"The Host" by Stephanie Meyer

There are several things a person should know about this book.  First of all, it is not ‘Twilight’.  While there is romance suffused throughout the pages, it is not the teenager romance of Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ series that may have turned away a few adults.  I say ‘may’ due to the fact Meyer’s writing has managed to draw a significant adult crowd regardless.  “The Host” is a story of adults.  It contains no vampires, no werewolves, no mythical, supernatural elements dating back thousands of years.  Yes, there are aliens, but the aliens are merely a vehicle Meyer successfully employs to explore the theme of this incredible tale: the essence of humanity.  How better to do so than from the vantage point of someone who is not?  Take, for example, the existence of the two (Melanie and Wanderer) within the one body.  Who among us has not struggled with the two voices, one telling us to go this way, the other saying the other?  ‘The Host’ is a novel study in what it means to be human.