We don't want to spoil the story for those still reading. But for those that are itching to start discussing, or just get something off your chest, let's go. Just don't peek if you haven't finished, but hurry and join us.
Ruth you start in the comments.
I have plenty to say, but I'm a little too vocal sometimes.
13 comments:
Ruth, any good questions you want us to submit on Saturday?
Hello. Sorry it has taken me so long to comment here. My internet access has been giving us problems and I haven't been able to leave comments.
First, I don't have any questions for SM. But I do want to hear a full report from anyone who goes! Hope you have lots of fun!!!
Second, I'm honored to start this discussion. Thanks TM. I'll start it in the next comment.
So, now that you've finished it, I just wanted to say that I really did like this book. I didn't want to say that before because I didn't want to add to any expectations you had before reading it. As noted in my post, my first impression of the book wasn't the greatest. But as I continued to read, I liked it more and more. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down! Here are a few questions I have for everyone to begin the discussion.
1. How did you want, hope, or expect the book to end?
2. Who did you feel bad for the most throughout the book: Melanie or Wanderer?
3. Of all the other planets described by Wanda, which would you choose to live on?
4. What plot twist or part in the book surprised you and why?
1. I was very happy with the ending b/c that was exactly what I was hoping for. I wanted Wanda to have her own life without having to share it with Melanie. Plus, it wouldn't have been fair to Melanie since she had worked to hard to stay alert with Wanda inside her. I also liked how another human clan was found with Burns b/c that leaves the story open for a sequel.
2. I think I felt more bad for Wanda by the end of the book. While neither of them was to blame for their situation, I felt that Melanie had come to terms with it and was willing to share her body. However, Wanda felt guilt for taking away Mel's life but she also had now felt all the wonderful things about being human and she knew she would have to give those up to stop feeling guilty.
3. I felt that some of the descriptions of Wanderer's previous lives were a little "over the top." But I suppose that is to be expected from SciFi. If I had to choose another planet besides earth, I would choose to be a flower.
4. One part that surprised me was learning that Wanderer's seeker had been dealing with a "resistant host." That information helped me understand why the seeker was more aggressive and argumentative than other souls.
One last thought: The inside cover reads, "the first love triangle involving only two bodies." However, I didn't ever feel that Wanda truly loved Jared. Instead, I felt that the love triangle was between Jared, Melanie/Wanda, and Ian.
Ruth, your answers mirrored my thoughts very well in questions 1 & 2.
I don't think I could pick another life to live on, although maybe the flying dolphin things (which Wanderer had not lived in) could be okay. I don't think I would like being rooted down like the see weeds or flowers. The bats would be better than that to me, but still not great.
Plot twists that surprised me, hmmm. I had guessed that something like that was going on with the seeker. I was surprised that Jared held on to his dislike of Wanderer so long even though he knew that she was good and that Melanie was in there, though that isn't really a plot twist. Perhaps the first raid on the healing facility with Wanderer/Jared was a bit of a surprise to me. And the way Wanderer woke up again surprised/confused me - I thought they sent her to another planet for a minute or so.
I agree with you about the love triangle as well. Perhaps that is another reader surprise - we start out thinking it is three people and two bodies, and it ends up with four people and three bodies.
Overall, the more time I have had to think about this book, the more I come to like it.
1. I was not surprised by the ending but pleased. It was one guess I had but I wasn't sure how she would pull it off. I did think for a while that maybe Wanderer ( I hate the name Wanda. I can't even use it. Sorry if anyone's middle name or Mom's name is Wanda. ) okay that mabye Wanderer would try and give herself up as a "mother" of her species. But I love that she says human lives are the only ones she has ever considered giving her life for, even more than her own species.
I love the body they chose for her. So fun, and creative. Go Steph. Of course I'm glad for all the relationships but love Ian so I am so happy they get to be together. SM really played that out well. Very hopeful at the ending. Liked the other clan thinkg but I don't need a sequel. I felt the book isn't compelling enough for me to want more. Maybe if I read it more.
2. I never accepted that Wanderer could possibly stay in Melanie. I was very Jared on that point. I too felt sorry for her, and genuinely wanted her to find a way to stay. Melanie grew to love her too, but I just have to take SM's word for it that Mel. was willing to give up her life as well. That was tough for me to be convinced of. It just seemed an impossibility with Melanie still being there. Even if she wasn't, what the aliens did, as nice as they were, was wrong.
