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The Host
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The Host (2008) (edit title/settings)

by Stephenie Meyer (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

The earth has been invaded by an alien species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact so that most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human:... read more

Summary edit see section history

Melanie "Mel" Stryder is one of few "wild" humans remaining on earth after invasion. After "insertion" into a human body, alien souls erase the human occupant and establish a claim over the body and mind. Wanderer is a soul who has lived on eight different planets previously, with Mel being... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Melanie "Mel" Stryder is one of few "wild" humans remaining on earth after invasion. After "insertion" into a human body, alien souls erase the human occupant and establish a claim over the body and mind. Wanderer is a soul who has lived on eight different planets previously, with Mel being her ninth host body. Upon waking inside her new body, Wanderer is shocked by the power and vividness of human emotions, memories, and senses, and quickly learns that Melanie is not willing to give up the entirety of her mind.

The Seeker, who is in charge of Melanie's body, starts to worry about Wanderer's apparent lack of control over Melanie's mind. Wanderer is bombarded with Melanie's memories and her powerful yearning for Jared and Jamie, and soon finds herself feeling strong love for Melanie's former companions. She becomes desperate to find out whether they are still alive. On a road trip to Tucson, Melanie remembers her Uncle Jeb telling her about a secret hideaway he once made, and which Jared is aware of. Wanderer sets out to find the hideaway, with a vague sketch of the path from Melanie's memories, and is found by Jeb on the verge of death. She is taken to the hideaway, a complex of caves in which a group of rebel humans live, but is treated spitefully as they consider Wanderer a parasite in Melanie's body. Many of the humans believe she should be put to death and attempts are made on her life, most notably by Kyle O'Shea, despite the protection provided her by some of the humans, including Ian (who strangled her when she was first brought there), Jeb, and Jared (who experiences powerful, conflicting emotions towards his alien-possessed lover). Over time, Wanderer, now becoming known as "Wanda", becomes a part of the group's routine by working, eating, and becoming an unofficial history teacher by telling stories after evening meals about her experiences in former hosts on other planets occupied by the souls. During this time, Ian, Jamie, and many other humans befriend Wanda. The Seeker, still not convinced that Wanderer was killed in the desert, returns in a helicopter, but is unable to find the caves. Kyle tries to kill Wanda by throwing her into a boiling hot, underground river. Due to Wanderer's vigorous defense, he is unsuccessful and is about to fall into the river himself when his intended victim saves him. A tribunal is held and it is decided that Kyle is allowed to stay, though many of Wanda's friends are upset about this decision, particularly Ian, who believes that Kyle deserves to die after his plot to kill Wanda. Meanwhile, Ian begins to fall in love with Wanda. After discovering this, she is confused with her own feelings since she has been deeply infected by Mel's love for Jared.After spending more time with Ian, she realizes she loves him too, but Mel doesn't really like him.

The humans realize that Wanda can be of use to them as a raider, because she is trusted by other souls. Following a raid in which the Seeker is caught, Wanda decides to reveal her biggest secret: how to remove a soul without killing either the human or the soul, a procedure that Doc had been attempting unsuccessfully. She promises to teach Doc under two conditions: first, they must send the souls to new planets without harming them, and second, Doc must remove Wanda's soul from Melanie's body and bury Wanda, because "she does not want to be a parasite any longer". Wanda successfully removes The Seeker and sends her to another planet, and the body the Seeker was in is revived. Wanda then teaches Doc how to take out the souls himself.

Ian is enraged at the idea of Wanda ending her life so that Jared can have Melanie back. He forcibly takes her to his cave where they reveal their love for each other, but she sneaks away from him after he falls asleep, still determined to give up her life for Melanie. Wanda has Doc remove her from Melanie's body, believing that she will die thereafter, according to their agreement. However, she awakens in a new human body whose original owner was possessed as a baby and therefore has no suppressed human personality, and it is revealed that Jared and Ian forcibly prevented Doc from carrying out the agreement and that most of the humans want her to stay as one of them. The book ends with the rebels discovering another group of humans who also have a soul among them. This discovery suggests that humanity and souls together may still have hope for the future.

