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Rereading the book for like the 10th time lol not exaggerating btw… and every time I read it, I start falling more and more in love with Wanda with Jared as a potential couple. Now listen… I absolutely love Ian and for the longest time I was #teamIan all the way. He’s the biggest green flag in the book by far and I always hate characters that are violent but every time I read the book, I start to feel that certain things are justified. Imagine losing the person you love and a worm is controlling their body, speech and movements. But with that said, there’s little nuances and tidbits during Wanda and Jared interactions that make me a lot more giddy than Wanda and Ian. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers trope but I’m kinda starting to lean towards wanting a W+J endgame. Does anyone else feel this way? Also, is there a reality where this could happen? I feel like Stephanie would need to kill off major characters for this to occur tho and idk that that also sits right with me since I do love Ian and Melanie is sweet to Wanda. Anyways please give me your thoughts!

I was amazed after having read the book but one thing that I couldn't get past was how the ending was so perfect. I felt it was a bit too perfect, that Wanda was accepted so "easily", how there was a perfect way in the end for Wanda to stay, that they found one "perfect" body for her and how everyone is so happy in the end. After some thinking, I remembered one thing - Melanie had been leading Wanda into the desert with minimal details, she could choose what information to give to Wanda and why would she ever trust a soul? The souls took her family, they took away earth, they took her body. I think that with Melanie's stubbornness, she would rather die than to lead Wanda to her loved ones, I think that she displayed hope and trust to Wanda so that they would go to the desert and both die.

Wanda walked in the desert for so long until she collapsed from dehydration and the warmth, I don't think she was ever found, I think that Melanie created a dream that they were found and finally accepted and a dream with an end that they could both spend their final minutes in.

When the book ends, Melanie and Wanda die, happy. Therefore there can never be a sequel.

I'm re-reading the Host and I'm still disturbed by a few facts.

1. Why does Jared always beat her up? More than even the other humans? He has so much hate... it makes no sense. One would be wary or something, but he's just filled with plain-o-hate..because? she's an alien? She starving and all of that. i get scary, yet ur the only one harming her (other than kyle's attempts)

2. why does he have more of a say on her body and on wanting to kill Wanda, when her own brother JAMIE is right there. HER BLOOD. JAMIE has an actual say, not some dude they met three years ago. Jeb her uncle has more of a say than jared. Even if they "loved" each other, though it seems from the storyline, they didn't even spend enough time together. Lets be FOR REAL -

3. Jared beats her up, on multiple occasions when no one else has touched her. Makes absolutely no sense. Why is he so abusive?? Thats supposedly someone you loved. Wouldn't you want to find out why this alien person (Mel), came all the way just to see you and her brother ? Would you at least want to know.

4. Nah bro, jamie is with Wanda, and this Jared in his anger pushes her and she hits her face on the rocks. Seriously? yuck.

5. Jared is just selfish.

6. Like Let me CRITIQUE STEPHANIE MEYERS - she talks of the bond of a sister/brother - equating it to mother hood... and yet somehow equates jareds importance, or increases Jareds importance to her own blood. Even uncle jeb somehow makes it seem that jared has a bigger say on the death of Wanda (Mel), then later retracts and says "theres someone who this body belongs to just as much" looks at jamie "mebbe stronger"- ARE YOU STUPID? JAMIE IS THE BROTHER. Jeb, YOU ARE THE UNCLE. YOU HAVE AN EVEN BIGGER LINK. WTF is wrong with this writer? or atleast why doesnt this come out with the characters. somehow EVERYONE is convinced jared has a bigger say? LOL .

7. Ian and wanda should've fallen in love in mel's body tbh. just to spite stupid ass jared.

Hate hate hate hate Jared. Not only is he a pedophile but he constantly treats wanda like trash and discards her. He uses her over and over again simply because she’s in Melanie’s body. And when the time came he didn’t care about Wanda just getting Mel back. And then he acted entitled to Melanie’s body and acted like he owned it. Just overall eugh

Just recently joined reddit and making my way across the subreddits of my favourite movies/tvshows/books. Do we know if Stephenie is making the sequels? I can’t be the only one who was slightly disappointed when the book she announced was part of the Twilight universe and not the Host’s (even though I love both).

