but after reading it a second time, I understood that it was necessary for Bella to go through this heartbreak and this part of life in order to maker her the woman she becomes in Breaking Dawn. There are a lot of quotes and events in the beginning of New Moon that foreshadow what is going to happen on that September 16th day; only 3 days after Bellaâ€™s 18th birthday. Iâ€™ve listed the oneâ€™s that stand out to me the most:

1.) Alice is talking to Bella about the party and says, â€œWhatâ€™s the worst that could happen?â€ Wow.
2.) Bella mentions how Edwardâ€™s kiss reminds her of the time he kissed her goodbye when he left to try and throw James off Bellaâ€™s trail.
3.) â€œA change is coming. I could feel it.â€ This thought by Bella really stands out to me.
4.) Bella mentions many times that Edwardâ€™s face is â€œstill wrong.â€

After reading New Moon, I began thinking about how things would have been different had Bella never went to the Cullenâ€™s house that horrific birthday. She tried many times to get out of going by claiming she needed to watch Romeo and Juliet, saying that she had to work (even though Alice took care of that for her), and even by hoping that Charlie would not let her go out. It was as if the situation was completely inevitable. What do you think? How would this have changed everything about Bella, Edward and even Jacob, if anything?

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kijo921

Hey Candace, I felt the SAME way! The first time reading WAS heartbreaking and you try to speed read through it so fast in order to see if Edward ever returns (even though you know that he will with two more books to follow). However, when you give New Moon a second go-around, you get so much more out of it… and you really start to like Jacob SOOO much more! I love Stephenie’s ability to develop her characters’ inner-workings! Anyway, great thoughts about New Moon and definitely great notations on the foreshadowing…. I felt the same about those as well! Plus, you’re making me want to pull it off the shelf and read it all over again (even though I know I would’ve soon enough anyway)!
twilightbloom

You know Candice, I’d never really thought about it before…but now that you’ve opened this particular door, it brings some things into focus for me, at least.
I suspect that if Bella hadn’t gone over that night something eventually would have happened to bring Edward to the point of leaving anyway. I’m totally Team Edward but I feel like there is a part of his personality that refuses to let him believe that there can be a “happily ever after” for him. It’s rooted in his own hang-ups about his not having a soul; like Carlisle asks Bella as he’s stitching her up, would she be willing to put Edward’s immortal soul in danger if she felt the same way that Edward does?
Plus, I’ve always felt that despite (and also because of) his controlling nature, he doesn’t feel that he deserves Bella and as a result, doesn’t feel that what he has to offer her is enough. He also makes the incredibly HUGE mistake of thinking that he knows what is best-he’s confusing his long years of living with experience. He may have seen decades, trends and history come and go but he’s never been in a relationship that requires him to treat a girl/woman as an equal. He is a product of the day and age in which he was changed; gallant, polite, genteel and chivalrous. Also chauvanistic. And he seriously underestimates Bella; both as a person and in the depth of her love for him.
If it hadn’t been the party, I think it would have been something else eventually. And he knew it all along; when Bella was in the hospital after the attack his promise to stay with her was conditional.
New Moon is one of my favorite books in the saga in part because of the changes we get to see in both Bella and Edward. Her heartbreak may make her the emotional mess we have all been at one time or another but she comes through it a stronger woman. When Edward leaves her he does so with the mindset of a self-absorbed, pragmatic boy. When he comes back he’s been transformed by her strength to fight for him and by her love. He comes back to her a man. I can’t help but think that that particular change would have come to him eventually as well.
Thanks for giving me food for thought and for giving me a chance to put this out there!
http://amybesse98.blogspot.com amy

Wow!! I never really thought of those unfortunate situations or how she really didn’t want to go… I have only read it once all the way through and had a REALLY hard time with it… I am glad to know your perspective on the book after reading it the second time.. Hopefully I will be able to get through it with out crying again… It was very heart breaking.. I think that it is a great story and I am glad that she went through the things that she did because it helped her realize what and who she really couldn’t live with out.. I mean Jacob was there for her and things got really crazy and confusing hence Eclipse.. However I am glad that it ended the way it did.. I must say that I love the Italy part.. Very intense reading it the first time through… Thanks for sharing your opinion of the Book… I will now look at it differently when I re-read it..
Emilia VampireGirl

