REVIEW: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Pub. Date: May 2008, Little, Brown & Company

Format: Hardcover, 624 pages
Source/FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book. I was in no way compensated for this review and my opinions are my own.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

MY THOUGHTS

At the risk of shocking and offending, but hopefully not disgusting, Twilight fans, I'm just going to go out on a limb now and admit that I liked this book better than Meyer's Twilight saga. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Twilight books, but The Host grabbed me and didn't let me go until the end. Well, it grabbed me after I got past the first chapter. And of course, I had to let it go sometimes, otherwise I would have gotten fired from my job, but you get my drift.

Yes, you read that right earlier, I initially stopped reading this book after the first chapter. Part of that was because I left the book at the office over the weekend right after I'd started it, but for some reason I just never got back to it. When I finally did, I was not disappointed. The interactions between all the characters in the story just felt so real, which I guess is part of why I prefer this book to the Twilight books. I honestly thought this was a great study of humanity, emotions, and human nature; simply, what it means to be a human. I thought that Meyer did a brilliant job with her characterization, as well. I felt like I knew every character personally and even visualize them. Meyer's writing is also beautiful, if a bit wordy, but I honestly didn't mind the hundreds of pages it took for me to read the inevitable conclusion.

OK, OK, so I saw the ending coming--at least in terms of what happens with Wanderer a.k.a. Wanda (yeah, the nickname was cheesy)--how could this book end in any other way than it did?! And I did appreciate the amount of detail Meyer included to wrap the story up. At first, I wasn't sure I actually liked how events were playing out (when that chapter started) and I was initially devastated to think that I was wrapped up in a book destined to disappoint me after I had come to love it so much. But Meyer came through and convinced me that her way was the right way.

 

Other reviews of The Host:

Shooting Stars Mag ~ Maw Books Blog ~ Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Avid Book Reader ~ Deliciously Clean Reads ~ Fantasy Book Critic
Mis(h)takes ~ Teen Book Review ~ My Favorite Author
Reading, Writing and Ranting ~ Over My Head ~ Liv's Book Reviews
Dear Author ~ Fyrefly's Book Blog ~ J. Kaye's Book Blog
Ticket to Anywhere ~ The Fox Reads ~ Becky's Book Reviews
Reading Adventures ~ Ulat Buku in the City
A High And Hidden Place ~ Chick Loves Lit

Thursday Thunks (4.02.09)

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color yellow and the number 8554.

1. Did you play any April Fools jokes on anyone or have a joke played on you? No, and I didn't even hear or experience a good April Fools joke. How sad.

2. If you could be on any non-reality TV show as a guest star or star, which one would it be and why? Hmmm, great question. I'd have to pick Lost or 24, simply because they are my favorite shows--I love the casts on both.

3. Do you crack your knuckles? Oh yeah. And my back. And my neck. And most any other joing that can be cracked. I know, I'm a freak, right? But it brings so much relief when everything pops!!

4. If you remember your first day of kindergarten, were you scared or excited? If you have kids or grandkids, were they scared or excited? I don't remember much about it except for waiting for the bus at the foot of my driveway with the boy who lived behind in a house behind ours. I think was probably a mix of excited and nervous.

5. If you are in the shower, hear the fire alarm going off and smell smoke/see flames, will you just run out of the house with a towel on or grab some clothes & dress as you run out? I'd probably grab some clothes--at the very least my bathrobe, since it hangs near the shower--and anything else I thought I could save. Stupid, I know.

6. Last week the Thursday Thunkers asked about your Daddy (twice), so this week tell us a little about your Mom. If my mom were Catholic she'd be a saint. She's the most amazing person I know.

7. Which search engine do you use most often? I ♥ Google. I almost never use anything else.

8. Did you participate in Earth Hour? I didn't even know about it until after the fact, how sad as that. Next year (or whenever the next one is) I'll participate!!

9. What was the last new-to-you movie you watched? Was it in the theater or on DVD? Was it good? "Wanted" on DVD. I wasn't a fan.

10. If you do something embarrassing, do you laugh it off, or sit & worry about it? I laugh it off and a little while afterwords worry about it.

