New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Bella Swan has everything. A loving dad, friends, and her angel like boyfriend Edward. When Edward breaks up with her the fairy tale ends until she finds solace with Jacob Black, her childhood friend, that lessens her depression. But Jacob has a secret. Something monstrous brewing beneath the surface.

Character development was excellent. Edward had a personality in this one and was funny at times. Though, it still pisses me off he left Bella alone in the forest. And he came off as a control freak. Plus, in later chapters he actually grabbed her face and forced her to look at him which is something an abuser would do. He's a narcissist. It was hard to like Edward.

Pace was good. It kept me turning page after page. Although, at times, some scenes tended to drag on like her depression. I mean, I get it, depression takes time to get out of but pining for months for a guy who dumped you in the forest? Yeah, it makes her seem dependent and no free will of her own without a man.

Flow was good. It kept me wanting more of the story.

The biggest con for me though was cutting off indigenous hair. Because back in the day, most indigenous people were forced to cut their hair off and attend American Indian boarding schools that beat the native out to "civilize" them. It was horrid. I'm not sure why Stephanie Meyer thought that was a good idea. I think she was going for sex appeal but to me long hair is still sexy. She definitely could have kept the long hair for her Quileute characters. I also didn't like how she kept referring to tribe members as "wild" which is another term for uncivilized. That really bothered me. And yet she described vampires as "perfect ". I don't know if she meant to or not, but it came off as racist.

Now, the big question. Am I still Team Jacob? The answer is yes. He treats Bella with more respect than Edward does and is an actual person who cares about her. Should he have dumped her too? No. That was definitely a crappy move.

6/10 🌟

For my Christian readers, the book contains mild swearing. Not for kids.