The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Host: A Novel
Book Review: A True Masterpeice of Literature (A+ Grade)
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic, is a word I don't use too often when I talk about books. Only a select few can be given that term. In my case I have one such book that I compare all others to. If any book I read can come close to my number one cherished book of all time, that book will be called a "classic".
Stephenie Meyer is no fluke of author. Forget everything you know about her from her Young Adult vampire series. With The Host, she has written a near masterpiece about the worth of an individual's soul crossed with a spiritual element that most of us find within ourselves. I would not be surprised in the least is this book is taught in schools and is considered as one of the most influential novels of the 21st century.
The Host is a spin on aliens taking over the Earth much like the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. These beings travel from planet to planet to bring peace and well being to the creatures that live there. The aliens do this by inserting their souls in the host bodies and essentially eliminate the original being's soul. From that point the new alien soul lives the life of the host, but tranquil and happy. These invaders have done this on multiple planets and now they have set their sights on Earth. Humans are known as being destructive where they enjoy killing and starting wars. The invaders will take over the humans and make Earth a balanced planet full of peace and joy.
It has been five years since the invasion and most of humanity has been overtaken. A new soul will be inserted into a host. The host was a young girl who rather than be taken alive, tried to kill herself by jumping down an elevator shaft. But the aliens have a higher form of medicine and are able to save the girl's body. The soul they place inside is called Wanderer. Wanderer is a special type of soul because she has lived on more than six other planets. Wanderer has been a flower, bear, sea weed and even a dragon. Yes, there are many other life forms in this huge universe and Wanderer was lucky enough to see and be many things. When Wanderer awakens, she (and you will come to see why she is female) is very much out of sorts. She understands she would know the memories and feelings of her host body but something is so very wrong. In the past when a new alien soul takes over a host, the host's original soul is thought to have been erased. But this is not the case with Wanderer. Her host body, which was once Melanie Stryder talks to her in her mind and won't give up without a fight. Wander controls her body, but Melanie is like a ghost in her head and won't leave her alone.
Wanderer is a very kind and essentially peaceful being. But with Melanie, Wander can't stand her. Wanderer just wants to live a simple life as a human till she grows old and can move onto her next life cycle. But Melanie wants out and because Wanderer feels the same things as Melanie does and experiences the same memories, she and Melanie decide to go on a journey. Melanie wants Wanderer to find her people, meaning her younger brother Jamie and Jared, the young man who helps Melanie and Jamie survive from the aliens. Also, Melanie is in love with Jared and needs to get back to him. Since Wanderer is being pulled much like Melanie is into finding her family, Wanderer will go out and search for these humans even though it is very dangerous and she could be killed by them.
Wanderer will travel from Chicago, Illinois to the deserts of Arizona where he Uncle Jeb may be hiding out and here Jamie and Jared have gone to. Melanie had originally come alone to Chicago to find her cousin Sharon and that is where her life has ended. Wanderer treks through the desert and comes close to death until she is found, and by Jeb. There Wanderer's life is on the line. Jeb doesn't kill her right away but brings her to his "house" where he lives in some man made cave, very intricate ones where other humans are living and hiding out. That is where Wanderer and Melanie find Jared, Jamie and other humans who want her blood. She is the enemy and must be killed because they believe she may have brought the seekers (the alien police who round up the humans) to their hiding place. Jeb won't put Wanderer out of her misery but leaves that decision in the hands of Jared.
From that moment on, Wanderer is caged much like an animal or some could say a possible terrorist. The group of humans want her gone and it all comes down to Jared. Why Jared? Melanie belongs to him as he belonged to her. He alone holds her life in his hands. But there is one who doesn't want to see Wanderer hurt and that is Jamie. Jamie believes Melanie is inside, still and will not allow any body to harm his sister, even if it is only her body that remains.
As things progress between Wanderer, or as Jamie names her, Wanda, she and some of the humans has a tentative truce. Jeb does his best to assimilate her into their clan, but always with and eye and a gun point at her. There are Kyle and Ian, brothers who have very different distinct feels for Wanda. There is Doc who is the only doctor they rely on. There is Sharon, Melanie's cousin who was safe all along and her mother Maggie and Melanie's aunt. This group initially thinks of Wanda as an "it" but as time goes on "it" because a she to them. By Wanda speaking of her past lives, she becomes more human to them. And that is where Wanda's beliefs and ideals change. She is becoming more human everyday and even thought Melanie is so very much alive in her head, speaking to her, Wanda has become her own person. Whereas she has feelings for Jared because Melanie did, she has new feelings for Ian who returns them. And Jamie is the key to both Melanie and Wanda's humanity.
But the outside world is still overtaken by Wanda's people and the seekers are looking for her and the humans still in hiding. She must make a decision to stay within the body she was given or let Melanie come back. And if Wanda does leave, whose lives does she change forever?
