Stephenie Meyer’s: The Host

book-binding-mustreadWith the film adaptation being released this Friday, I figured it was time to review Stephenie Meyer’s The Host. The Host is a teen sci-fi/romance novel that is often compared to Meyer’s other famous/infamous (depending on who you ask) series, Twilight. There are certainly some similarities. The story revolves around the fate of a young woman, Melanie Stryder, as she struggles to overcome the Soul inhabiting her. In the universe of The Host, Earth has been invaded by a parasitic alien race called the Souls, which infect people and take over their bodies. As you can expect from a teen romance novel, Melanie falls in love with an uninfected human, who is part of a group of true humans that Melanie belonged to. On the other hand, Melanie, still inside of her own body, falls for another boy, which begins to cause some intense internal conflict. This is all well and good, but you are probably wondering, “where does the main plot arc come in?” Well…that is pretty much it. Yes, there is an overall story revolving around the interaction and struggle between humans and Souls, but it is loosely influential in the main “point” of the story: this complicated love…square? I get that the book is intended for teenage girls (trust me, I get it), but, honestly, I can’t see it as a very compelling read even if I was a teenage girl. The story has this epic, grand setting, yet really drops the ball when it comes to handling the scenario. Meyer’s writing gets the job done, but there are multiple instances where the writing is just clumsy, drawing well-read readers out of the story. To those who are determined to hate the novel/movie based on Meyer’s authorship of Twilight, you aren’t being completely fair. Meyers HAS successfully crafted some interesting ideas in this novel regarding the nature of the Souls. If you are a sixteen-year-old girl who wants a love story loosely wrapped in a new setting, check out The Host. A word of warning to those looking for an edgy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers-type novel: stay away. You will not find what you are looking for here.

Source: Jake Depew, Assistant Editor