Yep, i totally agree. When I was reading “New Moon” for the second time, When Alice said that quote, “What’s the worst thing that could happen”, I seriously almost had tears in my eyes! And when Edward was behaving so strangely, oh! Great, now I’m about to cry again! Thanks so much(!)
kariZ

My initial reading for New Moon was heart wrenching – I could feel Bella’s agony and pain. Re-reading it for the second time gave me more insight, but it did not lessen the pain. Because the book New Moon is the most painful for me to read, I would hope that the movie version would “skim” over the most painful parts (*wishful thinking*). I understand the necessity (i.e., Bella’s character development) of the book; however, I can do without the pain.
Sasa (crazyaboutcullens)

Very good point well made. Stephenie Meyer actually wrote on her website that she made a version of Breaking Dawn where Edward had never left. She says that their relationship did not really develop and of course we never get to know Jacob Black. The fact is, Edward needed to learn the strength of his and Bella’s love and how she can’t live without him, even if he believes he’s ruining her life. It is such a cliche but it’s true, he completes her and she completes him. Going through that pain and seeing Bella’s pain makes him understand the strength and makes him evolve. Bella is also able to see that EDWARD loves HER. Thanks again for the article.
Burmyln

I agree with all 3 of you! New Moon is so fantastic because of the depth our favorite characters recieve from it! The lessons learned the realities faced and overcome, the complications introduced, and the experiences gained from them are immeasurable to all of the characters involved, including Rosalie. When ever i recommend Twilight to a fellow reader, I always say “Everyone hates book 2, but read it slowly and carefully, because he comes back.” I dont say how he left or the circumstances, but I do tell them that he comes back, so that they read it slowly and get out of it all that it has to offer for the sequels. My favorite quote in this book “How could they guess that I was standing there enjoying an unexpected moment of insanity?”
tEamdward

New moon was TOTALLY heartbreaking through most of pages, probably the saddest and most emotional books of the saga. I kept crying in class reading it and at home as well, I felt like a fool but I couldn’t help it! Especially when Edward left Bella because of her birthday attack from Jasper, I literally balled! I think it’s the first time I ever actually shed tears while reading a novel. Stephenie REALLY captures what Bells is going through during her loss of Edward, it made me feel just as sad as her. I’m sure everyone was sad when Edward left Bells behind but as Candice said, we really got to learn more about Jacob and Bella’s connection. It was hard to see Bella as depressed as she was though, and it was also sad to me the way she was beginning to become attached to Jacob as more than a friend, though she didn’t know it. I also tried to read as fast as I could through the book to see if Edward ever returned to see Bella again, or be with her again. I also believe that if the bad events of Bells birthday and her jump off the cliff hadn’t occurred(although they were sad) the story would of been hard to continue on. I think that things may have turned out a lot differently in Breaking Dawn and Eclipse as well, the story lines would not of been as strong. I’m really hoping they show as much emotion in the New Moon movie coming out this November. I have this really bad feeling that they wont portray the book as well as us fans wish. If they don’t capture the proper emotions and make sure the most important parts of the book stand out in the movie (Cliff Dive, Birthday attack, how Edward leaves Bella, etc), the movie will not be as strong as it could be. Of course we are going to love it anyways! but that’s just my opinion
BellaAnne8

wow! great observations everyone! I’m going to re-read new moon soon Thanks..I like the idea that they both mature and when they get back together later, they are more transformed, a woman & a man. they both know what they want.. each other. (good way of saying it Twilightbloom)
BeCkY

Another foreshadowing…

New Moon pg 17…Edward telling Bella his opinino on Romeo…

“Well, first of all, he’s in love with this Rosaline-don’t you think that makes him seem a little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kills Juliet’s cousin. That’s not brilliant. Mistake after mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness any more thoroughly?”

