The Host

Picked up this book by Stephanie Meyer over the weekend. Chick lit in some ways and very engrossing in others.

The Host tells the story of Wanda, a member of a parasitical worm like species called Souls who can only survive inside a host body. The Souls have now conquered Earth and taken over the human mind and imagination. As always, there are those who resist. Wanda's host Melanie refuses to give up her mind to the Soul inside her, thereby leading both Wanda and Melanie on a quest for Melanie's lover who is still in hiding.

When they stumble upon the community of humans that Jared (Melanie's lover) is living with, far from the cities and in hiding, Wanda experiences all the conflict and contradiction that is part of human living. What I love about the book is the confusion, the grey-ness of its characters; the being torn by contrarian choices, the debate between the practical and the ideal, between selfish desires and the greater good.

The plot is cliched but some of the characters touch a chord. For that it was a decent weekend read.