The Host by Stephenie Meyer

     In the Host the Earth is invaded by "body snatching" aliens. They are small, wormlike creatures that embed themselves in the brain's nerve-endings of sentient beings, in our case humans. In doing this they take over the person's body, have full access to their memories, and silence the actual owner of the body (in most cases.) 
     The book starts off with Wanderer, a "soul" as they like to refer to themselves, coming to Earth and being inserted into a human who is part of the last believed human resistances, Melanie Stryder. Soon Melanie proves to be difficult host, when she will not be silenced. It isn't very far into the book when Wanderer soon becomes sympathetic towards Melanie and the rest of humanity. Together, like it or not, they set off to find and protect those people that Melanie, and inadvertently Wanderer, love; Jared, Melanie's love, and Jamie, Melanie's kid brother. However only being able to "see" Wanderer in Melanie's eyes the resistance, including Jared, imprison Wanderer, and even try to kill her. As time goes on, Wanderer, soon renamed Wanda, proves she is not a threat to anybody and that she is there because of the feelings she inherited from Melanie for Jamie and Jared. But Wanda separately builds up other relationships with the members of her small human family, and she has to decide what's more important? Her own happiness and life or the happiness and safety of those she's come to love?
      I first heard about this book from a friend back when we were in high school. She'd just read the Twilight saga and liked it so she ended up reading the Host. (2 things to note here... when I say like I mean liked not LOVED. She wasn't a crazy fan girl. And secondly this was back when all these books FIRST came out and the movies weren't even a sparkle in Hollywood's eyes.) I love aliens about as much as the next girl... Actually I don't. They've never been my "thing". So when she persistantly recommended this book over the next few years, all I did was look at her and give the passive and SAFE answer, "Oh sure. When I get the time I'll read it. It's on my To-Read list..." blah blah blah. We've all heard that line when we recommend a book that someone finds less than fascinating. (Sorry Tree!!!!) I'm even more ashamed to say that her persistence wasn't what persuaded me to read the book... it was the movie. I'm sorry all of you like me that hate it when someone only reads a book because of the movie. One day after work I was tired and wanted to relax to a new movie so I turned on the Host. I rather enjoyed the movie and some of its underlying themes so I thought, "Why not try out the book?" Well like any book, it was spectacularly better than the movie. I know I know... DUH!!!
     I do have one small confession to make... I'm completely, head over heels in love with Ian O'Shea in the book. I think the undying devotion and eventual love he has for Wanda, a parasite that so many believe is part of the enemy, touched me and made it so easy to gravitate towards him as my favorite. I also love that he is at the heart of a very important message that the book presents, that it isn't what's on the outside that matters but what's on the inside. All throughout MOST of the book, everybody that knew Melanie, can't see past the crime that Wanda committed at someone else's hands, stealing Melanie's body. At first In hates her too and even tries to kill her, but afterwards he feels overwhelming remorse because he got to see something nobody thought the parasites were capable of, selflessness and sacrifice towards a human. Afterwards Ian works very hard to prove himself trustworthy to Wanda. Through their mutual trust of each other Ian gets to see Wanda as herself, he even gets to the point where Wanda can see him like a soul. He doesn't see her as some parasite that stole Melanie's life but as someone who deserves a life just as much as any other human. He loves her not for how she looks, whether she looks like Melanie, a little silver centipede, or as her finally and permanent self, he loves her for how she thinks, acts, and treats others. Not many people can say they make opinions of people based on their insides, on their souls. We all want to think we "judge" others not on their outward appearances but for what's on the inside, but I don't know a single person who doesn't judge partially on how someone looks. I mean we all are guilty of starting a conversation with someone purely because we think they're attractive or because they look a certain way, at least once in a while. Or for that matter NOT talking to someone because of how they look. I think this is one of the best examples I've seen in books of how it really looks to love or even like someone purely for how they are instead of how they look.
     I've heard and read plenty of reviews that complain about the length and pace of the book. Yes the book, in the eBook version I read, is just over 600 pages, large by a lot of standards. There were moments in the book that it could have gone at a faster pace, but there weren't many of those moments. In general went at a very leisurely pace. Granted there are some that prefer a more fast paced read. I think that Stephenie Meyer did a good job countering the pace, which to some could be a problem, by having what I believe is a very strong plot. Again I'm not a big alien fan, in my opinion once you've seen or read one alien story you've seen/heard them all. But it was the way that Stephenie Meyer did this story that made it different in its own little way. The mixture of extraterrestrial involvement, end of the world,

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