The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I am a little nervous about actually posting my first book review. I read to be entertained, not to judge, so this will not be to "review-y". Also, I realize that is is a little cheesy to pick "The Host" for my first review. It is not a classic, but about 2 weeks ago I just had the urge to re-read it.

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A brief description of the book is this:

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Earth in the not to distant future, has been taken over by an alien life form, that is inserted into human bodies and then controls them. There are a few humans that noticed the changes in time and went into hiding. The story is centered around the life of Melanie, a human in hiding. She saved herself and her brother from the aliens. While hiding out she meets the love of her life, no matter that he may be the Last man on earth, Jared. Life is now basically complete. Until she is caught and an alien is installed in her body. The twist? The story is told from the alien's perspective...

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There is romance, suspense, a good fight for survival and an ever present sense of danger.

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In that past, I used to think I am not into the whole Sci-fi world, but if this is Sci-fi I am a total convert. It is not overly fantasy or futuristic, in fact very earthy. (Okay, I must admit it, I grew up faithfully watching "Star Trek, The Next Generation", I someday dream of dressing up like a
treky" for Halloween, and I still think that Capt Sean Luke Picard is a very good looking man)

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But back to "The Host", I think that I enjoyed this book more with my second perusal. The first time I read it, due to the nature of the story, I was a ball of nerves. Those nerves ruined all the subtleties of the story. This time, with an idea of how it would all go, I was really able to take in the story and in turn really enjoyed it.

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My one complaint is this, it is not a face paced story, and that really frustrated me the first time. But not at all the second.

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As for content: There are some references to violence, but nothing too graphic. There are also some "hot Kissing scenes" that didn't go any further, not too inappropriate, but it did allude to things going further, in life past. There wasn't much language, maybe a few less that choice words, but nothing too hard and not very often. Overall, it is a book that I own, and will keep. I would let my teenager read this, but I would hope not until about 15, if I really had my way.

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If you've read this book, I would love to hear what you thought. Send me a comment, I am sure other's would appreciate them too.

The best books...

I am always on the look out for good books.


Finding these books can sometimes be a daunting task, I am very particular, not so much about subject, but content. I don't like smutty or violent things. And, while I read for mostly for fun, one of my lifetime goals is to read all the classics.


My sister Kristen who was/is? attending Gorge Wythe university working on her graduate degree, was telling me about the great statesman of the past. How they had honed their minds with great literature and reading at relatively young ages. This knowledge helped them to found our country. Many of the men were self taught, by studying the great works of the past.


She also told me about the concept of a "complete or whole" novel, and a "broken" novel (and forgive me, I might be a little jumbled in trying to explain this- and may have the wrong names for them but you'll get my point in one second). In the "complete or whole" novel there are clear consequences based on the characters moral choices. We see played out what ought to properly happen to those that make good and bad decisions. In a broken novel, there are no such consequences. People glorify the physical appetites without any restraint and no consequence.


In the Ensign this month (our church magazine) there was a wonderful article about our "Refined Heavenly Home" I really liked what it said about raising our thoughts, words and choices to a higher standard. But I was struck by this:


"President David O. McKay (a leader of our church) (1873–1970) was inclined to awaken daily at 4:00 a.m., skim read up to two books, and then commence his labors at 6:00 a.m. He could quote 1,000 poems from memory. He referred to the grand masters of literature as the “minor prophets.” He was a living embodiment of the scriptural admonition to “seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118)."


Isn't that incredible! first of all 4:00 AM- are you kidding me? WOW! I am so impressed!Second of all two books a day? DOUBLE -WOW! Lastly, I am so fascinated with the mental capacity to have over 1,000 poems memorized. I should start working on that today, I started memorizing some scriptures a while back, but failed pretty miserably keeping up with my first plan... I need to try again.


So, after all this rambling thought, I am going to start including some of the books that I have read. Now, I am sure they will not all be classics, and I may find that some books are "broken" but I will also have a label on the books so if you are ever looking for a good book you may be able to find it. I may not be a sharp critic, but occasionally maybe.

With that said, let the reviews begin.

Sorry, I'm mooning you!

As in NEW MOON by Stephenie Meyer!

Go watch the video, it looks SO GOOD!

I have never been on the Jake team, but I'm considering it.

I almost cried- but forgive me, I'm hormonal.