11. Where is your favorite spot in your home to sit & relax? Our couch or love seat. They're super comfortable.

Booking Through Thursday: The Library

This week's BTT post was suggested by Barbara:

I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

I became a member of our regional library system just a few short weeks ago. (I'm still embarrassed to admit that I lived in Georgia for over 5 years before joining a library.) I've only been a couple of times, but given the size of my TBR/Wishlist, I know that it will be imminently more practical to check some of these books out from the library. I can't be going brooke here!

I definitely used the library a lot when I was growing up in VA. We had two county libraries where I lived, and when I went to school I joined the regional library there as well. For one summer in high school, I served as a library volunteer. I have to confess that I don't remember it being a spectacular job, but it gave me a lot of time to become acquainted with the library's book collection. I can remember when they built the second library in my county and how excited I was about their larger selection of books. The downside was that it was WAY across the county and not very practical to get to, while I probably lived less than half a mile from the existing library.

As for the look and feel of the library, I guess I'm not picky--I'm really more concerned with the book selection. I definitely prefer for there to be a lot of seating, in case I want to stick around and read for a bit. Our library in Canton is among the sleek and new, but I wish it had a bigger book selection. Happily, as it turns out there are 7 libraries in the region, so I can have any other branches' books delivered to mine. I haven't taken advantage of that yet, but imagine I will sometime down the road.

I don't see how coffee shops and bookstores could truly replace the library. They aren't really based on the same concept, and after joining my library I have to say I'm a lot more inclined to support it more than I have been. I think libraries are instrumental in making books accessible to everyone and I'd never want to see them disappear.

March '09 In Review

Welcome to my first month-in-review post! Since I started my blog halfway through February, I didn't bother with a re-cap last month, and I was still getting the hang of things as it was. Now I feel settled into this great community of book bloggers, into which I really feel like I was welcomed with open arms. Thank you to everyone who is reading this for that!! On a personal level, this month has not been one of my best, but I do feel that I got a lot of books read and reviewed despite it all!

Books read and reviewed (15):

Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark
The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy
Rubies in the Orchard by Lynda Resnick
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
The Maidenstone Lighthouse by Sally Smith O'Rourke
At Risk by Patricia Cornwell
Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
Publish or Perish by Margot Kinberg

Star Ratings Summary:

5 stars: 1

4-1/2 stars: 4

4 stars: 4

3-1/2 stars: 3

3 stars: 2

2 stars: 1
1-1/2 stars: 1

Clearly I had an interesting mix of books, as far as my overall reading enjoyment was concerned. :-)

March's Top Pick

Drumroll, please... The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! Definitely the best book I've read so far in '09. Great story, great writing, great characters... I could go on and on, but you're better off just taking a look at my review if you haven't already. (A sneak preview into April: The Host by Stephenie Meyer is looking like another "best book I've read in '09" pick...)

March's Most Thought-Provoking Title:

Definitely The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. The Hunger Games was a close second, but the heavy themes of bioethics and morality in the story about Jenna and her family's sacrifices and choices made in order to keep her "alive" kept me thinking about this book long after I had finished it.

The Birth of Mystery Mondays

I apologize again if I'm stealing anyone else's idea of letting Mondays have a mystery theme, but I haven't seen anything out there yet! I've mainly stuck to reviews with Mystery Mondays, but I'm hoping to grow it into something that is more paticpatory for all of you out there reading my blog. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know! I'm currently working up several poll question ideas, among other things. I'll likely do a giveaway every once and awhile, too :-)

Blog Awards:

I truly appreciate my first two blogging awards, both received this month. It means so much to me that others out there enjoy my blog. I certainly enjoy sharing it with all of you!

Debbie from Wrighty's Reads gave me my first award, the Proximade Award!

Mishel from Mis(h)takes recently gave me the coolest award ever, the Zombie Chicken Award!

You should definitely check out both of their blogs and see why they're award-winners, too!