**********
Edward made mistake after mistake…while trying to do what was “best”. Could HE have destroyed HIS OWN HAPPINESS any more thoroughly?
keri

The first time I read New Moon I just literally skipped alot of the Jacob stuff. I cried turning those pages of the 4 months and I was desperate for anything on Edward. I even was excited when Laurant showed up!!!!!! I am now re-reading New Moon after first reading it back in Dec. 2008, I now see the middle of the book as Bella’s always looking for a way to hear Edwards voice. I used to feel threatened by Bella and Jacobs (Best Friend thing) but now I can see so much more clearly the total devotion that Bella had for Edward even in his abscense. It is funny to think how well Stephanie puts it all together ie. the cliff diving scene. If it wasn’t for Bella doing that and Alice thinking she had died then where would we have seen Edward again. I hope this new director not only gets the CGI effects but also all this other emotional stuff as well. I am really apprecitating NM better and of course Bella saving Edward in the end in Italy does not hurt one bit….
creamy

Excellent points from everyone. I won’t admit how many times I have read New Moon, but I will say each and every time I have to stop and actually put the book down at the end of page 84. (When she lays down on the floor.) To say I become emotional is glossing over my true reaction.

Yes, there were signs before he left. Even the first time I read it, I knew he was leaving and coming back, but I missed many of the clues mentioned here. From the time immediately after the birthday party, until he left, the overwhelming dread was so oppressive I could barely breathe. It still doesn’t get any better.

I agree with those that think he would have made the same decision later with some other incident as a catalyst. It could have been anything that threatened Bella that arose from her being in his world. It is almost easy to forget that this took place just a few months after the ballet studio event. Edward knew Bella’s life was in danger due to living so close to HIS world. He wanted her to stay human, and he wanted her to stay ALIVE.

Of course, Stephenie’s storyline made the reunion that much sweeter. I think Bella came out of the abandonement episode better than Edward. She finally did understand HER hold on Edward. I still think Edward took a while to realize the extent, the maturity, the true depth of her love. As Stephenie said on her site, Edward more or less dismissed Bella’s love for him. He carried that feeling forward into Eclipse. I don’t think he fully realized how much she loved him until the end of Breaking Dawn.

One last thing, as painful as it is everytime to read New Moon, for me, Breaking Dawn is much more so. There are many more points of pain, through out the book, that cause me to stop and put the book down. I have to calm myself before I am able to continue. I know there was something of an uproar when BD was published. I’m not sure what that was about, but I think it is a masterpiece. Sorry, I digress.
darlenecullen

As I sat here and read what you all said,with my headphones on, listening to Twilights CD, my eyes are filled with tears.Just like everyone of you true fans, my heart broke while reading New Moon, my stomach ached, during that time,I couldn’t even eat for a few days.I honestly felt Bella’s pain, like it was happening to me. To write this way, and have a story affect you in this way, is sheer genius. Like most of you, I did get so much more out of New Moon, 2nd time around. BUT, DID YOU KNOW, THE CLUES STARTED IN TWILIGHT. On page 209, after Bella’s conversation with Jessica,and Edward was listening,it bothered him that Bella said she loved him more. They go on talking and then the words are said from Bella!! “Sometimes it seems like you’re saying good-bye, when you’re saying something else” And then Edward goes on explaining how he can say good-bye,because he loves her more. OMG,He always had it on his mind. Reading Twilight for the 3rd time, I saw this. See, we’re not crazy, for reading these books so many times. We need to!!!
creamy

darlenecullen: You are right, and LOVE the justification, we do need to read these books many times.

Edward, from the moment in Bella’s bedroom that he realized he loved her, was always thinking about leaving.

I think at the beginning of this thought process he felt it was because she deserved a relationship with a human. Someone who could touch her, and fully share her world with her. His self-loathing was so intense. This was much, much more obvious in Midnight Sun. Also in MS, he even admitted to Emmett on their hunting trip he was trying to figure out how to leave her because he could not touch her. He knew his being a vampire created limitations a human did not have. And of course the danger was a whole other problem. Not just from others, but from himself. He even said this in the meadow, “Don’t forget I am always more dangerous to you than to anyone else.” A pretty serious statement from someone who loves you, and you love them back.

Stephenie: Please, we just can’t let these characters go. I just hope you can’t as well.
darlenecullen

creamy,Thanks for noticing too. And I couldn’t have said it better to Stephenie! I just hope she reads what we say, because, besides finishing Midnight Sun,she really needs to continue this story. When I first finished all 4 books, I can’t tell you how empty I felt. I tried reading so many different love stories, and vampire stories, and anything, to fill the void I felt, when ending this saga. Nothing was doing it for me. So that’s when I decided to start all over again. And never once do I feel bored.I keep finding out new things, and keep on saying, “Wow, I must of skipped this part”, but I really didn’t. Any way twilight fans, keep on reading and you’ll fall in love over and over again.