Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Host

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

cowboylikestoread43's review

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Significant age gap between protagonist and love interest, 17-26. Pedophilia.

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reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I know this book and its author have some deep-seated issues, which are worth discussion, but in spite of everything I love this book. Part of it is nostalgia; my parents are both Stephenie Meyer fans and took me and my cousins to see the movie in theaters when I was 11-or-so and it's become a fond memory. I've read this multiple times in the last several years and I cry every time. I think the premise is so unique and interesting (although to be fair, I don't read much sci-fi), the character relationships are so engaging, and the ending is so fulfilling. I'm a sucker for "what does it mean to be human?" themes in novels. Maybe it's not the deepest or most intellectually stimulating read, but not everything has to be, and this is just a for-fun kind of book.

Concerning elements to keep in mind:

the author is part of the LDS (Mormon) church
problematic age gaps featuring teenagers (minors) with 20-somethings
hetero- and cis-normative
subtle ableism with how souls determine which humans are fit to be host bodies (the others are "discarded")
the author is perhaps a little too forgiving of both sides: the souls are essentially the worst possible kind of colonizers but they are almost universally benevolent which seems contradictory, and even the most violent of the humans is forgiven by the soul he tried to kill

Maybe it's illogical for me to still rate this book so highly considering this list, but I rate books on enjoyability and I had a great time rereading this.

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dylpickles's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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rosegoldrose's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Finally re-read this book after 6 years or so. I didn't remember much of the details, so it felt like a brand new experience even though I was already familiar with the plot. I fell in love with the (at times, frustrating) characters, they truly started to feel like a family to me and it was hard to let them go at the end.

This book made me tense with worry, giggle at the lighthearted moments, wipe the seemingly endless stream of tears... It made me feel and most importantly; think, about what it is exactly that makes someone human.

This book is the only exception to my hatred toward love triangles, even though I still have my opinions on this one.

Some of the author's... decisions, were definitely questionable at best, and immoral at worst - therefore the 4 star rating even though I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely problematic, considering the targeted audience.

I'd love to read a sequel as I really wanted to see some of characters interact more and there are definitely more stories to be told, but that probably won't be happening.

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abigail_af's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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libbyhb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is going to be a long one. Listen, I have loved this book since it first came out when I was like, 13 and I complained to my dad that the library hold list was too long so he spontaneously drove me to Barnes and Noble to buy it. I've read it an embarrassing amount of times (at least 10 times) to the point where when I was listening to the audiobook this time around I would think the next line in my head before she read it.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, fuck Stephenie Meyer and her backwards-ass gender norms and Mormonism and racism (especially w/r/t the Quileute tribe). As I get older, obviously those values become more and more clear with my rereads. The most fucked up thing evident in this book is her obsession with teen girls being in relationships with grown men - Melanie is 17 when she gets with 26-year-old Jared, and Wanda

is put in a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD's body at the end and lies about her age to be with mid-20s Ian

. You can explain it away in the text all you want, but it's still WEIRD. Also she attempted some diversity by making some of the characters have "caramel" skin or whatever, but they were barely fleshed out as actual characters.

Okay but I do still love this book. I love the worlds - the Soul-world, the human-world in the caves, all of the other non-Earth worlds. They're so detailed and thorough and I can close my eyes and picture each place perfectly. I also like the relationships, although I still fail to find any reason to root for Jared in any way. He's just annoying. I like the pacing and the way the story plays out - although I'll forever be pissed there's no sequel. I read this via audio this time (for the first time) and I liked the narrator for the most part, although some of the lines were read with a tone that wasn't quite right IMO. This book will always have a hold on me!

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mfrank's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was one of my favorite books when I was younger and I haven't read it since I was in maybe 7th grade. I decided to reread it, nervously, because I've recently noticed that a lot of the books I loved as a kid don't hold the same love and fascination for me as an adult. I love them for the nostalgia factor, but the story no longer holds up or makes me happy and excited in the same way. I am so happy to say that this is not one of the those books. If anything, I felt more emotional reading it this time around than when I first read it. I read this book long before I ever read any tragedies or books with sad endings, and reading this now conjured up a lot of those feelings. I felt more connected to Wanderer and her fear of losing everything and having to give up love and her struggle of not fitting in where she felt she should belong. I have always cited this book as the exception for my distaste of love triangles because although there are only three bodies involved in the love triangle in this book, there are four minds. I truly still love this book.

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