Books The Host: A Novel
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - The good and the bad.
This contains spoilers, so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled. As I started reading Meyers' first fiction novel for adults, I was hoping for a slightly less simplistic writing style than in the Twilight series. But, to my disappointment, it was written the same way, even the first person point of view. The first chapter was a bit hard to get into and I thought "Wanda's" far-out experiences on other planets were ridiculous. Then, there was no sex, which somehow didn't surprise me, but I know it comes from the author's religious beliefs. Couples in this book might have a kiss and cuddle and sleep together like kids away at summer camp but there can be no sex. (sarcasm). It didn't have to be graphic, but could have at least implied that they were adults attracted to each other sharing that kind of intimacy. I mean, it is a book for adults. IMO, her beliefs are rather limiting what she feels she can write in her books and it makes things a bit ridiculous at times, especially for an adult novel. What else did I dislike about it, let's see... I thought it was a bit too long; there were some things that could have been cut out to make it shorter and tighter. I was also surprised that they didn't have any problems with their hideout being discovered and the tension that could have come from that. I kept waiting for them to be discovered on their raids to get supplies or have something bring suspense to the story.

Having said that, what I liked about the book was the emotion it made me feel. I could barely put it down and stayed up late reading it. By the time I got to the end where Wanda was removed from Melanie's body, I could barely breathe. I was actually very sad for this creature, BUT I felt like the perfect ending would have been with Wanda's death. Yes, it would have been heartbreaking, but would have made the novel completely unforgettable to me because of the emotion and actual physical discomfort her death would have caused me in reading about it, like a kick in the ribs. Well, it wasn't the end of the world when she was put into another host, but like others have said, why in the world did it have to be a child-like body? I wanted her to have a strong body like she was used to when she was in Melanie. She seemed happy with that kind of body. The fact that she was put into a teeny tiny body really aggravated me. And then, the ending was just too happy. I like happy endings but everything doesn't have to be absolutely sparkling perfect. It somehow doesn't satisfy like leaving a thing or two sacrificed. But, that's all my opinion, and like I said, the story made me feel a lot. Oh, I recently watched the 70's version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and was amazed at some of the similarities to that story and this one. So there's another .02 on the Host.

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Rating: - Courtesy of Teens Read Too
The book THE HOST is a lot like Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT saga in the fact that the whole point of the story is that love is the most important thing. What's different though is (obviously) the storyline. Yes, that is right - this story has nothing to do with vampires; instead, aliens have taken over our planet.

The time is somewhere in the future and our world is not as we know it. Instead of mass murders making headline news, there are articles on the best type of flowers to plant. The most disturbing article is that the bridge near Maple Avenue is due for a repainting. The world is full of peace and love. No one argues, no one fights, and there is not even a hint of violence in this bizarre world.

Obviously, these are not humans we are talking about.

The aliens that came to Earth would capture a human to use its body as a host. (Hence the title.) They stretch their tentacles around the nerves and "control panels" located in our heads; thus gaining complete control of the body. Unfortunately for the human, this process eliminates them. The aliens were able to gain control of almost every person this way. By continuing their host's former habits they were able to go virtually unnoticed. Luckily for humankind, there are always a few observant people that actually see things the way that they truly are

Our story is focused on Melanie and Wanda. Melanie is (or was) one of those few humans that was able to escape. Unfortunately, she was caught and because she might have information on other fugitives stuffed in her head, Wanda is put inside her. When a soul is put in a human, it has access to every memory their host might have had. Well, at least that is what is supposed to happen. Instead, Wanda reaches some "walls" within her mind. She later finds out that Melanie is still in there and kicking. She is even able to communicate with Wanda, using her (or their) thoughts.

This starts a whole new thread of events. The most important being Melanie convinces Wanda to go and look for Jared, her true love, and Jamie, her little brother. They are both labeled as "wild humans." After getting lost in the desert and nearly dying, Wanda is found by the humans and is taken to their hideout, a large cave, as a captive. She is surprised to see so many other humans still without a soul within them and even more surprised to see Jamie and Jared have made it here.

Unfortunately many, including Jared, hate Wanda for what she is and what her kind has done to their world.

At first I thought the story itself was rather lame. I mean aliens...? Come on, can't she do anything better than that? Not to mention it had an extremely slow beginning. Once they reached the caves, though, things really heated up and Ms. Myer's amazing writing skills started to really shine through. Personally, I think that if anybody else tried writing a book with this specific topic it would go down in flames, but Stephenie Meyer was able to finish it with grace and in a way that made me want her to write a sequel.

Reviewed by: Abby - The Class

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Rating: - The Host
Not bad - Stephanie Meyer is a GREAT writer. It's hard to think about reading a Stephanie Meyer book that doesn't have Edward or Bella in it. I would definitely recommend this book.

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Rating: - Wow
I got this book after having read the Twilight series and was very shocked. I loved the Twilight series, but this, WOW. It was nothing like I expected it to be. Actually I was a little worried about this book from the description, but after reading a few pages I fell in love. I love the story and would be happy not having a second book to this, but if there is one I'll be in line to buy it.