The worlds mentioned in the book are the Vulture World, the Dragon Planet, the Summer World, the planet of the Flowers, the Singing World (Bats), the Spiders, the Fire World, the world of the See Weeds, the Dolphins, the Mists Planet (Bears), the Origin, and of course, Earth.

Characters edit see section history

  • Wanderer/Wanda: Wanderer is the main character in The Host. The book is written in her point of view (first-person). She is the soul who takes over Melanie's body. She does not enjoy violence at all and it seems the body she entered into and isn't like all the other ones she inhabited.
  • Melanie "Mel" Stryder: Wanderer's body
  • Jared Howe: Jared is Melanie's Friend/Lover from her past life
  • Jamie Stryder: Melanie's little brother. Whom Melanie will do anything to protect and cherish.
  • Uncle 'Jeb' Jebediah: The 'mayor' of the community and Melanie and Jamie's uncle.
  • Ian O'Shea: Kyle's brother. One of the surviving humans living in the caves after the Souls invade Earth.
  • The Seeker: One of the invading souls. Melanie and Wanda's relationship is initially based on their hate for the Seeker, who is described as being irritable for the usually gentle souls. She mocks Wanda for not being able to completely drive out Melanie's spirit.
  • Kyle O'Shea: Ian's brother who hates Souls.
  • Doc: The doctor of the human community.
  • Magnolia 'Maggie': Jeb's sister and Sharon's mother. She shows extreme hatred towards Wanda and never accepts her.
  • Sharon: Melanie's cousin, she never accepts Wanda.
  • Jodi: Kyle's girlfriend
  • Sunny: Sunny is the soul who is implanted into Jodi. When Kyle brings Sunny back in hopes to take her out and bring Jodi back, Jodi does not reappear and Sunny is inserted back in.Sunny loves Kyle and stays by his side as much as she can. She appears to be bubbly and sweet, but she is often very shy, so she rarely acts so.Real name- Sunlight Passing Through The Ice. She is a Soul, who is in Jodi's (Kyle's girlfriend) body, used to be a Bear.
  • Kathy: Kathy is the Comforter of Wanderer before she goes into the desert.
  • Candy: Was the host of a Healer. Kidnapped by Jared, Wanda, Ian in order to remove Soul.
  • Darren: The Healer's assistant in the beginning of the book, who aids the healer during the initial implantation of the Wanderer into Melanie's body.
  • Fords Deep Waters: Healer who implants Wanderer into Melanie. He is a soul.
  • Lacey: The seeker that is assigned to Wanda. She has a human in her, which is Lacey, and stays with them in the caves. The woman whose body was taken over by the Seeker who killed Wes.
  • Petals Open to the Moon: Petals Open to the Moon is a young, attractive soul. She used to be a Flower. Wanderer was taken out of Melanie Stryder's body and then re-implanted into the body the host. Petals Open to the Moon was taken out of her host and then placed into a cryotank, likely to be sent to either the Dolphins, Bears, Bats, or back to the Flowers. Her mother was Cloud Weaver, who is described as having red and silver hair with bright green eyes. When Wanderer is placed into the body once controlled by Petals Open to the Moon, she finds that her new, 16 year old body is small and weak, but has silver skin with golden freckles, gray eyes, round face, and bouncy curly golden hair. She is said to look very trustworthy and angelic. She lies that she is 17, turning 18 so that her age will be closer to Ian's.
  • Gladys: Walter's dead wife, when he is under pain meds, he thinks that Wanda is Gladys.
  • Lily: Wes's girlfriend
  • Wes: 19-year old member of the cave community.
  • Walter: One of the humans. He is Wanda's friend even though he is old and dies from cancer.
  • Brandt: One of the Resistance movement living with Jeb. Agrees with Kyle that Wanda should be killed.
Show all 24 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “That's not true at all. It's not the face, but the expressions on it. It's not the voice, but what they say. It's not how you look like in that body, it's what you do with it. You are beautiful.”
    Ian
  • “You never know how much time you'll have.”
    Melanie
  • “I held you in my hand, Wanderer. And you were so beautiful.”
    Ian O'Shea
  • “"The best four letter word in the world is Hope."”
