Monday, May 19, 2008

Wanda, Mel, and The Host


This is my first post- I've been in this forever, but I haven't had the chance to read any of the books yet until now.


I'm Andrea- Sarah's friend from New York. No, I'm not actually from there- I live in Utah, but I think I still hold the title of Sarah's favorite missionary. I just got married and life is good so onto the book.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I l felt like the characters were real, that the alien invasion could have possibly happened. I love how Stephenie makes fantasy seem like reality. That is what made me love the Twilight series. I felt like Edward was really running around out there. I also felt like Wanda was out there running around. And the caves weren't far out- they had a water source and farmed. A little out there, but believable.


I felt like two themes ran through the book: violence and love. I thought Stephenie clearly stated that love could overcome violence- and it did in every instance. She didn't however say that love could overcome a grudge just like with Sharon and Maggie. I didn't think they were developed enough, but I think she was showing that antagonism can develop and last if you allow it to.


I thought the book was freakishly like Eclipse. Why the love triangles? I didn't like how Wanda/Mel laid there with Ian and Jared. How she would kiss one and then the other. I didn't see how Wanda's love for Jared could possibly grow after the way he treated her. I also thought she should've been able to differentiate between her emotions and Mel's. Her attachment to Jamie was understandable- he showed her love right from the beginning. I just didn't buy how much she loved Jared. It dented the Ian/Wanda relationship.


I wasn't happy with how long it was. I understand that gaining trust takes a long time, but she was in that little cave prison forever. Stephenie could have sent the boys on a raid just days after she was there. The story had a little drag in the middle and at the end when Wanda thought she was going to die and was thinking through everything. I admit I skipped over a few parts just to get there.


I also wanted to see Melanie's and Jared's reunion. If she does another book after this, I think it should be from the eyes of Melanie and that way we could see it.


A great and fast read- I would recommend this book to anyone.

1 comment:

Sarah said...

You still hold the title of my favorite missionary ... though I am growing fond of Payne ;) Good thing for you that she's going home soon ... we wouldn't want you to lose your spot as my favorite!

I also love how Stephenie makes fantasy seem like reality! She's really good at it, and it's one of the things I enjoy most about her books.

The book was longer than I was expecting, too! When we went to buy it, I was like "that's it?" and Cory was like "it's really long!" But of course I loved it ... but it was pretty long. I originally thought (after reading all the teasers) that Mel was going to spend most of the book looking for Jared/Jaime. I was kind of surprised when she found them so fast - and then spend the rest of the book working things out. It definitely went a different way than what I was picturing. That being said, I really did love it.

Yeah and I wanted to see Jared and Mel's reunion, too. It didn't say too much about them after Wanda gave Mel back her body. But I like that it ended up with the love triangle (rectangle?) resolved. Everyone ends up with love and happiness ... I'm such a sucker!! I would like to see something from Mel's perspective though. I HOPE she writes another one!!

~Sarah