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My first take on the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer was that it was definitely a series for young readers. But, after reading the first book in the series, Twilight, I just had to continue on and go for the next one. Though originally targeted for young readers, mostly due to the content, I can tell you that these books will most likely appeal to a primarily female audience because it is somewhat of a love story-though a somewhat twisted one-but that a surprisingly high number of males that pick these books up may also find themselves enthralled. Edward and the other male characters in these books are quite engaging and definitely prone to testosterone rushes.
New Moon, the movie,has been touted as not as good as Twilight, but it may be because a new mythical creature is introduced and the action scenes are not as dramatic. The difference in the book is that you are able to gain a much better understanding of the complex emotions, feelings and thoughts that each of the characters are experiencing. The movie leaves you trying to guess the why of the actions of the main characters whereas the book explains all of this in great detail.
So, New Moon starts where Twilight leaves off. Bella comes to the realization that as she is turning 18, Edward will never age and she becomes almost completely obsessed with this. She cannot bear to think that she will grow old and wrinkled and that Edward will not; not because she doesn't want to grow old, but because her greatest fear is that he will leave her for someone else as her hair grays, wrinkles appear and her flesh takes on the crepe-like appearance that only the aged have. Next to Edward's remarkable beauty, she will look like a monster-at least that is how Bella sees it.
I won't give away the middle of the book, but suffice to say that there is no way the movie can even begin to describe the emotional death that Bella suffers. Stephenie Meyer has untold skill at enabling the reader to be able to feel everything that her characters are feeling. Though men may have a much harder time relating to these feelings, that is not to say that men don't feel them or that this book will not give men a much better understanding of how easy it is to hurt deeply, the one person that you love, regardless of the reasoning behind the actions. Stephenie Meyer puts into words some of the most intense feelings possible to feel.
The end of New Moon definitely leaves you wanting more, which is also why some may feel somewhat dissatisfied with the ending of the movie, but also makes you want to rush out and pick up the next volume in the series, Eclipse.
I think that it is safe to say that Stephenie Meyer has hit a somewhat expected home run with the younger, female audience, while surprisingly has drawn in the middle-aged housewives and even older women and men of all ages (though they are liable to deny it).
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