If Wanderer had died I would have been heart broken and probably hated the book. I really liked Mel and Jared and felt they were right for each other, but the Wanderer/Ian relationship was obviously the most compelling. So even if it was a little too good to be true, I'm glad Wanderer found a body because she never could have claimed Melanie's.
3. I'm with you Ruth. Interesting planets but a little over the top and certainly none of them appealing to me at all. I would choose to die. Yeah afterlife.
4. I will have to think about this one. But my first response, and I don't mean to sound negative because I really liked the book. But all of the tense action scenes seemed to resolve too easily. I expected much more threat to the human colony, and more difficulty on trips to collect supplies. So the lack of suspense actually surprised me. Many of us have commented how slowly the book captures you. It seems necessary to build a relationship with the characters and the reader, but I was very surprised at how much more of a character driven book it turned out to be.
Being the very loyal and emotional person I am, I would like a little feedback on what people felt about the Jared/Wanderer kiss?
Please tell me he didn't actually have romantic feelings for her.
Of course Jared didn't have any feelings towards Wanderer!!! (You're talking about the last kiss when she's trying to find Melanie, right?)
They kiss 3 times right? The first, where he experimented, the 2nd where they were trying to get Melanie back, and the 3rd when she was saying goodbye to him. I don't think he had romantic feelings for her. I think it was a bit strange that he kissed her again, but I think he did learn to love her in a different way, and understand some of her feelings and how hard things really were for her. I just thought he was doing it to be nice, to make her feel of his feelings for her, or maybe to make her think something more. Before she left for good. Although, he's the one that wouldn't let Doc kill her in the end. Hmm.
I'll be back with my other thoughts!
Oh, I forgot about that last kiss. Yeah, that was weird that he kissed her. I kind of felt like it was put there to make us think that Jared did like Wanderer (to play into the love triangle thing). But I wasn't convinced. I still think that Jared only liked Melanie. He may have come to appreciate Wanderer, and even be attracted to her (since it was Mel's body), but I don't think he loved her more than as a friend.
Before I am completely out of the Host mode, I want to comment on this post, because I am quickly getting into the Twilight mode deeply with our re-read of them. So I'm going to answer the questions while everything is still somewhat fresh for me.
1. The book ended pretty much how I hoped it would. I love a happy ending, even if it's too happy and too good to be true. I want everything and everyone to be as happy as possible. I love when a movie ends happy and shows all the characters that you love happy too. I wanted Wanderer to be able to stay, and especially to be with Ian. I definitely got attached to Ian pretty quickly. I wasn't sure how she was going to make it happen, I really wanted Melanie to get her body and life back of course. I wondered if they'd find a dying human body that wasn't going to survive anyway, or something like that. But I'm really happy with the outcome of that. I liked the ending a lot, loved meeting another clan like theirs with another soul who has "gone native" and I would like a sequel to the book. I would have loved to read even more about Ian and Wanderer's relationship now that the turmoil was over and she was out of Mel's body. I really do want to read more about the experience of Mel and Jared reuniting for the first time again.
2. It switched, I felt bad for Mel at the first of the book of course. I was upset with the aliens for taking her body and taking her away from Jared and Jamie. But I started to like Wanderer so much, especially once they were traveling in the desert to find them. Then I really started to feel worse for Wanderer throughout the rest of the book. She went through so much, especially those first parts in the caves, and others throughout. She had so much pain and turmoil to deal with, so sad. And it helped that Mel started to love her so much too.
3. I don't know, maybe the Bat world, except I'd hate to be blind. I don't like water that much, so the Dolphins are out. I don't like the cold so the Bears are out. I don't think I'd like to be stuck in the ground either. And I hate Spiders, yuck. None were very appealing to me.
4. I have to agree that one of the biggest surprises was that of the Seeker and the soul. Very interesting to find out why she was so obsessed with Wanderer. I loved the alien medicine though, how awesome would that be? And really, Ian falling in love with her is something I didn't expect when I started the book. That wasn't something I had predicted would happen, I thought it would be just between the 3 of them, not another love interest involved. But I did love that, and especially Ian.
Good book, I really enjoyed it and love Stephenie's writing and storytelling. She's so awesome.
Okay, maybe someone will read this, maybe not. It is almost midnight, I just commented on everything, and it didnt' work!!! I will try to re-think it when I am more awake. DANG IT!
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