The Host

I finished reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer tonight. It was interesting. It wasn't one of my favorite books. I know that a lot of people I've talked to really liked the book. I did like the ending, though I would have thought it more interesting if Wanda was placed in Ian's body at the end. Stephenie Meyer's endings are just all sewn up too nicely into happy endings. The gushyness of the book bothered me, as did the weakness, helplessness, and submissiveness of the main female character. The love triangle, or should I say square since there were 2 people in one of the bodies, was very interesting. Though, I did find it very fickle of Jared to go from beating up Wanda to wanting to hold her hand and kiss her. The first two-thirds of the book I found very boring--life in the caves. It got more interesting when they started going on raids. The most heart-pounding part of the book was when they were pulled over by the Seekers. The book illustrated some very interesting concepts, though--prejudices, fear, trust, peace vs. violence, choice vs. influence. And yet, these themes were merely glanced over, and not thoroughly explored. I also found very interesting the scene with the family playing in the park (in which the parents were body-snatchers with their biological child) and its implications (the way that society was changing and the possibility of peace between humans and aliens). The book was very creative. It was a good read, but not as gripping nor as thought-provoking as others I've recently read.