  • “"'Wanda?' Kyle said.'Yes?''I'm sorry.''Um . . . why?''For trying to kill you,' he said casually. 'Guess I was wrong.'Ian gasped. 'Please tell me you have some kind of recording device available, Doc.''Nope. Sorry, Ian.'Ian shook his head. 'This moment should be preserved. I never thought I'd live to see the day that Kyle O'Shea would admit to being wrong. C'mon, Jodi. That ought to shock you awake.'"”
    Ian, Wanda, Kyle and Doc
  • “Ian looked at me for a long minute, then turned to scowl at Jared. He barked out each sentence like an order."Her name is Wanda, not it. You will not touch her. Any mark you leave on her, I will double on your worthless hide."”
    Ian
  • “"I could describe us, but could not name us.  I sighed for the lost knowledge..."”
    Wanderer
  • “Dont worry, Mel. Miracles dont work that way. I'll never lose you, I'll never let you get away from me.”
    Wanda
  • “I, the soul named Wanderer, love you, human Ian and that will never change no matter what I might become. If I were a Dolphin or a Bear or a Flower, it wouldn't matter. I would always love you, always remember you. You will be my only partner.”
    Wanda
  • “He squeezes my hand,and my heart punches against my ribs. It's like pain, this pleasure”
    Melanie
  • “Jared punches Kyle and right after that it goes:"Um," Doc said in a mild voice, "medically speaking, I'm not sure that was the most helpful thing for his condition.""But I feel better," Jared answered, sullen.Doc smiled the tiniest smile. "Well, maybe a few more minutes of unconsciousness won't kill him."”
    Jared and the Doc
  • “"here you go, Wanda" Jamie said his hands full of granola bars. "Thanks," I (Wanda) said, taking the bars. "Here you go..." Ian was here, his hands also full of bars. "Beat ya," Jamie told him."Oh," Jared said appering on Jamie's other side. He also had too many bars for one.”
  • “I didn't let you fall because I'm not like you. I'm not saying that im not... like humans. Because there are humans here who would do the same. There are kind and good people here. People like your brother, and Jeb, and Doc... Im saying that im not like YOU personally”
    Wanda to Kyle
  • “Neither hell nor heaven could keep me apart from you Melanie”
    Jared
  • “You stupid jackass”
    Ian
  • “I'm going to hurt her? I'M GOING TO HURT HER?! You hypocritical swine!”
    Ian
  • “And I started to cry again, realizing that it must be changing him, too, this man who was kind enough to be a soul but strong as only a human could be.”
    Wanda about Ian
  • “life and love would go on”
    LILY and Wanda
  • “"But if you try cuddling up to me tonight...so help me O'shea."”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the things you do with it. You are beautiful.”
    Highlighted by 258 Kindle customers
  • “In so many millennia, the humans never did figure love out. How much is physical, how much in the mind? How much accident and how much fate? Why did perfect matches crumble and impossible couples thrive? I don’t know the answers any better than they did. Love simply is where it is.
    Highlighted by 168 Kindle customers
  • “Even if we all want you here, you don’t belong until you decide you do.”
    Highlighted by 131 Kindle customers
  • Perhaps there could be no joy on this planet without an equal weight of pain to balance it out on some unknown scale.
    Highlighted by 123 Kindle customers
  • “No point in ignoring the truth. Doesn’t make it worse to have it said out loud.”
    Highlighted by 100 Kindle customers
  • “If I were a Dolphin or a Bear or a Flower, it wouldn’t matter. I would always love you, always remember you. You will be my only partner.”
    Highlighted by 94 Kindle customers
  • This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds—the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions… the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.
    Highlighted by 93 Kindle customers
  • “There was no hatred in your heart,” I whispered. “That you existed is proof that we were wrong. We had no right to take your world from you, Walter. I hope your fairytales are true. I hope you find your Gladdie.”
    Highlighted by 90 Kindle customers
  • He squeezes my hand, and my heart punches against my ribs. It’s just like pain, this pleasure.
    Highlighted by 78 Kindle customers
  • Happy and sad, elated and miserable, secure and afraid, loved and denied, patient and angry, peaceful and wild, complete and empty… all of it. I would feel everything. It would all be mine.
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
Show all 29 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

