The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Welcome to Day Ten of the blog tour for The Host, the first book for adults by Stephenie Meyer! Yesterday Erin at Bestselling Books, had some interesting things to say about this non-vampire story, and tomorrow Hilarie from Never Not Reading will be sharing her thoughts on the book. Hilarie also has some great book giveaways, so definitely stop in.

Let me start by saying that sci-fi, especially aliens is really not my thing. I gave The Host a try because I thought that if everyone was loving the Twilight series so much, I should at least try the first adult novel by this popular author.
So, who is The Host? Melanie Stryder, a young woman who refuses to surrender to the invading aliens, that are trying to turn Earth into a paradise. Who is she hosting? A soul called Wanderer who has inserted itself into her brain and is attempting to take over her body, as the alien life-forces have done to almost all around her. Melanie fights back with her brain and is able to persuade Wanderer to help her search for her boyfriend and family members who are living in a hidden rebel cell in the desert. Melanie and Wanda are successful in their mission, and join the group, where Wanderer is at first hated but later given the name Wanda, after being reluctantly accepted. This changes Wanda's views on humanity, opening the window to her having emotions of her own that bring about an interesting love triangle.
As I stated, I am not a sci-fi person, but I really enjoyed The Host and was compelled to read it when I should have been doing other things. I think the author herself explains this very well when she says, "Reading The Host doesn’t feel like reading science fiction; the world is familiar, the body you as the narrator are moving around inside of is familiar, the emotions on the faces of the people around you are familiar. It’s very much set in this world, with just a few key differences. If it weren’t for the fact that alien stories are by definition science fiction, I wouldn’t classify it in that genre."
If this review has intrigued you to try The Host, visit Bermuda Onion who has 5 copies she is giving away!
To learn more about the book and Stephenie Meyer, visit the official site for The Host. There is a cool trailer for the book and lots of background information.