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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
I wasn't expecting much from this book. I had spent months trying to avoid it, because I thought that it would follow in the same vein as the Twilight series. So, let me tell you that I am impressed and pleasantly surprised at this.
The plot was interesting, and gave the inner sci-fi nerd in me a sense of satisfaction. Honestly, I loved the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and all other films and novels that follow through with the same general premise. But never have I found anything written in the perspective of one of the body-snatchers, so it was a refreshing and original change of pace. It was a book that was just about made for me. The basic idea of 'souls' being these parasitic things was so intriguing, and a breath of fresh air from all the silly YAs I've been reading lately.
The book read like a true adult novel, the language was well-defined and consice, completely atypical of Meyer's over works, which definitely surprised me.
The characters, I loved. Melanie and Wanda, were so different from each other, and actually seemed like real, proper characters. They were the opposite of the cardboard cutouts that most of the characters in the Twilight saga were. It really was so refreshing to read about characters that may have been real people, for all I knew, especially when written by Meyer.
Because of Meyer's growth in this book, she has redeemed herself, and I can no longer look at her as the worst author on the face of the planet. I think that this book has made me... a fan. *gasp*
Okay, so those were the good things, and now, for some of the negatives:
Sometimes, the pace was a bit off, and at times, the story ran so slowly. There were so many unnecessary scenes, that could have easily been cut out without changing the story one bit. I estimated that about 200 pages could have been removed, without hindering the story. So, despite Meyer's progress in writing, it seems that she doesn't know how to 'kill her babies' (as the ladies from Let the Words Flow would say).
The relationships were a bit poorly written, especially the one between Melanie/Wanda and Jared. It seemed off, and rushed, and certainly doesn't feel real, but it seems that Meyer is physically unable to write a real romance between the two main love interests (in the case of Bella and Edward).
I was terribly annoyed at the last 100 pages or so, when Wanda decides to save the Seeker (or Lacey. But after 500 pages of being called 'the Seeker', it's hard to adjust to this new name). But when Wanda wanted to allow herself to die, to be buried next to Wes and Walt, I thought that that was the PERFECT ending. Death, although saddening as a final resolution to any story, can sometimes be the most effective tool. It was certainly effective in this case... until the unnecessary last chapter and epilogue, which completely destroyed the pace and mood that the previous chapters set. A poor ending, making it so that Wanda could live. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for happy endings, but in this case, it felt wrong, forced and didn't feel completing. I felt robbed. :(
The plot was interesting, and gave the inner sci-fi nerd in me a sense of satisfaction. Honestly, I loved the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and all other films and novels that follow through with the same general premise. But never have I found anything written in the perspective of one of the body-snatchers, so it was a refreshing and original change of pace. It was a book that was just about made for me. The basic idea of 'souls' being these parasitic things was so intriguing, and a breath of fresh air from all the silly YAs I've been reading lately.
The book read like a true adult novel, the language was well-defined and consice, completely atypical of Meyer's over works, which definitely surprised me.
The characters, I loved. Melanie and Wanda, were so different from each other, and actually seemed like real, proper characters. They were the opposite of the cardboard cutouts that most of the characters in the Twilight saga were. It really was so refreshing to read about characters that may have been real people, for all I knew, especially when written by Meyer.
Because of Meyer's growth in this book, she has redeemed herself, and I can no longer look at her as the worst author on the face of the planet. I think that this book has made me... a fan. *gasp*
Okay, so those were the good things, and now, for some of the negatives:
Sometimes, the pace was a bit off, and at times, the story ran so slowly. There were so many unnecessary scenes, that could have easily been cut out without changing the story one bit. I estimated that about 200 pages could have been removed, without hindering the story. So, despite Meyer's progress in writing, it seems that she doesn't know how to 'kill her babies' (as the ladies from Let the Words Flow would say).
The relationships were a bit poorly written, especially the one between Melanie/Wanda and Jared. It seemed off, and rushed, and certainly doesn't feel real, but it seems that Meyer is physically unable to write a real romance between the two main love interests (in the case of Bella and Edward).
I was terribly annoyed at the last 100 pages or so, when Wanda decides to save the Seeker (or Lacey. But after 500 pages of being called 'the Seeker', it's hard to adjust to this new name). But when Wanda wanted to allow herself to die, to be buried next to Wes and Walt, I thought that that was the PERFECT ending. Death, although saddening as a final resolution to any story, can sometimes be the most effective tool. It was certainly effective in this case... until the unnecessary last chapter and epilogue, which completely destroyed the pace and mood that the previous chapters set. A poor ending, making it so that Wanda could live. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for happy endings, but in this case, it felt wrong, forced and didn't feel completing. I felt robbed. :(
I really like the book, but I really, really didn't like the movie.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So if I had read this as a teen during my twilight phase I would have been totally obsessed - and as it goes now, being 28, I still liked a good chunk of it. However, the fmcs being yet again more teenage girls in one way or another who get essentially groomed by older and very toxic men? Gross. You could tell this was written from a whack ass religious perspective and it really took away from the actually genuinely cool story beats that do actually exist in this book. Oh well. Get well soon, Steph.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
No
Not the best, dragged in bits, but overall an entertaining escapist read with good writing style.
This book was wonderful. I loved Twilight for its over the top hormone-addiction romance and thrills, but The Host was much more realistic and believable. It is about being human, and the relationships are developed much more slowly and subtly and grow on you. I highly recommend this!
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No