The Host, by number-one New York Times bestselling author Stephenie Meyer, is a riveting page-turner that was nearly impossible to put down. It is the kind of book that keeps me up reading late into the night, and when I turned the final 619th page, I still wished for more. To describe it simply as a science fiction tale about body snatchers invading earth would not do it justice. It is so much more.

The premise of the book is as follows:

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts
for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain
intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity
has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured,
she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has
been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living
inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the
too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't
expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish
possession of her mind.

Reminiscent of Orson Scott Card or Ursula K. Le Guin, Meyer is able to create an alternative world in which we ponder the philosophical definition of humanity. Her twists on the questions of what makes us human and what causes an individual to love another person are sociological in nature, yet through it all, she combines a compelling blend of suspense mixed with an underlying romance that is sure to draw in readers of all genres.

Here is an excerpt, expressed from the viewpoint of the main character, Wanderer, one of the invading "souls" who has recently woken up after taking a human host body:

"I blinked away the unwelcome moisture in my eyes. I didn't know how much more of this I could stand. How did anyone survive this world, with these bodies whose memories wouldn't stay in the past where they should? With these emotions that were so strong I couldn't tell what I felt anymore?"

The alien creatures who call themselves souls are portrayed as a homogenous group who are essentially nonviolent and concerned with the greater good, with the exception being, of course, that they invade other planets and take over the species who live there. I always enjoy tales that call into question our views of good and evil as not being quite so black and white. Should we distinguish between the actions themselves versus the understanding of the intentions behind the actions?