“The Healer’s name was Fords Deep Waters.” As you may recall, this is the first line of “The Host,” by Stephenie Meyer. This sentence instantly struck my curiosity. What was a Healer? What kind of name is Fords Deep Waters? Continuing into the story, I became even more entranced by the mere actuality of an entire species invading the Earth we take for granted and living inside our bodies! It was clear in the beginning who I should accept as an enem: Wanderer, but I could not bring myself to dislike her. This was what she was taught to do, how she grew up, the only way she could survive.

The relationship between Wanda and Melanie was something so… beautiful. They became a force to be reckoned with. Despite the fact that they are a thousand years apart, from separate planets, and with diverse methods, the way they conversed was natural. Their lives were intertwined as if they were meant to be. Confession: I sobbed so hard I had to take a break before I could blubber anymore. All my friends said I was a pussy because “the end wasn’t even sad!” But, they don’t understand that I was terrified because Wanda planned on sacrificing her life for Melanie, whom she had formerly wanted to disappear. This dramatic change of heart had me using all the tissues in the box.

One theme I pulled from this is that love is a universal language, and it doesn’t come from physical attraction, the attraction comes from love. It was surprising when Ian expressed his feelings for Wanda. Like Melanie, I couldn’t believe that a “three inch worm could fall in love with a human!” When I read it again, I noticed all the hints of gentle hugs and forehead kisses, incredulous that I hadn’t caught them before. Two polar opposites in everything from violence to species found love in each other, regardless of, or maybe because of, all that has happened. I guess opposites do attract.

Some situations had me chuckling at Wanda’s and Melanie’s severely different opinions on hostility and love. Then, I was stunned when Wanda thought more like Melanie and vice versa; not because they were becoming one person, but because they were imprinted on each other’s “souls” as good friends do. One of my favorite sayings is that friends are here for a reason: for us to learn from them. This story is the perfect example because Melanie was chosen for Wanda, and this reason became more and more evident as I read on. They learn so much from each other, and Wanda finally finds the place where she would rather die than betray her friends. Melanie and Wanda were so close they stopped thinking about themselves, but about the safety of their counterpart. All of our lives are interconnected; a consequence for one is a consequence for another; just like how we are all related in some way or another.

As I above mentioned, we as a human race take this world for granted. You may or may not have intended this, but I noticed the humans were thankful when they were to eat something other than bread. They treasure even a simple glance at the wide open sky, a breath of the open desert air; however dry or brittle that may be. In our modern day society, we bow our heads to the sidewalk, not looking to see the beauty of our surroundings. We take photos of “amazing” visions, not grasping that everything we see is marvelous, we just never had it stolen. I only now comprehend how miraculous it is that we are able to exist, having never explored the option of being erased by aliens. In this respect, the book reminds me of another tale I read when I was younger, “The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles,” by Julie Andrews. In this story, there is a man who also comments on how society has turned its cheek to the exquisite wilderness around us.

“The Host” is one of my favorites, because it investigates prospects not usually explored. It does a wonderful job at capturing everyday fears and questions in a tale that has nothing on the surface that is similar to us.


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