NOTES/THOUGHTS/REACTIONS: I admit, this was actually kind of a solid chapter. Still cheesy and overdone (which I've decided must be Meyer's shtick) but nevertheless, actually kind of good. See, I do think Meyer has the potential to write powerful stuff...unfortunately her taste level isn't quite there. When she matures as a writer then maybe she has the potential to be decent. Unfortunately she seems to be of the theory that she is already a good author and that she needs no improvement so I don't anticipate this happening any time soon.
But slightly good chapter isn't perfect and there's still much snarking to be had so let's get to it! We start off with Bella still worried about Jacob and I'm sorry but at this point, she's kind of stalking him:
I called him Tuesday, but no one answered. Were the phone lines still having problems? Or had Billy invested in caller I.D.?
On Wednesday I called every half hour until after eleven at night, desperate to hear the warmth of Jacob's voice.
From New Moon, Chapter 11
Um...wow. I understand that Bella is worried but every half hour? Jeez. This screams desperate woman to me and pretty much every male. Bella argues more with herself against going to La Push and there is mention of Charlie warning her not to make a nuisance of herself....yeah, too late for that Charlie. Seriously, phoning him, EVERY HALF HOUR.
Finally it hits Bella: Sam is the reason Jacob is staying away!. Couldn't at all be that he simply doesn't want to be around her anymore, her Mary Sueness is still intact. Now at this point I was kind of hoping that Bella had developed some brain cells and remembered those tails Jacob had told her about the tribe turning to wolves, made the connection with the wolves in the forest, and thought to herself: wow, vampires/werewolves isn't much of a stretch and it would explain everything. In every other paranormal series, this is what the heroine/love interest would be doing because right now it's kind of like screaming DUH in their faces.
Sadly, I keep forgetting that our suposed smart heroine is actually kind of dumb as rocks because instead of that revelation, she assumes that Sam has lured Jacob to his cult. To quote my favorite TV show Gilmore Girls: Oy to the vey. Well, at least she's on the right track...sort of.
Well with this revelation (and no proof) she calls up Charlie and says something is going down. Charlie, being the decent guy he is, listens to her and says he'll check in on it and there is more abuse of foreshadow as Charlie mentions the wolves again. This makes no sense to me by the way:
I was momentarily distracted-stunned, really-by his news. There was no way the wolves could have survived a match-up with Laurent...
From New Moon, Chapter 11
Um...excuse me? Where did she come up with that conclusion? Did she miss the part where Laurent RAN from the wolves? That to me, says that Laurent knew he was outmatched and was scared. What made her think that Laurent was more powerful then the wolves exactly? Seriously, think before you write Meyer.
Well, Bella of course ignores Charlie's advice (in her usual bratty I-know-best way) and calls Billy next. Jacob is still not there and the fact that he's out with Embry proves to Bella that he's in a cult. So she drives to La Push. On her way there, she runs into Quil who has now also grown and Bella marvels at it and I again want to shake her and yell that she's a moron for not putting one plus one together and getting two.
Quil is now seriously freaked out that he's going to become part of the group and I really felt for him in this chapter. The poor guy is scared out of his mind. But he is quickly brought home and exits faster then you can say stage left and then Bella is at Jacob's house again. Jacob shows up and is angry at her. I admit, Jacob is kind of an ass in this chapter but considering what he's going through I understand. Then we get this epic forewhadow:
I wanted to be a vampire.
The violent desire caught me off guard and knocked the wind out of me.
From New Moon, Chapter 11
I don't know why she's so surprised. It's pretty obvious that Bella has wanted to be a vampire since discovering they exist. Seriously she worships the Cullens, thinks there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with it, and acts like they're better then humans. I still say the only reason Bella was with Edward in the first place is because she wanted him to turn her into a vamp. But that's my theory.
Anyway, Bella tries to talk sense into Jacob and it doesn't really go very well. I will admit this arguement is actually very well done. It is one of the few scenes in this series that doesn't seem forced, fake, or awkward. The motivations made sense and for once there weren't all these ridiculous conclusions going on. Okay, I take that back, there is one where Bella immediately assumes this is all about her and the fact that she doesn't love him yet. Ugh. That is the point where this good scene derails and goes back to the usual melodrama. That melodrama goes right back to where we were a few chapters ago. Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is the return of emo Bella. Ugh again. This pretty much just drives home that there has been no character development for Bella whatsoever.
Emo Bella goes home and is emo while listening to Charlie go into protective father mode. She doesn't even muster up any gratefulness to him, just whines that Billy is being unfair and assuming he thinks she was leading Jacob on (which um...she kind of was) and is not having it. The only thing she's happy about is that Charlie is on her side now. Again, oy to the vey.
Bella dreams again, and this might as well be Meyer screaming into our ear "she's torn between two hot men! Pity her!" Cause you know, we couldn't have figured out what was going on without this pointless scene. All though the imagery of Jacob and Edward shifting together in and out sounds kind of cool...any chance they had that in New Moon? I may have to rent it if that's the case.
Pointless scene then shifts to something scraping against her window.
WORD LIST: ascertained
POSSIBLE EDITS: None that I could see right off, though as usual many scenes that could have been cut.
GENERAL ANNOYANCES: return of super emo Bella
The worry was eating a hole in my stomach. Soon I would have matching punctures.-Eh? What's the first puncture from?
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