Stephanie Meyer's The Host tells
the story of a world that has been invaded by beings known as Souls. There are very few humans left on Earth, as almost all human bodies have been invaded and
taken over by the Souls now living inside of them. The Souls take over a human
life, destroying the human soul and completely reigning over their being.
Wanderer, a powerful soul who has lived many years, invades Melanie’s body, one
of the few whole humans left. But Melanie refuses to go down without a fight.
She refuses to let her personality fade and her soul be destroyed, and what
ensures is a mental struggle like no other, a strange alliance, unexpected
desires and shocking revelations.
THE BOOK: An absolutely clever read. I was hooked from the very start. Granted, the first few pages may have started just a
tad bit slow, but there was reason for it, one you’ll find out soon enough as
you delve further into the pages. I’m a Stephanie Meyer fan, indeed I've read
the Twilight sequels and was impressed by her writing techniques.
Storyline aside, when authors weave words as good as Meyer does it, that always
gets me hugely excited and leaves me much impressed.
Wanderer is one of the most powerful
‘soul’ invaders, but you can’t help empathizing with and rooting for her. You watch through your mind's eye as she falls in love without warning, a forbidden love she has no business
getting into, but you understand it, and you feel it as she feels it. You feel
almost guilty, because you’re supposed to be on Melanie’s side - the good side
- and not on the enemy’s. But you can’t help it. And you have to read it to
understand why you won’t be able to help yourself. It was definitely
emotionally packed. An alien love story for those who love alien stories. I never cared much for alien reads in the past. This book changed my mind.
THE MOVIE: I was able to understand the movie only because I’d read
the book. I knew why certain scenes resulted the way it did; I knew why
people’s expressions were the way it appeared. However, if you haven’t read the
book prior to watching the movie, you might not understand much. You might find
it a little slow, but this is because a large part of the book’s storyline
occurs in Melanie and Wanderer’s mind, and it may have been a little difficult
trying to depict all of that on screen. Because I’d read the book, I was able to
enjoy the movie to a moderate degree. It brought to life what I’d been reliving
in my mind ever since I read the book. All in all, it was a good movie, but not
the greatest depiction of a book on screen. I’d say the book was much better in
this case.
GENRE: Romance, Paranormal
VIOLENCE: Low
COARSE LANGUAGE: Low
SEXUAL CONTENT: Moderate
MATERIAL CONNECTION: Purchased for reading pleasure only
