Bella and Edward have made it through one book intact and with their love strong. But at the beginning of New Moon, a freak accident makes Edward realize just how much he and his family’s very natures keep Bella in danger. So he decides that it would be best for Bella for him to leave; he tells her that he doesn’t care for her anymore and disappears. To say Bella is heartbroken is an understatement; she is in the throes of the deepest adolescent despair, and she moves around like a zombie, she says, for months.

Then Bella starts hanging out with Jacob, her old family friend who lives on the Quileute Native American reservation. Nothing can replace Edward, but having a friend like Jacob helps Bella to forget her pain, at least somewhat. Life is kind of “normal” for a while until strange things begin happening to Jacob, and Bella finds herself again right in the middle of supernatural occurrences.

This second book in the “Twilight saga” tends to be many readers’ least favorite, because the handsome hero, Edward, is out of the picture for so much of it. And Bella’s moping can get a little old. But those who enjoy Jacob’s character eat it up for its focus on him. Either way, this book sets up important points of the plot of the four-book series, and on a second or third read, it’s more enjoyable, since the reader can be assured of certain happy endings.

Again, there is no question that Meyer’s story is addictive. The romance is swoon-worthy, when it appears in this book. Still hard to put down.

Rated: Mild. Language use is very minimal: there are just a handful of mild terms. Sexual references are minimal in this book, and there isn’t a whole lot of kissing because Edward is out of the picture for so much of it. The violence is still fairly low; it’s more tension about what MIGHT happen. The action does amp up in the third book.