The worlds mentioned in the book are the Vulture World, the Dragon Planet, the Summer World, the planet of the Flowers, the Singing World (Bats), the Spiders, the Fire World, the world of the See Weeds, the Dolphins, the Mists Planet (Bears), the Origin, and of course, Earth.

Organizations edit see section history

  • Seekers: Finds new hosts for the souls. Seeks to eliminate man-kind.
  • Souls: The things that are imlanted into creatures brains, they have taken over many planets

First Sentence edit see section history

I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Prologue-Inserted
1-Remembered
2-Overheard
3-Resisted
4-Dreamed
5-Uncomforted
6-Followed
7-Confronted
8-Loved
9-Discovered
10-Turned
11-Dehydrated
12-Failed
13-Sentenced
14-Disputed
15-Guarded
16-Assigned
17-Visited
18-Bored
19-Abandoned
20-Freed
21-Named
22-Cracked
23-Confessed
24-Tolerated
25-Compelled
26-Returned
27-Undecided
28-Unenlightened
29-Betrayed
30-Abbreviated
31-Needed
32-Ambushed
33-Doubted
34-Buried
35-Tried
36-Believed
37-Wanted
38-Touched
39-Worried
40-Horrified
41-Vanished
42-Forced
43-Frenzied
44-Healed
45-Succeeded
46-Encircled
47-Employed
48-Detained
49-Interrogated
50-Sacrificed
51-Prepared
52-Seperated
53-Condemned
54-Forgotten
55-Attached
56-Welded
57-Completed
58-Finished

59-Remembered

Epilogue-Continued

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Bonus Chapter-Alone

Glossary edit see section history

  • Soul: An alien being which is peaceful and completely averted to violence. These are injected into the host and take over worlds!

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Humans are Destructive, but good at the same time: This book explores human nature, not only to their equals (other humans) but to creatures that they consider their inferiors, such as souls.
  • True Love: Love that goes deeper than the outside characteristics, or even flesh and blood. True love is born in the soul.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Movie Tie-Ins 2011. (community list)
This is book 80 of 94 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2011). (authoritative list)

Preceded by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and followed by I Know This Much Is True.

This is book 39 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Lord of the Flies, and followed by The Help.

This is book 8 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels in 2009. (authoritative list)

Preceded by Finger Lickin' Fifteen, and followed by Under the Dome.

This is book 3 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 2008. (authoritative list)

Preceded by The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and followed by Cross Country.

This book is in Vampire (community list). (community list)
This is book 36 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Catching Fire, and followed by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

This is book 35 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Eragon, and followed by Lord of the Flies.

This book is in Young Adult. (community list)
This is book 39 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Digital Fortress, and followed by The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Stephenie Meyer (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Pirkko Biström (Transcriber) - Kääntänyt alkuperäisen englanninkielisen tekstin suomeksi.

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Country: Boston, MA., USA
Publication Date: May-2008
ISBN: 9780316068048
Page Count: 619

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3613.E979 H67 2010
  • Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Due to mild violence and sexual references.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

Movie Connections edit see section history

  • The Host (IMDb): One soul, the Wanderer, is fused with a dying human named Melanie Stryder, in an attempt to locate the last pocket of surviving humans on Earth.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  • Bodyswitch

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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