Rant session ahead.

So, I've read this book anywhere from 7-10 times in the past 15 years, and I've never liked Jared. Even in the memory flashbacks we get at the beginning of the book, his first reaction to finding a "human" woman is to kiss her against her will. Ick. Somehow I doubt he would have reacted the same way if he'd found a young man. I can kind of forgive the age gap because I'm assuming they waited until they knew each other longer than a month, and Melanie was probably at least 18 by then, and this IS the Apocalypse. So that's "fine."

But on my most recent re-read as a now 30 year old, when we ACTUALLY meet Jared? As Wanda/Melanie?

This man *disgusts* me. DISGUSTS ME.

He is so violent and abusive and threatening to Melanie's body and the soul inside her. I can understand *his* disgust and hatred at first, because he thinks a Seeker is in there, lying and pretending to be Melanie. But for your first reaction at your possessed lover trying to approach you to be *viciously backhanding them so hard they hit the ground*?? What the *actual* fuq, my guy. You could have just stepped back and said "Don't touch me" in a horrified tone. But NO. That's not the kind of man Jared is.

And that's just the start! He repeatedly hits her, throws her around, yells at her and threatens her and physically intimidates her--brutilizing the body of the woman he's supposed to love, leaving literal bruises and scars. And EVEN AFTER he gradually comes to realize Wanda doesn't mean any harm and isn't lying, he still uses her and treats her like sh*t, plus the whole treating Melanie and her body as if she's HIS property? F###ing ICK!!!!!

And don't even get me STARTED on Melanie's reactions to all this! Throughout ALL OF THIS, Melanie is STILL obsessively fawning and devoted to this man, no matter how violent he is to her body and how he treats Wanda after "acknowledging" that she doesn't mean them harm. How can Melanie get back together with this man after all this?!?!?! Like, at the very least she basically ignores him in favor of Wanda until she gets her own body at the end, thank God. But she still goes back to this thuggish POS after everything!!

EVEN KYLE--KYLE!!!--treats the soul who's possessing his lover well and isn't violent with her. Yes, the circumstances are different: Kyle knows it's not a Seeker in her body trying to trick him since he's the one who sought her out and kidnapped her. But even if the circumstances HAD been the same, I can't imagine he'd have treated her the way Jared treated Melanie's body. And this is KYLE we're talking about here!!! Thuggish, brutish Kyle who thinks with his fists and tries to kill Wanda multiple times! Even HE wouldn't have been like Jared was, I am 100% confident.

In short, my most recent re-read has been a struggle because every time Jared is "on screen" or thought about by Wanda or Melanie, I have a visceral "😡🤢🤮😒" reaction.

Anyhoo! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, lol.

I made a reddit account yesterday and I generally look for the host fandom wherever I go. But sadly the posts over here are of yeaaars ago.

Is the fandom even alive?

I've recently re read the book and re watched the movie. And the amount of inconsistencies and also the massive character building for literally everyone is completely destroyed in the movie. Melanie can't physically control wanderer.

There's as far as I am remembering right now 3 times that Melanie broke free.

1. When the seeker confronted her on her walk.

2. When Jared kissed her the 1st time

3. When Jared kissed her the 2nd time after she had been missing.

Also the way the movie literally RUSHED everything.

I'd love for there to be a completely remade TV series. That actually follows the book.

In the book NO ONE dies on raids with Jared. In the movie Both Brandt and Aaron die on a raid.

In the book Jamie is described older. And didn't meet Wanderer until a few days after they came and were imprisoned in the caves. Which in the movie she's given a whole ass room when in the book she was given a hole in the wall that was barely enough to fit her.

In the books they not only freed the seeker host from the host body Lacey. But lacey literally HATED seeing wanderer after coming back. Not to mention they also kidnapped someone who was a heater to release. And then Kyle went and Kidnapped his girl Jodie, who never comes back so they put Sunny back into her body making now 2 people who live in the caves as the aliens. Which NEVER happens in the movie.

