I haven't read any of the books from this series. I just took my teenage daughter who is fanatical about Twilight to see New Moon. I was expecting to sleep through it since the film began after midnight. but I was actually pulled right into it and enjoyed the time. The pace was always moving, unlike Twilight which I thought had some lulls. I found that the werewolf special effects were a little too cartoon-like for this caliber of film production, but I think overall that the film was beautifully made and would be enjoyed by more than the typical fan-base.