Critique de School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-The sequel (Megan Tingley Books, 2006) to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005) gets off to a quick start when 17-year-old Bella's good vampire boyfriend, Edward, leaves her behind in order to keep her safe from bad vampires. Depressed, Bella drops out of her social life, can't concentrate at school, and is threatened to be sent away from home by her father unless she pulls herself together. When Bella discovers that she can summon the memory of Edward, cautioning her, whenever she undertakes a physically dangerous activity, she formulates a plan to continually place herself at risk-learning to ride a motorcycle, walking in woods where a mammoth bear has been sighted, and so on. She comes to respect and care deeply for Jacob Black, an old childhood friend who is willing and able to help her with these projects. And then Jake, a few years younger than Bella, grows into his manhood-which, in his case, is his werewolfhood. Ilyana Kadushin reads with flair and evocative voicing, slipping from Edward's suavity into Jake's adolescent scratchiness, from Bella's depressed weariness to her excitement and fear. Fans of Twilight won't be disappointed, and those new to the series can pick it up here and go back later to find out more about Edward's evil co-vampires. The end leaves a clear path for the next installment of Bella's complicated romantic life.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Critique du Publishers Weekly
Not since TV's Buffy "the Vampire Slayer" Summers battled demons in the halls of Sunnydale High has a teenager faced the number of monsters that Bella Swan does in Meyer's melodramatic sequel to Twilight. Bella's vampire boyfriend Edward and his unusual clan are joined by an ancient pack of werewolves-also with connections to Bella-in a story that's got romance, adventure, thrills and even a quick detour to Italy. Thanks to Kadushin's (who also read Twilight) consistently smooth delivery and her plausibility as a teen navigating heartbreak, hormones and confusion, listeners are likely to hang on for the many fever-pitch moments of suspense here, even if the lengthy tale could have used some pruning. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved