New Moon | |
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![]() First edition cover of New Moon |
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Author | Stephenie Meyer |
Cover artist | Gail Doobinin (design) John Grant (photograph) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Twilight series |
Genre(s) | Young adult, romance novel, vampire fiction |
Publisher | Little, Brown |
Publication date | September 6, 2006 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
Pages | 563 |
ISBN | 0-316-16019-9 |
OCLC Number | 69104227 |
LC Classification | PZ7.M5717515 New 2006 |
Preceded by | Twilight |
Followed by | Eclipse |
New Moon is a fantasy novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and is the second novel in the Twilight series. According to Meyer, the book is about losing true love.[1] The title refers to the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, indicating that New Moon is about the darkest time of protagonist Bella Swan's life.[2] The book was originally released in hardcover in 2006, following the successful publishing of Meyer's debut novel Twilight. A film adaptation was released on November 20, 2009.[3]
Upon its publication in the United States, New Moon moved quickly to the top of bestseller lists, becoming one of the most anticipated books of the year. It peaked at #1 on both the New York Times Best Seller list and USA Today's Top 150 Bestsellers,[4][5] and was the biggest selling children's paperback of 2008 with over 5.3 million copies sold.[6]
New Moon has been translated into many diverse languages, including Czech, Thai, Russian, Norwegian and Arabic.[7]
Contents |
On Isabella "Bella" Swan's 18th birthday, Edward Cullen, the vampire she loves, and his family throw her a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, she gets a paper cut, which causes Edward's adopted brother, Jasper, to be overwhelmed by her blood's scent and attempt to kill Bella. To protect her, Edward decides to end their relationship, and the Cullens move away from Forks. This leaves Bella very heart-broken and depressed.
In the months that follow, Bella learns that thrill-seeking activities, such as motorcycle riding, allow her to "hear" Edward's voice in her head. She also seeks comfort in her deepening friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases her pain over losing Edward. Bella later discovers that Jacob and other tribe members are werewolves. Jacob and his pack protect Bella from the vampire Laurent and also Victoria, who seeks revenge for her dead mate, James, whom the Cullens killed in Twilight.
Meanwhile, a series of miscommunications leads Edward to believe that Bella has killed herself. Distraught over her supposed suicide, Edward flees to Volterra, Italy to provoke the Volturi, vampire royalty who are capable of killing him. Alice and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward, arriving just in time to stop him. Before leaving Italy, the Volturi tell Edward that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire. When they return to Forks, Edward tells Bella that he has always loved her and only left Forks to protect her. She forgives him, and the Cullens vote in favor of Bella being transformed into a vampire, to Edward's dismay. However, Jacob reminds Edward about an important piece in the treaty; if the Cullens bite a human, the treaty is over.
After Meyer finished writing Twilight, she found herself writing multiple, hundred-paged epilogues, and has said, "I quickly realized I wasn't ready to stop writing about Bella and Edward."[8] She began writing a sequel, which was entitled Forever Dawn and skipped over Bella's final year of high school.[9] While Meyer was still writing Forever Dawn, she learned that Twilight was going to be published and marketed as a young-adult novel.[9] Wanting the next book to be aimed at a similar audience, she decided to write a new sequel, New Moon, which took place during Bella's senior year of high school.[9] According to Meyer, the story was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[10]
New Moon was published by Little, Brown in the USA on 21 August 2006 with an initial print run of 100,000 copies.[11] Demand for the book was so high that advance reading copies were being sold on eBay for as high as $380.[12] New Moon immediately rose to the #1 position on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books[4] in its second week on the list, displacing popular children's authors such as Christopher Paolini and Markus Zusak,[13] and remained in that spot for eleven weeks. It spent over 47 weeks in total on the list.[14] New Moon also remained on the USA Today Best Seller list for over 150 weeks after entering the list two weeks after its release, later peaking at #1.[5]
By 2008, Publishers Weekly reported that New Moon had sold 1.5 million copies throughout the USA.[15] In October 2008, the book was ranked #37 on USA Today's "Bestselling Books of Last 15 Years".[16]
Hillias J. Martin of School Library Journal praised the book, saying, "Less streamlined than Twilight yet just as exciting, New Moon will more than feed the bloodthirsty hankerings of fans of the first volume and leave them breathless for the third".[17] Norah Piehl of Teenreads.com said, "In the middle, the story sometimes drags, and readers may long for the vampires' return. The events of New Moon, though, will leave Meyer's many fans breathless for the sequel, as Bella finally understands everything that will be at stake if she makes the ultimate choice to give up her humanity and live, like the vampires, forever."[18]
New Moon won the Senior Young Reader's Choice Award in 2009.[19]
A film adaptation of New Moon was released on November 20, 2009.[20][21][22] It is the sequel to 2008's Twilight, which is based on the previous novel written by Meyer. The film starred Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively.[23] In late November 2008, Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel, which was directed by Chris Weitz with Melissa Rosenberg returning as the screenwriter.[24] The majority of the film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.[25]
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