At over 600 pages, The Host raises so many ethical and moral questions about the importance of a life and human nature. These questions are asked about Wanderer and her sacrifice for the greater good. But is the greater good served by eradicating a race of beings just because another set of beings believes it is right?
This is one of the many situations that arise that will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning page after page as you try to find out what will happen to Wanda and her new founds friends that were once her enemies. Some will remain enemies, while others cross that line into love.
Katiebabs
Book Review: A Very Pleasant Surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
I was more than pleasantly surprised and shocked while reading this book. I have the first three books of the Twilight series and I will admit that I am not really a fan of them. The writing in those books is not very well done, plus I have problems with the storyline and the characters in general. Plus with all the hype surrounding them, it just makes the reading seem more tedious. Therefore I approached The Host with rather low expectations and prepared myself for another Twilight except with aliens. Boy was I in for a shocker.
When I started reading, I was amazed at how I got sucked into the book. I really didn't expect to, because my experiences at reading Twilight had been more like let's get the book over with quickly. This time I found myself drawn into the story, wanting to savor every word. I didn't speed through this book like I normally would, instead I read the book in snippets every day. It's not the type of book to rush through as it pull you in and you find yourself engrossed into the story. I found the storyline very interesting and I'm not a sci-fi or fantasy fan at all. The invasion of aliens on Earth, the takeover of human bodies as hosts and the struggle for the remaining humans for survival was believable and not done in a cheesy sort of way. It's a plot that one could see actually happening and the underground network of humans very much like a bomb shelterplot line.
The relationship between Wanda and Melanie is very unique because it's like having a two headed monster, without the second head. At first Wanda is kind of unlikable because she isdoing things the way her species is used to, by taking control of everything with no regard for their human hosts. However as the story progresses she soon learns more about the human species and even falls in love with one of them. The whole love triangle bit was a bit weird and took a while to comprehend, but it's written very well. It's more developed dare I say than the Bella/Edward/Jacob storyline.
There are just two qualms I have with this book. The first is that I didn't really like the way of how both Melanie's and Wanda's thoughts are in the same italicized font. It would have been better if Melanie's thoughts had just been italicized or if Wanda's had been put in a different font. As it stands, it gets confusing when the two are "talking" to each other and there's no distinction between the two voices. My other qualm was that I felt the ending to be rather disappointing. I felt that the story had built up to an intense level and then just dropped off. I'm not sure if this is because there is going to be a sequel to the book or what, but it felt like a cop out at the end of the story.
Still I will say that I really enjoyed reading this book. For a change it wasn't a fast read for me. Instead I had a savor it, a little bit at a time each day. Thus it took me longer to finish this book than I normally would. However, I felt that this was the best way to read the book as it's not one to devour in a span of a few hours. If Stephenie Meyer continues writing in this fashion, I will definitely start picking up her books now.
Book Review: A Weak First Attempt
Summary: 1 Stars
I am sorry to say that this first adult fiction of Mrs. Meyers is very lacking in reader connection. As an avid reader of many genres I have put this book aside 6 times for anything more interesting and intriguing (a cookbook @ one point). After so many attempts to be drawn in to the book and involved with the characters I have finally given up on the book completely and will donate it to my local library. After so many attempts to be drawn in to the book and involved with the characters I only hope Mrs. Meyers' next attempt will have a better result of pulling the reader into the story.Book Review: A beautiful book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is such a beautiful book. Beautiful isn't exactly a word that fits books, in my opinion. I mean, a book can be witty, smart, funny, touching, anything...but hardly ever beautiful.
But the Host is. I don't know how Stephenie Meyer does it. It's not like the writing, the words themselves are beautiful. Her writing, in my opinion, is nothing very remarkable. Maybe it's just the brilliant story.
I'm not sure whether it's sci-fi, romance, or whatever else.
The planet has been invaded by those "Souls", who enter human bodies "Host bodies", and posses them. The idea, of course, is horryfing. But those aliens aren't actually bad. They are, in fact, so sweet and kind and caring that they have made the Earth a much better place than what it was when it was inhabited by humans.
Wanderer is a soul who has lived nine lives on nine different planets. Now she wants to try out Earth. They give her Melanie's body. Melanie is a rebel human, and she will continue rebelling even after being possesed. She stubbornly refuses to fade away. She is as present as ever in Waderer's, and her, mind.
Destiny makes Wanderer and Melanie unlikely allies, as they set out to find the people that they now both love.
This is and extremely touching story. It plays the chords of my heart with incredible skill.
Even the cover is strangely moving. I mean, there's nothing particulary great and original about an eye. But still, it kind of gives alittle squeeze to the heart.
But maybe that's just me.
Book Review: A bit slow
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading the twilight saga, I thought this book would of had some of the magic that inspired mrs. meyer but it didn't. Don't get me wrong i'm a sucker for love stories, the beginning was over done, a couple of chapter could have been summed to one. It's not until the middle of reading this super heavy book did the story captured my attention. However, i am curious to see in which direction does mrs. meyer take the story.