Book: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyers
Pages:
Reviewed by: Amanda
Amazon.com Price: $12.50
Purchase: Here

I would like to start off by explaining that I am not a big fan of the romance novel genre, and for that reason, I have not read Stephenie Meyer’s entire “Twilight” saga that she wrote before publishing this novel. I went in to this book because I was told “The Host” was very different from the love triangle of Edward, Bella, and Jacob that dominates that series. Well, it is, and it is not.

“The Host” is not a young adult fantasy novel, first of all. It is science fiction. In the novel, a race of parasites has begun taking over the human beings on Earth, and there are few humans left to mount a resistance. The idea is that these worm-like creatures become a part of their hosts, and cannot be removed without damage to the body they occupy. Eventually, the consciousness of the person is gone completely. The idea was actually very reminiscent of “The Animorphs” series I read when I was in middle school, except that this novel is no juvenile fiction.

It is much more mature than a children’s book series. I do, however, disagree with those who said the subject matter was more mature than the vampire-werewolf novels. The theme of the novel is most definitely love, true love, as it is in Meyer’s other books. It is dressed up as a clever science fiction story, but it is really just romance and commitment to family that fill the pages. A lot of similar story arcs occur.

The parasite is the main character in this story, and she is inside a host named Melanie who refuses to give up her body. The alien, known as Wanderer, finds herself beginning to care for the people in Melanie’s memories, and that is where the story takes off. There is a drive through unknown cities, hikes through the desert, and a betrayal of her own race when she finds independent human beings. And all of this is done in the name of love.

I liked the story idea, but I did not care for the execution. One of the things that turned me off to Meyer’s work originally was that I did not care for her writing style. Her stories are good, but I feel like they could be written better. Make no mistake, this book is much better written than her others, but it still did not grab me. It was an easy read, partly because I found many of the plot points and the ending predictable. If you liked the “Twlight” series, and you are not put off by the insertion of parasites into human ears, chances are you will find something to like in the book. It just was not good enough for me.