In Defense of Jacob Black

In glorious anticipation for the release of New Moon-the movie this fall, I feel a desire to publish my feelings in relation to the book and "my favorite gift" of New Moon: Jacob Black.

In the beginning I read Twilight. My dad had cut out an article for me from BYU Magazine on Stephenie Meyer (she's an alumnus), and interested in her story I waited a number of months until the book club kit became available at our library, and we read it for book club.

I loved it. (Lot's of people do--that doesn't make me weird or mean my literary tastes are unrefined)

Immediately I wanted to read New Moon, and Jeremy had a friend at school who said she'd let me borrow her copy. While I waited I got online and started looking around. I started seeing jewelry, t-shirts, message boards all proclaiming "Team Jacob!"

What?! I demanded. Jacob Black--the little kid?! How could she, why on earth would Bella go after someone other than Edward?

So, I did what any rational person afraid that their whole make-believe perfect world is about to crumble to the ground would do. . . I read Twilight again.

That way, I could ingrain in my mind all my feelings, all my experiences reading it, so if I hated everything that happened in the next book I could just go back to the first and pretend nothing ever happened past it.

But then, I began reading New Moon. And things began to make sense. Awful, horrible sense.

Edward was gone.

And then there was Jacob. Young, enthusiastic, perceptive, willing, Jacob. Completely different, from Edward, but completely right for Bella--in his own way. A different way. Not replacing Edward or Bella's love for him, but providing a different way to live, love and be happy.

My friend has said that Edward reminds her of her husband and that's one reason why she likes Edward over Jacob. She suggested that my husband is maybe more like Jacob, and that's why I like him. But that is not the case at all (I still love you Jen).

If there is any aspect of my personal life that is affecting why I like Jacob Black, it can only be the fact that I have loved more than once. The comparison between my friend's life and my own can still hold true because she married her high school sweetheart whom she met when she was 15 or 16, so it makes sense that for her there can only be one true love for Bella.

For myself, there was someone else, who was right for me in so many ways, whom I loved. And then I met Jeremy. And Jeremy is right for me in so many ways. And my life with Jeremy is totally different than my life would have been otherwise. But sometimes I still ache for him--the other love. Not ache to have him in my life, but ache for him, and for the pain I may have caused him, and mostly aching to know that he is happy that his life is as full as mine, and that my leaving didn't break him.

And that's how I feel about Jake.

Do I think Edward and Bella belong together? Of course! I wouldn't like the saga if I didn't think so. (And I wouldn't love New Moon, particularly what I consider to be the best part of the entire saga: when Bella And Edward reunite in Italy.)

But, do I love Jacob, and want life to compensate for what he looses with Bella? Yes.

That is why I proudly declare: I am Team Jacob.