Couldn't Put it Down

The Host
By: Stephanie Meyer

I cannot remember the last time a book has held my interest in this way when it wasn't about a young wizard with a scar on his forehead. The Host followed me everywhere, I read it in restaurants, in the bar by the theatre, before work, before bed. In a weekend's time, the book was finished, sitting next to me, my mind begging for more story (even though I feel the story stopped at a respectable place).

To make a reference that few of you will understand, to me, The Host is to Stephanie Meyer what Firefly was to Joss Whedon. Whedon created the successful Buffy the Vampire series which saw fairly decent success. With that under his belt, the networks allowed him to create his baby, the odd, yet brilliant science fiction series Firefly. Meyer also created a world of vampires that saw some success, but to me The Host reads as an odd yet brilliant novel that her publishers may not have taken a chance on if not for the success of the Twilight series.

Imagine a world where humans have been taken over by an alien species. They take over human bodies and live their lives. Imagine that you are one of these aliens, and you're placed in a body full of emotions and heartache that you don't understand. Imagine that the original human's mind is still there with you.

Don't imagine - read the book. I would not have picked this up on premise alone and I would have missed out on a beautiful story of friendship, love and what it truly means to be human.