This book is a good example of when a writer needs an editor. Like a paragraph a chapter should end when a completely new idea is about to begin. Page 258 represents the beginning of a new part of the plot that should not be lumped in with the previous dozen of pages. If we remember from last week, we dealt with the aftermath of Bella and the wolves. Now it's all about Jacob and maybe I'll understand what all that Team Jacob and Team Edward crap from a couple of years ago was all about. Our only problem is that Bella still hasn't heard from him.
She calls Jacob's house the next day, completely shrugging off any fear of the wolves, Laurent, or Victoria...like it never happened. If it were me, I would probably still have the shakes about the wolves, or at least the vampire who has promised me that i was going to die (depending on which one I thought won the battle the other day). Never mind that though, Bella has man trouble and from what we understand after the last book that is the only trouble worth discussing. She dials up the Blacks, "Jake's not here."
What's interesting is that she never once figures that she's being blown off. It's interesting because that's basically what she told us we ought to expect in the very beginning of the first book. It's also exactly what she told Jacob to do, the only thing is that Jacob didn't tell her he was cutting himself off from her. He's only 16 and fairly inexperienced so it's entirely within character that it ought to happen that way. The point is that Bella is confused that Jacob is doing the very thing she told him to do the last time she saw him. I'm going to say it again, the very last time she even talked to Jacob she told him that he ought to not waste his time on her. Perhaps he listened?
Instead of making this kind of rationalization and going to her job (remember her job?) she decides to go to the reservation to confront Jacob. Instead of Jacob she sees Quil,* "I was sure it was Quil, though he looked bigger than the last time I'd seen him...were they feeding them experimental growth hormone?"
Or you know, since it's been over a month since you've seen Quil it could just be puberty. We've never really gotten an age for Quil but it's not entirely unreasonable he would be different. What's also odd is that Bella has never paid attention to the details of a person's size or appearance unless they were Edward. Now all of the sudden she's a detective. Quil explains that Jacob has been hanging around with Sam lately meaning that Jacob's joined the La Push gang, although he refers to it as a cult. Which is something that we ought to note although we don't really know why we should note that. Just because Jacob was an outsider but now he's in doesn't prove anything.
Finally we get to Jacob seeing Bella in front of his house hanging out in her car. The first thing that Bella notices is that Jacob has cut his hair from the long pony tail to a short crew cut that is, "covering his head with an inky gloss like black satin."
I'm not sure what that means so we'll just skip over it.
There's a brief confrontation with Jacob and the gang which causes Bella to get angry as Jacob is no longer the sweet friendly guy that he once was. He's changed now, he's fierce and that makes Bella sad. She directs her rage against Sam thinking to herself, "I wanted to be a vampire.-The violent desire caught me off guard and knocked the wind out of me."
It caught her off guard? What part? The part where she wished to be the thing that she wished to become at the end of the last book and the beginning of this one? I swear the inconsistencies in this character are driving me to drink in the afternoon.
They were friends she pleads.
"We were," Jake replies apparently having taken the advice that she gave him earlier.
There's some more angry conversation where Bella touches Jacob causing him to shirk away. This gives Bella the impression that Sam is abusing the gang, it's unclear what she thinks is going on but she asks through her tears, "Is Sam catching?"
Now I've seen Oz enough to know that that means, but it can't mean what I think it does, right?
Jacob begins to walk away in which Bella tells him, "I'm sory that I couldn't...before...I wish I could change how I feel about you Jacob."
That kind of regret is nice but it's bullshit. She doesn't like him, she's been stringing him along. It's time for her to move on from the non-boyfriend that she was just hanging around with for the time until Edward returned. The problem for me is that I'm supposed to feel bad for her but I just can't. She's been using him and now that he's moved on I'm supposed to feel bad about it. Nah, that's now it works. She actually deserves this.
Bella goes home telling her dad what happened. Her father, because he's a decent human being who has a Harpy for a daughter, decides to call his friend and find out what was going on. Bella eavesdrops on the conversation making the conclusion that Billy blames Bella for what happened that, "I was leading Jacob on and he'd finally had enough."
Bella somehow views this with skepticism. Thus far that seems just about right, good for him.
_______________________________
*I actually get his name now, it's not that stupid IF it's merely a shortened form of his tribe Quelieutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment