I cannot seem to get through this book! It seems so dark and depressing to me. I've been struggling through it for two months now. I loved the Twilight series and can't wait to start on Breaking Dawn, but this book is driving me crazy!

It is definately a different storytelling style, given the "inner voice" talking. The "she said" and "I said" phrases do get confusing when it's the same "person" saying it... Stick with it though, it's a good story!

It is an interesting way tell a story. What I have a hard time with is knowing that life on Earth as we know it had ended and there's no apparent hope for that changing. There's no hope of having just Melanie or just Wanda as an individual. To get Melanie back, Wanda would have to die. The characters seem to be attached to both women. So, I guess that makes it hard for me to envision a "happy" ending.

I found the first few chapters almost intolerable, but it got MUCH better once you could figure out what was going on!

I enjoyed the book and the intrapersonal / interpersonal relationships in it! There is a happy ending and the book is already being optioned by Hollywood - it will be a tall order to cast a person that can play Melanie Stryder... how would you work the two beings in one body angle?

You have to give this book time to develop. Half way through you won't be able to put it down. At least that's the way it was for me. I also agonized over how the end could possibly satisfy but it did. Hang in there. It's worth it.

Thanks! I'm not quite halfway through it. I rarely give up on a book, it's just annoying how long this one is taking me!

I'm on about page 200 right now and am struggling a bit to get through it. It's not that I find it confusing, it's just not brabbing me the way I thought it would. I always finish a book that I pick up (especially when I already know that I love the author's previous works) but this is especially hard because Breaking Dawn is sitting on my night stand waiting. Hopefully this picks up a bit so I can get through it quickly and enjoy it.

I was so releived to see this blog, because I too am having a really hard time getting into this book. But I will stick with it. But unlike Ashley, if my copy of Breaking Dawn arrives, I will have to put aside The Host to read the last one of the series.
Thanks for the encouragement to go on and that there is a happy ending. I'm a happy ending type of person!!
Cheers!

This is so slow going for me. I usually don't have a problem getting through a book, even while watching 3 kids and my own 15 month old. However, I feel like I can't get anywhere. I loved the twighlight series so I'm going to keep on reading to give it the benefit of the doubt.

I completely agree that this book starts out really slow. The first half is mostly unexciting, and really depressing even. But the ending is SO worth it, trust me. I even think it might rank almost as high as the twilight series for me. I <3'd it! Please keep reading it, and look past all the defects. You'll be glad you did. :)

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one struggling with this book AND I'm glad to hear that sticking with it is worth it. It's rare for me to not finish a book.

I agree. I'm about 200 pages in, and I'm reading this a lot slower than Twilight. I just don't feel as if there was a sufficient opening to the story so we know what's going on. It throws us into the story right away, which would be okay if the story weren't so unique.

yeah i was a little confused at first, too. but after the first few chapters, you sort of ease your way into it and start to understand. there's a lot of buildup, i guess, but it starts getting really thrilling halfway through. i, too, was really worried about the ending; there were parts when i started getting teary-eyed cuz towards the end things start looking kind of bleak... so i was pleasantly surprised by the happy ending. it was really unexpected, and i applaud Stephenie Meyer for that. XD i liked this book even better than twilight, and that's obviously saying a lot.

My friend was going to read it and then let me borrow it. After a couple days she gave it to me and said she couldn't get into it. I got to chapter 4 and gave it back. We were both really looking forward to it too. I'll eventually try again.

Put it down.... there is not enough time to read all the good books when you're struggling thru this one! I thought it was 1/2 as long as it needed to be! Pick up Alice Hoffman's Skylight Confessions instead.

I thought as soon as I got to chapter 4 things start picking up. There is another point after that where it slowed again (at least it did for me), but got exciting again. I actually wept toward the end. My daughter was concerned for me. Maybe I am a wimp.

Really, I couldn't put it down. The questions of how the issues would be resolved drove me through the book. I thought the author skillfully tackled the dual personalities and it was clever to change the font each time the different characters spoke. I especially loved the example of resolving frustration, anger and mistrust with non-violent behavior. In that, I believe the book had an amazing message for us all. I found the end to be fulfilling, so hang in there.

I read this book quickly. I think I liked the style of writing a lot. The worst thing for me was trying to hold the book because of its size. I have to admit I cried many times reading this book but it could have been because of hormones.
Since I'm many a mystery reader many times I tried to figure out an ending or just where the story itself would go. I think Stephanie did a good job with it.

Really? I read everyone's posts and alot of people don't like it/ think it's hard/ different.

That's funny lolz :) Don't kill me guys - The Host is my 2nd favorite Stephenie Meyer book! I really thought it was amazing.

I bought it the 1st day and couldn't put it down. I was so psyched after the first night that my boyfriend bought a copy the next day and we read it together, and he thought it was great too! (Though he hasn't read Twilight yet)

But yeah! I think it was really great. Stephenie really surprised me; I didn't think it was going to be this good :)

Kara I'm glad you and your boyfriend liked it. I don't read a lot of scifi books but this when worked for me. I had a lot of trouble putting it down also. I've read the Twilight series also and enjoyed this the most.

I really liked this book. Just keep going, it's gets to you. my wife has Twilight ready and waiting for me now.

I feel the same way a lot of you do. I had a hard time the first 100 or so pages. You have to give yourself time to figure out who is who and who is talking, etc. After that, I really enjoyed it. Similar to the Twilight series, I couldn't put it down once I got into it. Just give it time. That being said, I found a similarity to the movie with Nicole Kidman and Whats-his-face-bond...Craig? Daniel Craig. That's it. The movie is called The Invasion. Now, I know there are some DRASTIC differences. Maybe I just connected the two because I saw the movie while reading the book. What do you think? Maybe that needs to be in a new topic...

I agree with Robin and others struggling to get through the host. I've been attempting to read it for a while, but it's been very easy to put it down and read something else or do something else. Thanks for the encouragment everyone else. I was getting close to letting this one go unread.

The part of wandering in the desert is long but if you get through that, then the book gets really good. It is a fascinating story idea and has a great ending.

Awesome Linda! :D Yes, the only other sci-fi books that I recall reading is Dean Koontz' One Door Away From Heaven, and it didn't work for me, but once I read The Host . . . wow. I love it :) I really hope a movie for it comes out soon.

I agree, I started reading it and was instantly confused. It was a very slow read for me in the beginning (a lot of people who I have talked to about it agreed too). As I got further in the book, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed it very much and was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

Melissa,
I felt the same way you did but once i got through the first 200 pages I started to enjoy the book, the characters and the direction it was going. Give it a chance, I think you will feel better after the initial beginning:)

Ditto, ditto, ditto. The first 200-250 pages are just boring, frustrating, and way too detailed and long, but the last 350 pages flew because it gets so much better. Keep reading--skim if you have to.

This was extremely slow going from the beginning for me. I was confused by the general storyline for a while, then I was just disappointed by it. I also have issues with the brutality Meyers' lead male character exhibits toward Wanda. And that she just stands there and takes it because she loves him. It is all just so unbelievable.

Also, there is just way, waaaaaay too much filler. There is no reason for the story to be over 600 pages long. It could easily have been told in 330 pages -- the point that I just put the book down and stopped reading. There are way too many books out there to spend another 300 pages on this book.

I've been resisting adding another post about this book, but I really liked what Allison said, especially about the filler. I agree also about the excessive 600+ pages. Meyers needs a good editor. Judging from the comments on her last book, "Breaking Dawn," she also needs a good line editor whose job it would be to catch mistakes like "than" instead of "then." I'd recommend she join and use a writer's critique group that would rein her in when her stories go off on tangents. She's an excellent storyteller, and she fleshes out her characters well. Her books are typical examples of a writer becoming a success and trying to fill the demand of more books quickly. Quality suffers when an author poops out books at the speed of light and their publishers don't back them up with good editing.

I believe Wanda took Jared's abuse because she was non-violent. She is abused throughout the book and never gives into anger etc. I do, however, believe that the hypocrisy of a species thinking it is non-violent to forcibly inhabit and take over an entire world cannot be overlooked as a flaw in the story line.

I love the Twilight series bu6t have a lot of trouble reading science fiction. I decided to give the book a try and almost couldn't even read the first few chapters. As soon as I was about to give up on it, though, it got really good. I stayed up that night and finished the book! I absolutely LOVED it!!!

Yes! Me! I've been reading it for about 3 weeks now and I'm only 100 pages in. It's just not quick paced enough for me and I'm not even really drawn into the story yet. I'll finish it because I'm hoping that it'll get better and I won't regret it. We'll see...

Hang in there. It has a terrible slow start but once she gets out of the wandering in the desert part, it gets really good. I promise you will like it.

This is an awesome book (except fo the first few chapters that were really confusing) but stephenie meyer is my favorite author now.

I felt like I had already read this book. It really felt like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Obviously there are some main differences but I felt like they were camping out in Smoke (a community in the Uglies series that rebelled against the mainstream and refused to be brainwashed).

I also think it could have been about 200 pages shorter.

I loved the ending and felt it was set up really well for a sequel which I would love to read and see how the new plot to save the world would develop.

I just CANNOT get into this book. And it bothers me, although I'm not sure why. :) Possibly because I'm going through the Twilight bends, and in need of a fix (that's so pathetic), I don't know. I've read so many posts and comments encouraging readers to just keep going because it is entirely worth it, but I just can't seem to.

Hmm, those comparisons are similar to Uglies...but it doesn't really feel like the Uglies series, in fact, it was a completely different feel to it. Lots of books have that same premise, the resisting the norm, seemingly utopian dystopia ect. Doesn't mean it's exactly the same.

Uglies is more about finding your inner beauty, self-identity, teenage egoism, going against the flow, rebellion, ect. ect. but The Host is more about seeing and experiencing the wonders and flaws of humanity through the eyes of an altruistic, uptopian outsider, and deciding that even humans, dysfunctional, chaotic, self-destructive and egotistical as we are, still deserve to rule our own lives and are not a lost cause.

I think the morals and storyline of the host are much better than Twilight, it's definitely a book worth reading. Twilight has that addictiveness which is hard to beat, but you shouldn't look for Twilight in The Host, because it isn't there. Just forget about Twilight when you read the Host and let loose and read, you won't be disappointed.

I agree. The Host is completely different from Twilight, but in a good way. And it's totally different from Uglies, too ... Uglies is also really awesome though! ;D

I absolutly loved the host! like everyone said, the first few chapters are difficult but i have a bad habit of skimming so i got thru them fast. But i loved the complexity of it and the depth. It has so much more to it that the twilight series (which i love as well and have read each book at least 3 times each). BUt i have to agree with pandaranda and say that if youre looking for a twilight fix, the host isnt where you should look.
I was crying towards the end it was so emotional (but im an emotional person). Im debating right now if i should read it for a 4th time. hehe...

why? to me the first 2 chapters were a LITTLE bit difficult to understand, but i think SM carried it fluently and it was very easy for me. i don't know why people think it's difficult; my friend is having a hrad time getting through it. but to me, even though i assumed it would be terribly difficult, it turned out to be pretty easy to understand after i have read a few chapters...it's really good!! u shouldn't miss reading it!!

once i really started getting into it, i couldn't put it down!! i even love it more than i love breaking dawn!! it's definitley better!!! stephenie did a great job. i was surprised that she had pulled it off because i was sooo UNexcited to read it. and to my great astonishment, i have never thought the day would come when i would love SCI-FIC nolvels, but stephenie proved me wrong!!! i think she did a great job and this book should be appreciated and cherished... i loved it from the beginning till the end and just couldn't guess the ending. i was soo sure by the end that it would not have a happy ending, but surprisingly it did. and it was a spectacular satisfying ending too!!! i love it!!!

I agree; I really had no idea how it was going to end. I was surprised. In a good way. :D

I liked the ending also, and hope there's a sequel. It's all set up for one.

yeah there will be two more books in the series ... at least that's what i've heard.

Wow! That's good news. Thanks for letting us know. I wonder if they are already written. The Host was really her first, so she may have a cache of them waiting on the sidelines.

I really enjoyed The Host. More so than the Twilight series, which I had read first. I am guessing the reason so many seem to have a difficult time with this book is because they love the Twilight series and subconciously were hoping for another Bella/Edward saga. I too heard that there were going to be two more books. I would love to read them.

I loved this book. I read it as fast as i could as I raced to discover what would happen. I read until 2 AM reading this! I didn't have trouble reading it. It wasn't dark and depressing to me and I can't wait for the Sequel!

I did find the first few chapter's slightly confusing. I was utterly confused after the first chapter but I continued reading and it is now one of my favourite books.

yeah; it takes a while to catch on to what's happening, but it makes sense after the first few chapters. :)