"The Host" by Stephenie Meyer

I just finished reading "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer, for the second time through. The first time that I read it was two Summers ago, when I was living in our small apartment in Pollock Pines. I had just started going to the library again in search of new books that I hadn't yet read. I've read my favorites through multiple times, and found myself frustrated with my limited collection at home; and having been broke at the time, I turned to the vast assortment available to me at the library. I read many books that summer, in which I intend on reading again and blogging about, but one of my favorites was "The Host."

A couple years before, while living in San Diego, I had gone to our local library in hopes of checking out and reading through the Harry Potter series again. That's one series I have read more times than any other book in existence. In the same section, on the same shelf even, were the Twilight books. They had been out for a handful of years at this point, and the first movie had already come out on DVD. I was just coming out of a very Christian phase that I went through for a couple years, and I had heard a lot, I mean A LOT, of bad repertoire about this series. So, being the rebel I am, I checked the first one out, and within a week I had read all four books!

So, when I was browsing the library shelves up here in Pollock Pines, I noticed that Stephenie Meyer had written another book unrelated to Twilight. Being familiar with her writing, and quite enjoying her first books she had published, I eagerly grabbed The Host. I devoured that book in no time! I didn't know what to expect with this story, but it was a surprise every chapter. I thought the idea of alien invasion being presented in such an alien way was genius. The fact that, as a reader, you fall in love with the alien species, and then the twist of an alien falling in love with not just one human, but a community in which she isn't even fully accepted, is brilliant! Wanda (the main character, who goes by "Wanderer" through part of the book) being such a selfless soul really reminded me of myself, and how selfless of a person I am. It was so nice to meet, and even be in the head of, a gentle and pure soul, even though she was a fictional character. That is why I love Fiction so much, there are so many life lessons intertwined in the pages, and it's a thrill of the imagination simultaneously!

My Christmas present from my Grandmother last year was the Twilight series, gently used and read by herself. There's a nice note scribbled in the cover of the first book from someone I do not know, leading me to wonder how many hands these books had passed through before they came to me! I don't know if my Grandmother read "The Host," but she gave it to me with the Twilight series. I was stoked! I had just received the "Divergent" series from my husband for Christmas as well, and now I had TWO series that I had already read and LOVED to add to my small collection, and an additional book too!

In "The Host," an alien species invades Earth and takes over the human population by attaching themselves to the inside of your body, like a parasite, through medical insertion. The only way to tell the difference between a human and an alien is the silver glint to their eyes, that refracts light brilliantly. In an attempt to seek out the last remaining rebel humans, the alien species would comb through the memories of their human "host" in order to seek out and find any relatives that hadn't been caught and used as a Host yet. Our main character Wanderer gets placed inside a very strong-willed human girl named Melanie. Melanie had been living as a rebel on the run for years with her younger brother Jamie, and boyfriend Jared. Melanie went back to Chicago to find her aunt and cousin by herself, and barely survived a suicide attempt when she was about to be caught by the aliens. Wanderer was inserted into her and supposed to use Melanie's memories to aid her own species in finding more humans for insertion; but instead she falls in love with Melanie, because Melanie refuses to go away and allow some alien to use her body as a host. Together (in the same body) they go in search of Jamie and Jared, and what they do find is completely unexpected, all the way through to the very last page of the book!

So, if you haven't yet read "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer, I HIGHLY recommend it! Even if you don't think you're "that into" sci-fi novels, this one will surprise you! And I promise there aren't any sparkly vampires in this one.

Until next time...

Love Laughter & Light,
Tanya

Let's Play Catch Up

It has been a long time since I've sat in front of a computer and shared my thoughts, life, happenings, and goofs.

I have been through a lot since I even had internet access at home last. I was living in San Diego, my husband and two girls. David was working with Canvass For A Cause (http://www.canvassforacause.org/), Willow was in Kindergarten; and Aliana was a bumbling baby, chubby as could be, just learning to crawl. Then, one night after the girls were fast asleep, David and I sat down to a Skype chat with a couple friends from back home in NorCal, as was usual. We Skyped with these friends weekly. Well, they had some issues with their roommates and offered for us to rent two rooms from them, and our opportunity to move back home to the country. We had an angel of a friend whom financed our move, as well as flying down and renting a uhaul to move us 800 miles back home. A month after that fateful Skype call, we were back home in Placerville, CA.

Our new home did not have internet, though we did have satellite. Willow began First Grade at the local Elementary school, riding the bus for the first time. Neither David or I drove at the time, so I walked Willow one mile to the bus stop every day. In all, my six year-old walked two miles a day, I walked four miles a day, and Aliana strolled in a jogging stroller for four miles a day. David worked out of town for his dad, and was only able to come home once every two weeks, or so. This living situation lasted nine months before things went sour in our household between our friends and us.

We moved out and up to Pollock Pines, 15 miles up the mountain from Placerville; just up the street from David's work and all. The downfall was the second-rate apartment we ended up in. The Landlord was awful; he was a Landlord/Tenant Law Attorney who used his title to scare his renters into living in poor conditions. Upon move-in we didn't have a bathroom door handle, let alone a smoke alarm. No screens on the windows, and we were upstairs. The stairs themselves were so rickety, it's a wonder the children never got hurt. Not only that, but drugs were being peddled from the neighbors in the back complex, and there was drama over-flowing. The benefits were, that first summer in the apartment, my best friend and cousin in-law lived nextdoor, my sister-in-law lived directly under her, and my older brother lived directly under me. A lot of good summer nights and barbecues commenced.

A year in that apartment, and a better deal fell in our laps! Now we live in a 3-bedroom house with Pear trees and a garden, INTERNET once again (after three long years), and a family truck named "Ruby."

So, now that I have internet, I have decided to start blogging once again; with a fresh start. I plan to talk about a range of my interests, and hopefully entertain you at the same time with my writing and wit.

Until next time...

Love Laughter & Light,
Tanya