Stephanie Meyer, of the young adult Twilight series fame, has written a book for adults that will gain her many news fans. The Host brings together the best of science-fiction, psychological thrillers and the classic love story to create a novel that has broad appeal.

Wanderer comes to the planet Earth after experiencing eight full lives on other planets. Her race of Souls depends on the humans to be hosts. The problem is that Wanderer’s host will not go quietly; in fact she won’t go at all. Melanie’s consciousness remains, crowding the body the two share. Melanie enacts warfare, bombarding Wanderer with powerful memories of those she loves. In all of her lives, Wanderer has never experienced a world as vivid as this one or a people as full of both love and anger. Before long, Melanie’s love and strength of memory have Wanderer searching the desert for those she now thinks of as her own family, but will that family of humans accept the alien enemy that their beloved Melanie now contains.

This novel is spectacularly captivating and will have readers turning pages late into the night. It is the rare novel that crosses genre boundaries to evangelize new fans. Meyer has crafted a book full of engaging dialog that is paced with the perfect blend of action and introspection. A must read for any who have pondered the human condition.

After the Twlight series this book was a bit of a dissapointment. Although the character development is phenominal, the plot is slow and frustrating. It’s worth reading if you’re a fan of Stephanie Meyer…but otherwise you can skip it and you’re not missing out.

So, first things first, YES I have already read this book. I am in charge of the Kids and Teen dept at a bookstore, so I got to read Stephenie Meyers’ first attempt at Adult Fiction. I want to be able to tell concerned parents from experience that this book is indeed appropriate for their Twilight-loving teens.

Anyway, on to the book…well, I read it in three days, what does that say? It was phenomenal, just as all Meyers’ books are. The Host is impossible to put down with short chapters and cliffhangers of some sort at the end of each one.

This is indeed a more adult storyline, bodies being taken over, love triangles (squares really), and, yes, death. But the message of the book is just so wonderful…I’ll let you find that out for yourselves.