The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Before I begin, I would like to apologize to all the avid science fiction readers; especially Claire, Greth, & Jessica (my co-workers). I hate science fiction, no I loathe science fiction with my entire being. (Sorry ladies :) I just find that with all the wonderful things that do exist, why must there be books that delve into other planets, ray-guns, made up creatures, etc. Now I can hear some of you yelling, what about imagination? Have you ever heard of it? Yes, I love imagination and I would like to think that my imagination is very well developed; but for some unknown reason I just cannot bring myself to read, let alone enjoy, a science fiction novel.....until this point.
When I learned that Stephenie Meyer was going to be writing an adult novel, I was thrilled. (I must admit I was a little disappointed that it would be coming out before she finished her Twilight series, but I won't get into that, it is a whole other blog :) When I learned her first foray into the adult section of the bookstore was to be in science fiction, I think I actually cringed. Being a Meyer fanatic, I began to look into this new book with biased eyes. But after much deliberation and several times changing my mind, I thought what the heck, it can't be all that bad, can it? As the day of its release got closer, I got more and more excited, almost like a child with the upcoming holiday season. When it finally got into my anxious little hands, I as psyched! I know not to judge a book by it's cover, but this cover was amazing and it was a book by Stephenie Meyer.
I went straight home from work, and I settled in with the goal to read this book by the end of the evening. This is where some of my excitement died down. Like her other books, she grabs you right away, but unlike the Twilight series, I could put this one down pretty easy. What is going on, I thought, where is the hook that won't let you go? (In my eyes, this book was up against some pretty stiff competition, please keep that in mind :) After some re-reading, and taking some breaks to surf the TV, I decided that it was now or never. After the first 100 pages, I was hooked!! Only stopping to get something to drink, and to move so my legs didn't fall asleep, at 3:30am I had finished the newest book by Stephenie Meyer. After finishing the last paragraph, I was giddy! A huge smile lit up my face, and I was wide awake; so in love with this book I re-read the last 2 chapters, just to savor that wonderful feeling of finishing a book that you love, and to remember the characters that have captured a part of your heart.
Like I said earlier, I hate science fiction; but I think what I loved so much about this particular book was that she was able to make the non-human characters so humane. For the first time, I was excited to read and learn about an alien. In this book, time is not identified, so it could be present day or years in the future; but our human bodies have been taken over by "souls". Using our bodies as a host, hence the title, they have taken over Earth, along with numerous other planets. Yet, there are a group of humans who do not want to lose themselves to the "souls", and have set up rebellion camps all over. Meet Melanie, a rebel human, who has got caught and has a "soul", named Wanderer, put into her body. But Melanie does not die out, and Wanderer is caught sharing a body with this strong, independent person who knows where a camp of rebel humans are. Not only does Wanderer start to like Melanie, she is bombarded by the feelings Melanie has for another human named Jared. Meyer deftly weaves a very PG romance plot, into all the action, but unlike her previous novels this love story involves 3 souls and 2 bodies.
The Host is considered an adult novel but I truly believe that any person, young or old, will enjoy this wonderfully written tale of love, survival, but most of all finding out who you are in any type of skin.