The second installment in the Twilight series, the novel continues the story of Bella Swan and her relationship with vampire Edward Cullen as she enters her senior year of high school.

When Edward leaves Bella after his brother attacks her, she is left heartbroken and depressed for months until Jacob Black becomes her best friend.

Upon its publication in the United States, New Moon was highly successful and 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,[5][6] and was the biggest selling children's paperback of 2008 with over 5.3 million copies sold.

In the months that follow, Bella learns that thrill-seeking activities, such as motorcycle riding and cliff-diving, allow her to "hear" Edward's voice in her head through her subconscious mind.

She also seeks comfort in her deepening friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases her pain over losing Edward.

After spending some time with Bella, Jacob starts experiencing some unexpected and drastic changes in his mood swings, body, and personality.

Distraught over her suspected suicide, Edward flees to Volterra, Italy to provoke the Volturi, vampire royalty who are capable of killing him, though they refuse, deeming his mind-reading ability to be too valuable.

They rush to Italy to prevent Edward from revealing himself to humans so the Volturi are forced to kill him, arriving just in time to stop him.

When Bella reminds him that it is none of his concern as being a vampire is what she wants, Jacob reveals it is his business as she doesn't understand what's going to be at stake for her and the Cullens.

"[10] She began writing a sequel, which was entitled Forever Dawn and skipped over Bella's final year of high school.

[11] 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.

[11] Therefore, Meyer started writing the outline of the book and thinking of what her characters would do, and claims that she "swiftly regretted asking them for the story."

Writing the book was difficult for Meyer as she feared the readers' reaction to the emotional pain Bella's goes through, what could be described has grief and feeling lost.

However, Meyer considers Jacob to be her favorite gift the book gave, as she liked the character a lot and wanted to expand his role and presence.

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".

[33] Kirkus Reviews praised the novel, describing it as "an exciting page turner...This tale of tortured demon lovers entices.

The film starred Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively.

[42] In late November 2008, Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel, which was directed by Chris Weitz with Melissa Rosenberg returning as the screenwriter.