Archive for the ‘Stephenie Meyer’ Category

I think it’s quite obvious by now, from my recent posts, that I LOVED this book. At first, I found it slow to start, and wondered if I’d ever care about where the story was going. However, a quarter of the way through I found it hard to put down, and stayed up easily past midnight to continue reading. And then, there were the tears. The free-flowing, hardest I’ve ever cried while reading, honest to goodness, tears (that I unsuccessfully tried to hide from my husband, who raised an eyebrow at my rare condition). The puffy red eyes, streaky face, and sniffling were much too obvious, and could not be blamed on allergies

OK so onto the story:

Basically, this book takes place on Earth, once the “Body Snatchers” has officially taken over (remember that movie)? Now, in this case, the “Body Snatchers” are an extremely advanced, peaceful alien race (called “Souls”) that simply want to take over planets that display hostility and violence. The aliens have slowly but successfully been implanted into almost the entire population of humans, and Earth has become a safe and tranquil world. Each citizen has a role (similar to the roles in human nature) such as ”Healers”, “Teachers”, and “Seekers”. Doors no longer need to be locked. Crime is obsolete. Money is no longer needed, as the new “humans” trade. They take something, and they give something back. Murder is almost non-existent. Almost? That is where the “Seekers” come in.

It seems that a tiny number of humans have escaped their doom, and live in hiding in a commune, deep in a cave. The “resistant” humans are trying to kill the alien infested humans, (ending both the lives of the human, and the “Soul” inside). While Souls can live forever, by being taken from a dying host, and implanted into a new one, if the host is killed or dies while the Soul is still inside, both die. The “Seekers” have been created to find the resistant cell. The Souls are losing many of their loved ones.

The Souls succeed in capturing a member of the human resistance (a female named Melanie), and they implant a legendary female soul into her (named Wanderer, or Wanda). She is strong willed and has successfully lived numerous lives on other planets. They hope that Melanie’s memories will lead Wanda and the Seekers to the cell, so that the few remaining humans can finally be taken over.

The Souls have encountered another problem. In normal instances, after implantation, the Soul gains the humans memories, and perhaps even a bit of their personality. Souls implanted into married couples even find themselves staying together, and learning to love one another, as the memories of their humans had. While the human spirit inside the body usually ceases to exist once the Soul has been implanted, some humans are stronger then others and fight the implantation every step of the way. They continue to live almost equally to the soul (at least in mental capacity) inside their own body, and the aliens fear that the Soul ends up being controlled and essentially changed, by the, still living, human spirit, jeopardizing their very goal.

Wanda is experiencing this very problem with an angry and defiant Melanie.

Melanie has two loved ones that she had to leave behind in her search for a cousin (which lead to her capture). Afraid to lead the alien “Wanda” to her family, she has blocked her memories from Wanda. Wanda is counseled by a therapist (a ”Comforter”) to help her cope with her difficult human, and is assigned a feisty and obnoxious “Seeker” who follows her every move, suspicious that she will succumb to her human and fail her assignment.

“I’m going home. Don’t follow.”

“I have to Wanderer. It’s my job.”

“Why do you care so much about a few spare humans? Why? How do you justify your job anymore? We’ve won! It’s time for you to join society and do something productive!”

My questions, my implied accusations, did not ruffle her.

“Wherever the fringes of their world touch ours there is death.”

She spoke the words peacefully, and for a moment I glimpsed a different person in her face. It surprised me to realize that she deeply believed in what she did. Part of me had supposed that she only chose to seek because she illicitly craved the violence. “If even one soul is lost to your Jared or your Jamie, that is one soul to many. Until there is total peace on this planet, my job will be justified.”

As Wanda and Melanie struggle against each other, they both realize that they have something in common. Their mutual distaste for the “Seeker”. As they spend time with each other, they begin to open up, and even care for one another, and Wanda begins to suspect that her assignment is an unworthy one.

For a moment, I allowed myself to see the prison that was life without a body. To be carried inside but unable to influence the shape around you. To be trapped. To have no choices.

I shuddered and refocused on the rough road, trying to stave off the mingled pity and horror. No other host had made me feel such guilt for what I was. Of course, none of the others had stuck around to complain about the situation.

Fleeing together into the desert, Melanie allows Wanda to access her memories as they locate her family. Near death from the excruciating journey, they (Melanie’s body, still carrying both Wanda and Melanie) are found by the resistant cell (that includes her family) and taken into custody.

Holding her prisoner, the humans have noticed the telltale signs – a scar and a strange reflection in the eyes - of alien implantation on their Melanie, and obviously mistrust her. Hoping to gain some insight on the aliens, she is fed, and housed in a tiny cell, and guarded by the very men Melanie loves (and Melanie realizes, that even Wanda loves them, as she shares and feels Melanie’s strong memories).

