New Moon: The Twilight Saga, Book 2
By Matt Berman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Second book in vampire series drips with action and romance.
Add your rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
Based on 24 parent reviews
Twilight Saga: New Moon
What's the Story?
In this sequel to Twilight, Bella reluctantly attends a birthday party in her honor given by her beloved Edward's vampire family, the Cullens. But when she accidentally gets cut and members of the family have to be forcibly restrained, Edward decides that he's simply too dangerous for her -- and the only solution is to leave. With the Cullens gone, Bella sinks into abject misery and depression for months. Her only solace is her growing friendship with Jacob. She also discovers that when she does risky and dangerous things, she can hear Edward's voice in her head -- so she takes up motorcycling and cliff diving. But Jacob is going through some horrifying changes of his own, and Bella is being stalked by another vampire out for revenge against Edward.
Is It Any Good?
If the plot summary sounds a little silly, that's because ... well, it is. But it's terrifically readable silliness, which is a good thing, since NEW MOON is even longer than Twilight, its overlong predecessor. It also has lots more action and plot, though not until Bella mopes around, pining after Edward for 200 pages.
Fans of the first novel may be disappointed that Edward is hardly in this one, which focuses on the flatter personality of Bella. But author Stephenie Meyer does pining as well as she did true love in the first book: It's exaggerated but engrossing -- at least until you put down the book and think about what you've been reading. But the target audience, teen girls, won't mind. Romantic misery has its appeal, and this author does it better than most, all the while keeping the objectionable content low and the suspense and excitement rolling.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the popularity of this series. What do you think makes it so appealing? Why has it sparked such a plethora of fantasy and vampire media?
Have you seen the Twilight movies? How do the adaptations compare to the books? Are movies ever as good as the original text? What would you have done differently if you were the director?
Book Details
- Author: Stephenie Meyer
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date: September 1, 2006
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 12 - 12
- Number of pages: 563
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate