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Description edit
The earth's 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: the... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
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)
Characters edit
- Wanderer/Wanda: Wanderer is a soul that has lived on eight planets. She awakens inside the body of Mel, a human from Earth.
- Melanie "Mel" Stryder: Melanie is a 20-year-old human who managed to escape capture by the invading souls for years, living on the run.
- Jared Howe: Jared is Mel's friend and lover.
- Jamie Stryder: Jamie is Melanie's younger brother.
- Uncle 'Jeb' Jebediah: he is Melanie's eccentric uncle.
- Ian O'Shea: Ian is one of the people that live in the caves. He is assigned to guard Wanda.
- The Seeker: She is the one that captured Mel. Her duty is to track down the humans that are still free.
- Kyle O'Shea: Ian's brother, he has many reasons to hate the souls.
- Doc: The doctor in Jeb's community. He's in a relationship with Sharon. Real name Eustace.
- Magnolia 'Maggie' Stryder: Jeb's sister and Sharon's mother. She shows extreme hatred towards Wanda and never accepts her. Sharon follows her mother's lead. When Wanda is reborn in Pet's body, Maggie cannot maintain her former rigidity around Wanda, but still shows signs of dislike.
- Sharon: Melanie's cousin, she never accepts Wanda.
- Jodi: Kyle's girlfriend who was captured by the souls and implanted.
- 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.
- 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: a 16 years old girl, very frail and small. She used to be a Flower.
- Gladdie: Walter's dead wife, when he is under pain meds, he thinks that Wanda is Gladys.
- Lily: Caramel-skinned. From Philadelphia. Dry sense of humor. Wes's girlfriend.
- Wes: Lily's boyfriend. Has bristly black hair, 19 years old. Escaped from Eureka, Montana.
- Walter: One of the humans. Pale man with white hair. Tires easily but always cheerful. 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.
- Burns: Another rebel soul that Wanda meets in the desert at the end of the book. He lives with another "cell" of humans in the desert. He is originally from Fire Planet and his full name is Burns Living Flowers. Has bright ginger hair, tall, freckles that made him look like is he dark skinned, navy blue eyes. He also sided with the humans.
- Aaron: one of the Humans living the caves. He sides with Kyle and believes that Wanderer should be killed.
- Heidi: White-blonde woman with dark eyes
- Isaiah: Lucina's son
- Paige: young blonde haired woman
- Ruth Ann: A human who is hiding in the caves.
- Linda: A human who is hiding in the caves.
- Violetta: A human who is hiding in the caves.
- Trudy: Middle-aged woman with long salt-and-pepper braid
- Lucina: Described as sleepy-eyed. Mother of two children who also live in the caves
- Andy: Paige's partner
- Reid: A human who is hiding in the caves.
- Curt: Kathy's partner
- Travis: A human who is hiding in the caves.
- Nate: sun browned, craggy, dark hair with white at the temples, dark brown eyes. Leader of the other cell of rebel humans. Twenty-two people are in his cell.
- Geoffrey: Balding and red-cheeked. Trudy's husband.
- Heath: Geoffrey's best friend. Escaped the invasion with Trudy and Geoffrey
- Freedom: Lucina's son. Born in the caves.
- Cloud Spinner: Cloud Spinner is Pet's mother. She is seemingly quite over-protective. She has red hair.
- Robert: Add a description of this character.
- Carol
- Doris
- Aunt Maggie
- Kevin
- Mandy/Candy: They call the healer's host Mandy, until she remembers that her name is Candy
- Mel
- Summer Song: A Healer they capture. Candy was her host.
- Dad: Melanie and Jamie's father becomes a soul and tries to lead the seekers to him.
Quotes edit
-
“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.”
Ian O'Shea -
“You never know how much time you'll have.”
Melanie "Mel" Stryder -
“You. Will. Not. Leave. Me.”
Ian O'Shea -
“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.”
Uncle 'Jeb' Jebediah -
“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 O'Shea, Wanderer/Wanda, Kyle O'Shea 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 O'Shea -
“And my tenth life began.”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“I could describe us, but could not name us. I sighed for the lost knowledge...”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“Dont worry, Mel. Miracles dont work that way. I'll never lose you, I'll never let you get away from me.”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“Eight full lives. Eight full lives and I've never found anyone I would stay in a planet for, anyone I would follow when they left. I never found a partner. Why now? Why you? You're not of my species. How can you be my partner? It's not fair. I love you.”
Wanderer/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 -
“Ian? Ian, where am I? Who am I?" "You're you. And you're right where you belong. I held you in my hands, Wanderer. And you were so beautiful.”
Wanderer/Wanda, Ian O'Shea -
“You and I won't lose each other, I will always find you again. No matter how well you hide. I'm unstoppable.”
Jared Howe -
“He squeezes my hand,and my heart punches against my ribs. It's like pain, this pleasure”
Melanie "Mel" Stryder -
“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 Howe, 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.”
Wanderer/Wanda, Jamie Stryder, Ian O'Shea, Jared Howe -
“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”
Wanderer/Wanda to Kyle O'Shea -
“Neither hell nor heaven could keep me apart from you Melanie”
Jared Howe -
“Who's got the crush on a wrom bro? You gonna call me stupid?”
Kyle O'Shea -
“You stupid jackass.”
Ian O'Shea -
“I'm going to hurt her? I'M GOING TO HURT HER?! You hypocritical swine!”
Ian O'Shea -
“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.”
Wanderer/Wanda about Ian O'Shea -
“Life and love would go on.”
Lily and Wanderer/Wanda -
“But if you try cuddling up to me tonight...so help me O'Shea.”
Jared Howe -
“My first instinct was to wave Andy ahead and make Ian carry me away. This was human mourning, not mine.”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“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 fairy tales are true. I hope you find your Gladdie.”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“What was it that made this human love so much more desirable to me than the love of my own kind? Was it because it was exclusive and capricious? The souls offered love and acceptance to all. Did I crave a greater challenge? This love was tricky; it had no hard-and-fast rules - it might be given for free, as with Jamie, or earned through time and hard work, as with Ian, or completely and heartbreakingly unattainable, as with Jared.Or was it simply better somehow? Because these humans could hate with so much fury, was the other end of the spectrum that they could love with more heart and zeal and fire?”
Wanderer/Wanda -
“Does Jeb always have to get his way?" "Pretty much, yeah.”
-
“Thank you, Wands. My sister. I will never forget you.”
Melanie "Mel" Stryder
-
“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
Setting & Locations edit
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
First Sentence edit
"I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes."
Table of Contents edit
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
- Soul: An alien being which is peaceful and completely averted to violence. These are injected into the host and take over worlds! It is also the spiritual part of human being or animal.
- Host: The body in which a soul is inserted
- Resistant Host: When the host is still present inside its mind while a soul is inhabiting it.
- Seeker: Similar to our policemen. Their main job is to protect the souls from wild humans and track down said humans.
- Healer: The Soul's version of a doctor.
- Cryotank: Deep freeze container that enables soul's to be transported through multiple galaxies. They are made of an element not found on Earth but some what like metal.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- 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.
Errata edit
Dust ing
location: 8916
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 3 in The Host. (standard series)
Followed by The Seeker.
This is book 39 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 39 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 35 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 36 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Young Adult. (community list)
This book is in Vampire (community list). (community list)
This is book 3 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 2008. (authoritative list)
This book is in Movie Tie-Ins 2011. (community list)
This is book 8 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels in 2009. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Stephenie Meyer (Author)
Other Contributors:
- Pirkko Biström (Transcriber) - Kääntänyt alkuperäisen englanninkielisen tekstin suomeksi.
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Country: Boston, MA., USA
Publication Date: May-2008
ISBN: 9780316068048
Page Count: 619
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Country: Boston, MA., USA
Publication Date: May-2008
ISBN: 9780316068048
Page Count: 619
Awards edit
- New York Times Bestseller (2008: Fiction)
- ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2009)
- Whitney Award (Finalist, 2008: Speculative Fiction)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PS3613.E979 H67 2010
- Dewey: 813.6
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
Movie Connections edit
- 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
Books That Influenced This Book edit