No  they can’t. Uncle Jeb would never let them hurt me.

Uncle Jeb doesn’t know you’re here, I reminded her.

Tell him!

I focused on the old man’s face. The thick white beard kept me from seeing the set of his mouth, but his eyes did not seem to burn like the others’. From the corner of my eye, I could see a few of the men shift their gaze from him to me. They were waiting for him to answer the question that had alerted me to their presence. Uncle Jeb stared at me, ignoring them.

I can’t tell him, Melanie. He won’t believe me. And if they think I’m lying to them, they’ll think I’m a Seeker. They must have experience enough to know that only a Seeker would come out here with a lie, a story designed for infiltration.

Attempting to keep from being killed, they both struggle to gain the human’s trust. And THIS is where the story (at least where I became hooked) starts.

This book will lead you through every facet you’d expect to encounter, if this situation were real life. The initial hatred, and violence against her (the enemy) as she is held captive, Melanie’s internal struggle to have her family recognize that she is still there, and Wanda’s agony over her own emotions of love for Melanie’s family (including Melanie’s boyfriend). 

While Wanda was speaking with Melanie’s uncle:

“I’ve been wondering if you all aren’t turning sort of human. If we don’t have some real influence, in the end.”

He waited, giving me a chance to respond. I didn’t.

“Saw something a few years ago that stuck with me. Old man and woman, well, the bodies of an old man and an old woman. Been together so long that the skin on their fingers grew in ridges around their wedding rings. They were holding hands, and he kissed her on her cheek, and she blushed under all those wrinkles. Occurred to me that you have all the same feelings we have, because you’re really us, not just hands in a puppet.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “We have all the same feelings. Human feelings. Hope, and pain, and love.”

“So, if you aren’t acting…well, then I’d swear to it that you loved them both. You do. Wanda, not just Mel’s body.”

and another conversation with Melanie’s brother:

“Does Melanie hate you?”

I thought for a minute. “Not as much as she used to.”

No. I don’t hate you at all. Not anymore.

Oh, and of course there is also the prerequisite “Love Triangle” (or TWO) that will keep your heart fluttering.  The plethora of emotions that direct the reader through this book range from fear and mistrust to bonding and learning about what humanity really is. There is a lesson to be learned by all. Do not bypass this book! The action and excitement, emotional upheaval and roller-coaster ride of events, will have you devouring page after page well into the wee hours. I’ve had this book on my TBR pile for almost a year now, and can’t believe I’ve held off this wonderful, and fulfilling tale for so long.

I don’t know how Stephenie Meyer does it. While the story does not resemble Twilight in the least, your heart will be affected just as deeply. You will connect with and love these characters, and it will feel as if you, yourself, are truly in the heart of the adventure. Her passionate descriptions and fervent storytelling will keep you riveted.

Oh and the good news is, the author intends on turning this into a Trilogy YAY ME!!!

1. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) (read my review here)
2. New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)
3. Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
4. Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)
5. Midnight Sun (partial draft on author’s webpage)

Twilight (The Twilight Saga)

It’s time to delve into reviewing the wonderful world of the Twilight Saga. This series was my initiation to the Vampire Paranormal Romance world, and my most memorable reading experience in ages. I indulged in this series, escaping the real world for almost 3 weeks straight. Everyday, I’d recount the latest “Twilight” escapades I had read from the night before, to my colleagues (and thankfully, they humored me by seeming interested).

I remember how my curiosity was only slightly peaked, when the commercials for the movie were playing on TV, and my husband would groan and roll his eyes each time a trailer aired. I asked him what the big deal was, and he said it was the latest fad that everyone was obsessing over. I shrugged it off (as I was not into Vampire movies), and continued on with my life.

One day, my mom called me to tell me about a sad novel she had just read, that she couldn’t stop thinking about. She felt the only way she could get over her book, was to pull out her “Twilight” series and re-read it to put her back in a good mood. “What?” I said…”You are into the whole Twilight thing too?”

I think that helped get her out of her funk, as she immediately started to recount what the story entailed, and told me that I absolutely HAD to read the series.  She promptly decided that the books would be a part of my Christmas present, and my December was a blur of Vampires and Christmas lights!

While I’m certain that most of you have already read the main book, or even the entire series, recounting the story is fun, so I will!

The book is set in Forks, Washington (considered the most cloudy area in the U.S.). It is about a teen girl named Bella, who moves into her father’s home in Washington, and is about to be the “new girl” in high school. Bella is a solitary soul, shy yet pretty, and seemingly uninterested in becoming a part of the “in-crowd”. Despite being uncoordinated and slightly clumsy (in sports and in life in general), she still manages to become popular pretty much on her first day, as most of the boys in school are intrigued by her, and most of the girls seem to welcome her.

One particular group of students peaks her interest, however. A beautiful, highly fashionable group of five, that she notices in the cafeteria. Her new friends let her know that they are a ”family” (foster kids that live with their uncle, a renowned surgeon in town). She is told that they do not mix with the other students at all, and is given the impression that this particular group is impenetrable (which in essence, has been true).

She notices that the one out of that group that she is drawn to (Edward – who is also the one that ALL the girls are drawn to), stares at her intently, yet somewhat unkindly. That day, she discovers that she is in the same science class as “Edward”, and of course the only seat available in class, is the one next to him. Despite the fact that she is quite self conscious, and already nervous around him (as is everyone), she takes her seat next to him. To her dismay, she notices that he reacts with horror at her proximity. His eyes seem cold and black, glaring at her with pure disdain. He moves to the furthest edge of their table, to be as far away from her as possible. He appears to hold his breath and his hands clench the table as if he is struggling. His body language personifies disgust, and she is humiliated. By the end of class, he runs out of the room like a bat out of hell, and her new friends comment on his strange reaction to her.

As the day progresses, she has another unpleasant encounter with Edward, and by the next day, he is completely missing in action (and also missing for an entire week). Now she is certain she is the cause of his reactions, and is highly insulted and hurt, but accepts this as part of his group’s “weirdness” and goes on with her new routine.

A week later, Edward is back, and her heart stops when she sees him again. As she approaches her seat next to his, she is startled when he kindly acknowledges her. His demeanor is completely different, and their friendship begins.

The friendship goes through that shy crush stage, where the two characters watch each other from afar, and then eventually seek each other’s company any way they can have it. Despite Edward’s attempt at keeping his feelings for Bella in control (for her own good), he finds that he is falling in love with her, and she does not make it any easier for him, when she gladly accepts and returns his love.

“It would be more …prudent for you not to be my friend,” he explained. “But I’m tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella.”

As they get to know each other on a deeper level, she discovers his (and his family’s secret), the dangerous urges he fights when he is with her, and the struggles they have to face to stay a couple (along with the danger she faces when she enters his world. Not all of his people are nice).

“I’ll figure it out eventually,” I warned him.

“I wish you wouldn’t try.” he was serious again.

“Because…?”

“What if I’m not a superhero? What if I’m the bad guy?”

There are so many beautiful points about this book, that the best way to present them is via direct quotes. The words that make up the emotional closeness that the two experience as they get to know each other, is so much deeper than I could actually put into words myself. The book is so carefully detailed, so lovingly described that you actually feel like you are there. I think, the reason this book touches us so deeply, is that we can all relate. This book is about the kind of “first love” or “true love” that everyone has experienced or wishes to experience at some point in their life. You know the kind of love, when a new couple can simply not get enough of each other. There are no faults, simply complete acceptance, and unconditional love.

Some of my favorite moments in the book:

When Bella and Edward have that first conversation, driving home at night, regarding his secret.

He was suddenly resigned. “What are you curious about?”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” he answered promptly.

“And how long have you been seventeen?”

His lips twitched as he stared at the road. “A while,” he admitted at last.

Here are some more quotes from my favorite parts (you know, where I *swooned* tee hee!)

Their first *real* conversation in the cafeteria,  the next day:

“Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?” he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.

When Edward brought Bella to the beautiful meadow and tried to explain to her, how alluring her scent was to him, and how dangerous that was to her (well actually that whole section was very enlightening and romantic):

“It’s not only your company I crave! Never forget that. Never forget I am more dangerous to you than I am to anyone else.”

Finally my absolute favorite part was when Edward spent the night with Bella. Considering he doesn’t sleep, and could slip in and out of her room without her father noticing (every parents worst nightmare, but a somewhat romantic notion, nonetheless), the fact that he could simply sneak into her room, and watch over her while she falls asleep in his arms *sigh*…

It seemed like a miracle that he was there, his arms still waiting for me. he reached out to me, and my heart thumped unsteadily.

“Welcome back,” he murmured, taking me into his arms.

He rocked me for awhile in silence, until I noticed that his clothes were changed, his hair smooth.

“You left?” I accused, touching the collar of his fresh shirt.

“I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in – what would the neighbors think?”

I pouted.

“You were very deeply asleep; I didn’t miss anything.”

His eyes gleamed. “The talking came earlier.”

I groaned. “What did you hear?”

His eyes grew very soft. “You said you loved me.”

“You knew that already,” I reminded him, ducking my head.

“It was nice to hear just the same.”

I hid my face against his shoulder.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“You are my life now,” he answered simply.

*SWOON*

Okay, well the book simply needs to be read for full impact. For those of you who are here and haven’t read this yet – what are you waiting for? Hop to it!! There’s action, adventure but mostly *LOVE* – For those of you who have groaned and rolled your eyes throughout this review – if you read it, and if you let it, this book will warm your heart!