PennyG

I feel like I should be immensely ashamed for admitting this, but even after all these years, after my book tastes have evolved so much, I still don't hate this book. Sure, I can no longer say this book deserves 4 stars, and sure, I have issues with with this book, but I can give it no less than 3 stars.

That's right, slags, 3 stars.



I like this book.

Sure, I get it: you no longer respect me. That's fine, I'd feel the same were I in your shoes because, honestly? I'm just as surprised as you. I thought that during this re-read of The Host I'd be doing a whole lot of:



But, alas, I didn't do much of that, and it's completely weirding me out.

You may not know this about me: I spent the last 4+ years hating everything Stephenie Meyer. My incoherent "review" of Breaking Dawn is proof of how much I loathe the woman and everything she stands for. (It's also proof that, much like the rest of the world, I had been drinking the Twilight flavored kool-aid at one point).

But yeah, Breaking Dawn sucked. I noticed and got furious, and--HUZZAH!--the evil witch's curse was broken and I moved on. That's right, I never looked back (except for all the times I had to let everyone know how much I detested Stephenie Meyer), never picked up another SMeyer book, and I discovered that there are much better books to read and I pretty much lived Happily Ever After.

So, why did I pick this book up again? Honestly, I was doing some spring cleaning, getting rid of books, and I was just about to throw this book in my donation box, but then I thought: maybe I shouldn't. I did like it, didn't I? I couldn't remember, so I ran to GoodReads and read my original review, and I thought it would be hilarious to re-read this book and write a snarky review to commemorate the upcoming release of the movie.

But, yeah...not feeling the snark right now.

Don't get me wrong: this book isn't that good. It definitely has it's issues--I swear to Iesha, I will hunt SMeyer down and slap her if she doesn't stop using the following words: 'angelic', 'growl', 'brooding', 'snarl', 'irrevocably'... I could go on...

And yeah, I really don't care for how weak yet simultaneously long-suffering her protagonists are.

Don't even get me started on how much I don't like how she likes to pair young girls with older men. Or that, in this book in particular, a 20-something guy ends up with a (barely) 17-year-old girl who, by the way, is described as looking more like a 13-year-old. It's weird. It's creepy. I think we can all agree SMeyer has major issues in this area. Good thing she has all that Twilight money to pay for all the therapy she needs.

The amount of beatings a particular character receives is disturbing and also pretty ridiculous. She gets slapped, punched, kicked, drowned, strangled, and has her face slammed into walls and floors on numerous occasions. It's like she's Rhianna because she still loves two of the guy(s) who abuse her--although, yeah, they both apologize and that sort of behavior does stop.

Holy crap! I seem to have a lot more issues with this novel than I thought I did. Strangely enough, I still like it. I'll explain myself later when I have time and when I don't have a headache.


Original review, written 05/14/2008 (I originally gave it 4 stars): This is probably one of the more unique novels I have ever read. It's about a Soul named Wanderer and her new host body, which just so happens to (still) contain it's previous owner, Melanie Stryder. In the beginning, Wanderer struggles to rid her new body of the previous occupant's consciousness. Needless to say, Melanie and Wanderer don't like each other.

After months of dreaming about Melanie's past, Wanderer decides to try and find Melanie's loved ones. She is curious and is driven by something she's never really felt before: romantic love--because of Melanie's memories Wanderer discovers that she has feelings for Jared, Melanie's boyfriend. Wanderer is also yearning to know Melanie's little brother, Jamie. Wanda has protective, mother-like, feelings for Jamie.

Anyway, quite a bit more happens but I really don't have time to go into it all. Let me sum it up:

-crazy love quadrangle (not sure if 'quadrangle' is even a word but I don't really care).
-Hike through the desert
-Death threats
-attempted murder
-repeated beatings
-romantic make out sessions
-not so romantic make out sessions
-awkwardness
-abduction
-Love
-Hate
-theft
-gardening
-soccer games
-amateur surgery

Okay, so I am kind of being silly now. Seriously though, whether or not you like Sci-Fi, you should give this book a try.