The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer

Bought it for my daughter. I know she will enjoy it.

I would like to start off with with the obvious. Yes this book was written by Stephanie Meyer, yes she is the author of the Twilight series… just a few little books about a human and a vampire that you may have heard of before. Yes I loved the Twilight books when I read them. Yes I have read much better books since Twilight but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Stephanie Meyer, when all is said and done, can write very compelling characters. It seems that every single review for The Host mentions Twilight and I can’t see why. People either loved them or hated them but I want to make sure before I start my review that you put aside your feelings for Twilight and your feelings for Meyer as an author. Don’t pre-judge this novel based on the feelings you have for her other work, either good or bad.

“You never know how much time you’ll have.”

Because honestly, The Host deserves better than the preconceived notions that some people have about it. A see so many reviewers who say they won’t read it and it makes me sad. This was an amazingly good story with some of the most loveable and real characters. A few of my friends had previously read it and I was just holding out until closer to the adapted film’s release for me to start it. My only regret is that I didn’t read it sooner. It really is something special.

“And he was my friend. Not that he wouldn’t kill me if things turned out that way, but he wouldn’t like doing it. With humans, what more could you ask for a friend?”

The uniqueness behind the plot is what I immediately became fascinated with. The idea that these aliens, or rather Souls, are implanted into human bodies… they then control the body as their own however they retain the memories of the Host. When Wanderer was implanted into Melanie it was because she was deemed to be strong enough to handle the memories and resistance that they believed would be forced upon the new Soul. They, the Seekers, wanted answers. Their job is to track down the pockets of humans who are still out there, refusing to give themselves over. And so, we meet our characters….

“You are the noblest, purest creature I’ve ever met. The universe will be a darker place without you,” he whispered.”

Wanderer is the Soul, later in the story she is called Wanda. You go in with the mindset that you will dislike Wanderer, I mean she is after all a part of the alien race that has all but wiped out humanity on earth. But you quickly learn that these Souls are gentle and kind. They have been to many planets before and I am sure they will continue to visit/take over many planets in the future. But they are not hostile. They saw what humans were doing to Earth, the wasting of resources, letting their people die in the street when there was so much that could be done to stop it and so much violence. They never stop to think about the mind they are removing from the body, just that they know they can make it a better place.

“I’d never lived on a planet where such atrocities could happen, even before the souls came. This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds- the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions…the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.”

Wanderer is implanted into Melanie but she is a fighter. She refuses to drift off into nothingness like so many other minds. She starts giving Wanderer her memories, of her brother Jamie and her boyfriend, Jared. She slowly lets the walls down and when she knows Wanderer is feeling the same emotions toward the people that Melanie loves she talks Wanderer into going to where she believes them to be. She sets off in search of Jamie and Jared.

“Uncle Jeb,” we croaked in surprise. “You found us.”

“Well, now,” he said, and his gruff voice brought back a hundred memories. “Well, now, here’s a pickle.”

Obviously the reunion is not a tender one. Melanie’s eyes are now reflective in light, the sure sign that the body has been invaded by a new Soul. The Seekers have previously in the past tried to lead a newly inhabited Host back to their group in order to give away their location. There are not many people who approve of Melanie’s Uncle Jeb allowing her to stay in their new home in the caves.

However, slowly people start to realize that Melanie is still there, deep inside Wanda’s thoughts. I know it sounds a lot to wrap your head around but really I was never confused with the dialogue back and forth. It is very clear when it is Mel speaking or when it is Wanda speaking. You also never really think of them as one person. Even though they share the one body there is no doubt ever that there are two separate beings.

“If I was given the choice between having the world back and having you, I wouldn’t be able to give you up. Not to save five billion lives.”

The most unique part of this entire story, as if it wasn’t unique enough, is the love square. Yes, you read that correctly… a love square. Melanie of course loves Jared, and even when Jared finally comes around and believes that Melanie is still alive inside Wanda’s head, every time he touches her Wanda feels the heat of it because of the emotions she carries from Melanie. But Melanie feels jealously toward the act because she thinks Jared should not be touching Wanda like that. As much as Melanie yearns for Jared, Wanda starts to get close to someone else…

“You don’t really feel that way about me you know. It’s this body… she’s pretty isn’t she?”

“She is. Melanie is a very pretty girl. Even beautiful. But pretty as she is, she is a stranger to me. She’s not the one I… care about.”

“It’s this body.”

“That’s not true at all. It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the things you do with it. You are beautiful.”

And that would be Ian. *sigh* I love Ian. I love Jared also, don’t get me wrong, but Ian was so sweet and gentle with Wanda. Ian loves Wanda. Not Melanie. But nothing of course can come of this because each time they get closer her body reacts so negativity because of Melanie. So as you can see, a love square.

The emotions between the characters is amazing and honestly there isn’t a single person you don’t love. Even the ones you believe to be villains will have you turned around by the end of the book. Uncle Jeb is hilarious and Melanie’s little brother Jamie… he broke me. I love him so much and I shed quite a few tears where Jamie was involved. Love him.

“This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds – the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions.. the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.”

And even though I don’t like spoilers I will just add that you know me and happily ever afters… I crave them! I was so scared all throughout the book because I didn’t see how this would have a happy ending. But I am glad to report that it does in fact end perfectly.

There is however so much more that Meyer could do with this series. It has always been rumored that this would be turned into a trilogy but there was never any confirmation… that was until very recently. I am very happy that Meyer has finally admitted that she is in the process of writing a sequel, The Seeker. There is no release date as of yet but the fact it is being written is enough for me. Loved this book and the world it created and I will be very excited to continue in it.