Blog Improvement:

I've finally settled on what I plan to keep as the look and feel of my blog! Many of the changes have just been made in the last week and I feel really happy about all that I've accomplished. There is still much I want to tweak, but I've already made most of the biggest changes I felt were necessary, including a review index, a link exchange policy, and header links for important information. I also worked hard to get myself listed in various search engines and blog directories, hoping to draw as many people to my blog as I can. I love sharing books and my thoughts on them with everyone and learning as much as I can from everyone else's blogs!! (Have you seen how long my TBR/Wish List has gotten?!) All this work has also led me to creating a grab button for Melissa's Bookshelf--check it out:

<a href="http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/mlbraves03/Blogger%20Stuff/?action=view&current=SiteButtonFinal.png" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Melissa's Bookshelf" src="http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/mlbraves03/Blogger%20Stuff/SiteButtonFinal.png" /></a>

Please feel free to use it on your site, if you'd like! I'm getting ready to work on a button area for all of your site buttons, as well!

Library Loot (sort of)

Library Loot is hosted by Alessandra from Out of the Blue and Eva from A Striped Armchair.

So I know you're probably thinking, sort of? How do you "sort of" have library loot? :-)

It's easy! I went back to return the books I had checked out a couple of weeks ago. (Sadly, I never got to My Lord John by Georgette Heyer, but I figure I'll check it out again when I have more time to devote to reading.) Well, right when you walk in, there's a set of shelves that has books for sale--50-cent titles on one side, 10-cent titles on the other. Naturally, even though I have a stack of probably two dozen unread books at home and a long wish list of books, I had to stop and browse. I ended up finding three titles on the 50-cent shelves, as I figured, for 50 cents, why not at least try some books out? They were hardcovers in really good condition, too! So here they are...

After the Fire by Belva Plain, published in April 2001. Here's the synopsis from BN.com:

What happens when the picture-perfect marriage dissolves?

In her stunning new novel, New York Times-bestselling author Belva Plain penetrates a shattered marriage to explore one of the most provocative issues of our time. Once again Plain proves herself the writer who sets the standard for family stories in a novel that is at once harrowing and deeply moving.

Gerald and Hyacinth had the kind of marriage others envied. She was a beautiful artist. He was a brilliant plastic surgeon. Theirs was a comfortable, happy home with two wonderful children. Then whispers of betrayal tainted Hy's perfect marriage. And in one terrible night she commits an act she will regret for the rest of her life. An act that gives Gerald the ultimate weapon: blackmail.

The price of his silence is uncontested custody of their two children. When her own beautiful, angry mother wants to know why she won't fight for custody, Hy can give no answers. But deep in her heart, Hy knows there is one question she must answer if she wants to free herself from a life of lies: What really happened that terrible night? Only then can she reclaim her children, her pride, her life—at last.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Not hard to understand why I picked it up...

The second book I found was Hide Yourself Away by Mary Jane Clark, published in May 2005. I've read a few of her mysteries before, and she's ridiculously similar to Mary Higgins Clark in more ways that just her name, but again, for 50 cents, why not? Here's the synopsis:

Being a KEY To America intern may be hazardous to your health. But even when one is nearly killed in an accident and another disappears, this year’s crop of hopefuls are oblivious to the menace. Grace Callahan arrives in Newport for a weeklong broadcast from"America's First Resort," determined to launch a future in television journalism. The KEY interns have been told that at the end of the summer one of them will get a full-time job. As their number dwindles, Grace must face the real danger that lurks in an otherwise idyllic town. But can she uncover a murderer who does not want the secrets--those lying buried beneath the city's fabled mansions--to come to light?

The last book I came across was Guilty as Sin by Tami Hoag, published February 1996. I still haven't read the other Hoag novel I picked up, but since I love thrillers and mysteries, I'm hopeful I won't be disappointed.

A cold-blooded kidnapper has been playing a twisted game with a terrified Minnesota town. Now a respected member of the community sits in jail, accused of a chilling act of evil. But then another boy disappears, triggering panic in tiny Deer Lake. Have the police caught the wrong man? Or is there an even more sinister mind calculating each perverse move?

Prosecutor Ellen North believes she's building a case against the right man—and that he has an accomplice in the shadows. Suddenly she's swept into their dark game, her role changed from hunter to prey. And soon she wonders if she's a match for her opponent...an evil mind as guilty as sin.

So since I actually bought these books from the library, that's why I consider them "sort of" library loot. And clearly I need a vacation where I do nothing but read, since I have so many books I need to get to. Oh well, maybe sometime this summer :-)