Sunday, December 27, 2009

Thoughts on New Moon

These were my thoughts after I finished reading New Moon.

I really like how Jacob and Bella's relationship was developed in this book. Even though Jacob is less likable after he changes, I still like him. I can understand why Bella likes him. The author did a good job with Jacob's characterization and with Bella and Jacob's relationship. The best part of the book is the time Bella spends on the reservation. Jacob is my favorite character.

What has bothered me since the beginning of the first book is Edward. I don't quite see why Bella is so smitten with him. Or, I know why, yet I don't feel it at all. I don't care that much about Edward and Bella's relationship, which is kind of sad since it is the most important relationship.

Edward likes Bella because her blood smells good. I get it, but it does nothing for me. Bella likes Edward because his breath is sweet, he is beautiful, and he is just perfect. Blech. I really don't see why Bella likes Edward. She wants to spend forever with him? No, wait, maybe not. Edward asks Bella to marry him, and she says "no." What? She wants to be with him forever, but she does not want to marry him? What is that girl thinking?

I am sickened by how silly Bella acts when she kisses Edward. She kisses him and then loses control of herself to the point of trying to force herself on him. Please.

PLOT SPOILER FOLLOWS (Skip the next paragraph if you don't want details.)

The climax of this book involves Bella and Alice racing to Italy to save Edward from stepping into the sun in an attempt to make the Volturis destroy him. Edward thinks Bella is dead, so he decides to end his existence. For some reason, I did not care. This must be because I don't care about Edward. It just seemed so lame. Yawn.

At the end of New Moon, Edward, Bella, and Jacob have a confrontation. Jacob is clearly torn and hurt, as is Bella. Edward is just... there. Why should I care about him?

I went to Amazon.com, found New Moon, and looked at the reviews. I was interested to see whether anyone else has some of the same problems I do, so I went to the "one star" reviews. Ah, other people don't see the attraction in Edward. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

As I read this book, I realized that I do not like the direction that the author is taking the characters. Edward never felt right to me, yet it was obvious from the beginning that Edward was the one for Bella. I would rather see Bella with Jacob.

Despite the nagging feeling that I will not like how this series of books ends, I enjoyed reading New Moon. I did not notice the horrible grammar so much in this book since the book kept my attention, although not so much near the end since I did not care about Edward.

2 comments:

stratomiker said...

In the movie, the ending in Italy is the best part. It is filmed beautifully and is very colorful and exciting. The Italian vampires are a ball. I liked them. The beginning of the movie is good, especially the parts about the wolf pack. But I agree with you, Edward and Bella are a problem in this second story.

I sort of get why Bella is nuts about Edward. He is, if anything, pretty unusual compared to all the other guys around, and more 'romantic' than Jacob. But I can't get it anymore why Edward is so nuts about Bella. The character in the book and the gal in the movies is just not that fabulous. Certainly a hundred year-old vampire has had the time and opportunity to meet a woman more interesting, no matter how good her blood smells.

I understand that the guys in this epic are the sex objects, not Bella, but she comes off as too sexless, especially on the screen. She's too tough and aggressive (like when she slaps the wolf boy), not very feminine, not all that gorgeous and, of course, stupid. What does Edward see in her?

The casting IS good. The girl in the books and the girl in the movie are quite the same. But she's no Angelina Jolie or Beyonce, or even Britney, or any gal that most guys would go bonkers over. Yet the fans seem to be digging it. Who knows why?

Mike

Jennifer White said...

I bet the scene in Italy is nice. The problem with the books is that Meyer's descriptions are lacking, so it is very hard to visualize everything. I bought the DVD of Twilight today and began watching it. I really like it so far!