“Happy and sad, elated and miserable, secure and afraid, loved and denied, patient and angry, peaceful and wild, complete and empty…all of it. I would feel everything. It would all be mine.”

Christine
Rainy Day Reads

From Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance

At A Glance
LOVES!!!! I loved almost everything about The Host. I am totally going to fangirl all over this review because I can’t help but squee every time I think of this book.

The Good
Holy Crap! I don’t even know where to start. Oh, oh, I know. If you hated Twilight, never fear, The Host is 100% better. Twilight for me was a fun story about obsession more than love that was badly written. The Host is very well written and has way more substance and character development.

I could go on and on about The Host and character development. That’s what made this book The Bomb. Oh yeah, I still use that 90’s phrase. I’m bringing it back! Each character made me feel so much emotion, so much joy, so much sadness that it felt like I was part of the story. I actually cried near the end of this book. Cried! Me, the unemotional robot actually cried! Stephenie made me care for everyone. They were all multi-dimensional characters with their own stories, even if their individual stories were not outright told. They had obvious depth and unique personalities. I had to know what was going to happen to them, what was going to happen next. It was a “keep reading or die of deprivation” scenario. Yup, I was that dramatic while reading this book.

The concept was somewhat unique. Sure, we have movies and books with alien’s taking over the human race, but The Host felt different. Because it’s from the alien’s perspective and how she comes to love the humans she is meant to dominate. We have Melanie, the body, the human, and Wanderer (Wanda), the soul, the alien. Though Wanda has control of Melanie’s body, Melanie refuses to let Wanda take complete control. She will not be silenced. So Melanie does the only thing she can, she shares memories of the man she loves, Jared, with Wanda. Wanda slowly falls in love with Jared through Melanie’s memories. But it’s when they set out to find Melanie’s lost love that the story really begins. Because this is not a story about an alien takeover. This is a story about friendship, love, and sacrifice. It’s about what a species is willing to do for survival. It’s also about finding out who you really are and what you are willing to do for the ones you love. The Host is more complex than it seems.

Wanda was one of the best characters ever. She has lived many lives, in many bodies. But it’s Melanie, a girl who won’t give up, that changes her outlook on life and humanity. Wanda takes risks for a love that has grown only from memories. But she finds mostly hatred from the rebels from which her “beloved” lives. Having Wanda fall in love with Jared because of Melanie’s memories was simply genius. I felt horrible for her when she is attacked and treated like an outcast amongst the rebels, even if I knew that it was logical for them to be cautious of her. Wanda is brave beyond reason though. She is strategic in what she says, what she shares. She knows how to stay alive. And her compassion for others is admirable. It’s still hard to grasp the close friendship Melanie and Wanda had considering the circumstances. Then Ian came into the picture and changes everything…for the better.

Melanie was also a very strong and determined character. She held on to her soul, her conscienceness and fought with Wanda for control over the body they shared. And her love for Jared was simply beautiful. It kept the whole story going. Jared was a little iffy for me at first, but I grew to love him like Wanda and Melanie did. He was somewhat hardened by the rough life humans now had to live, but he still held on to the kindness and compassion that seems to be ingrained into his person. Ian was a whole other story. He starts out as the bad guy (kind of) but he turns into the most amazing love interest ever. We should all be so lucky to have someone like Ian in our lives. He loves with wild abandoned and I admire him the more for it.

There was just enough action to keep my attention the whole way through. The Host was well written and the plot was well thought-out. The world-building was interesting and had me wanting to learn more. I love how Stephenie wrote a sci-fi book that had less to do with the human perspective. This was about the alien’s perspective. It was less about a hostile alien invasion and more about human nature in all its glory.

I actually read this book years ago and I remembered almost everything about it even today. I reread/skimmed it for this review, but it was unnecessary. This book left such an impression on me that the whole story was imprinted into my mind.

The Bad
I almost gave The Host my rare 6 stars, but I had to concede that it wasn’t perfect. Close, but not quite. The beginning is slow, as well as other parts of the novel. I still wanted to continue reading, I just wish more happened in certain areas.

The Snuggly
Stephenie labeled this book as Adult but it’s not. It has a YA feel, especially in the romance department. We only get some kissing and touching. But the sort of love triangle was freakin’ awesome. I really didn’t know how Stephenie was going to handle the relationships in this book since it was all very complicated. But she did an excellent job of giving us a satisfying resolution for each couple. Jared and Melanie, Wanderer and Ian, it was all so romantic and crazy at the same time.

Final Thoughts
The Host is one of my favorite books of all time. It may not be perfect but it’s pretty damn close, for me at least. You will grow to love each character with ease. And the storyline will leave you wanting more. Trully, this is not a book to be missed. Highly recommended.

Quotes
“It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.”

*****

“I love you,” I whispered.
“Don’t say that like you’re saying goodbye.”
But I had to. “I, the soul called Wanderer, love you, human Ian. And that will never change, no matter what I might become.” I worded it carefully, so that there would be no lie in my voice.
“If I were a Dolphin or a Bear or a Flower, it wouldn’t matter. I would always love you, always remember you. You will be my only partner.”

*****

“I held you in my hands, Wanderer, and you were beautiful.”

*****

“You are the noblest, purest creature I’ve ever met. The universe will be a darker place without you,” he whispered.”