NeW mOoN**

Protagonist Isabella "Bella" Swan is thrown an eighteenth birthday party by Alice and Edward Cullen, the vampire she loves, and the rest of their vampire family. While unwrapping a gift, she gets a paper cut. Edward's brother Jasper, although attempting a non-human diet, is overwhelmed by the scent of blood and tries to attack Bella. In an attempt to keep her safe from the world of vampires, Edward leaves the town of Forks, Washington with his family. Bella becomes severely depressed and seeks comfort with Jacob Black, an old family friend who eases her pain over losing Edward.
Bella and Jacob develop a close friendship, and Bella soon discovers that placing herself in dangerous situations stimulates hallucinations of Edward's voice. Bella thus begins seeking out dangerous behavior, such as riding a motorcycle, to trigger the illusions. Meanwhile, Bella finds out that Jacob is a werewolf. He and his fellow werewolves begin to protect Bella from the pursuit of the vampire Victoria, who seeks revenge for the death of her mate, James, who was killed by the Cullens in Twilight.
After Bella attempts cliff-diving, she gets caught in a riptide and is rescued by Jacob. Meanwhile, Alice Cullen, Edward's prophetic vampire sister, has a vision of Bella jumping off the cliff. Presuming that Bella is dead, Alice rushes to Forks to check on Charlie Swan, Bella's father. At the same time, Edward is mistakenly informed by his sister Rosalie that Bella has died. Desperate over her supposed death, Edward flees to Italy to provoke the Volturi, peace-keeping vampires who would be able to kill him.
Bella and Alice rush to Italy to save Edward, and succeed in stopping him before it is too late. Before they leave Italy, the Volturi tell them that Bella, a human who knows of the existence of vampires, must either be killed or changed into a vampire herself. After they return to Forks, Edward explains to Bella that he only left in order to protect her, and she forgives him. The book ends with the Cullens voting in favor of Bella being changed into a vampire after her graduation, much to Edward's dismay.



Eclipse & Dark (L)