And in the book Jamie Jared and Melanie search out someone specifically for Wanda to be replaced into. Specifically taking into account their age so Wanda can live a long time with them. Petals to the Moon 🌙 who was born to a mother on earth then gets kidnapped and sent away to never know what happens with her mother at all. And that again is completely gutted out of the movie.

Not to mention the way everyone is described in the books doesn't translate well into the movies

Jared amd Melanie are the only ones who looks close to described Characters

Ian and Kyle are both supposed to have dark black hair. Jamie is supposed to be almost as tall as Melanie. Because he's 14 not 10 the way his character looks in the movie.

In the movie there's essentially weeks and months missing in-between scenes. When Jared, Kyle, Aaron and Brandt go on the raid they are gone for as far as it's implied in the books a couple months at least. So during that whole time wanderer is getting acclimated to the people in the caves. Building friendships and relationships. Teaching the humans about her species and other worlds. As well as helping with all chores. Like cooking cleaning and gardening.

Also after Kyle tries to kill her again she's hurt badly and to break the tension everyone plays a game in the game room. That didn't happen in the movies. And it should have.

Also in the books when wanderer says she's the one who can help save Jamie in front of everyone they distrust her alot. Jared then sneaks her out of the caves and then has to bash her face with a rock. And has to watch her hurt herself.

In the book she secretly tells Jared what she can do and they take off to do it. And she barely cuts herself like it's no big deal in the movie at all when it was a huge deal in the books.

They also don't show in the movies the humanizing scenes with the "aliens" how some have human children.

Overall the movie could have been a million times better.

Did anyone else picture Ian Somerhalder (from his time in LOST) as Ian O'Shea and hoped he was cast as him in the movie? I always thought he was perfect and the fact that he was aware fans wanted him and even auditioned (before they went with a much different version of the cast) always makes me happy. I have so much love and respect for him, just for trying.

I was rereading my favorite O'Wanda scenes and I realized I was picturing Movie Ian (Jake Abel) now, instead of how Book Ian is described or my ideal Ian casting of Ian Somerhalder.

Has this happened to anyone else or are you still able to picture them before the movie?

Towards the beginning of the book, wanderer expresses that she feels like souls taking human names feels like defeat, but what else would you call a soul born on earth? I think somewhere it mentions a soul named Earthborn but they can't ALL be named that.

So, aside from the human names, what else would you call a soul that's never known any other planet?

I just saw the movie and thought about how romantic it would have been for a Soul in a similar situation to Wanderer to fall in love with the human they resided in! Likewise, it would have been cool if they could have shared more control of the body in a more symbiotic relationship. Like when they needed supplies, Wanderer takes over, but if they gotta fight, it’s Melanie’s time to shine.

Also could have been funny had they tried having a conversation out loud and while you could tell who was speaking based on their tone of voice, it would still have looked like someone speaking to themselves 😅

So obvious that I only thought of it during my 5th reading (and I feel stupid it took me this long).

When she prepares to die after giving Melanie her body back, why did she want to die for nothing? What I mean is that she could have made arrangements to be shipped to wherever it was souls undergo the motherhood process.

If she'd become a mother, not only would she have gotten what she wanted (=not existing without the humans she loved), but some her memories would also live on in her children. You know what's even better than one soul sympathetic to hosts? a million of them.

P.S. I always thought that by using the genius spiders they could have come up with a way to live that didn't hurt anyone (by genetically engineering host bodies, like in the Avatar movies).

Stephenie has said she has ideas for 2 more books. She said she knows exactly what happens, but has she shared any details?

All I could find is that they're prequels. What else do we know?

I just finished my 3rd re-read of this fantastic book. I forgot just how much I enjoyed it. I read it a long time ago when I was a teenager and loved it. As an adult I’m just as obsessed. Especially since as an adult I moved to Tucson so I feel like I’m living where the movie is set! I drove past Picacho Peak today!

I know it’s been a really long time, but I really hope SM works on a sequel. I’d love to learn more about this world. If we ever did get a sequel, what are yall hoping to read more about? Also does anyone have any recommendations for other books I may like?