REVIEW: Life and Death (book) by Stephenie Meyer

Life and Death is YA paranormal romance. I bought my copy new.

Review:

In her foreword, Stephenie Meyer writes that this book was inspired by complaints that Bella was too much a "damsel in distress" and too consumed by her feelings for Edward. Meyer was inspired to write this gender-swapped version of Twilight because she felt it would show that the things Bella experienced and the way she reacted wouldn't have changed in the slightest had Bella been male instead of female.

And so we have this book, which follows the same plot as Twilight and even, I'm pretty sure, uses much of the same text word-for-word, with a few pronoun changes. I didn't have a copy of Twilight to compare it to, and it's been years since I last read Twilight, but even I could recognize chunks of text.

The two characters I know for sure weren't gender-swapped are Charlie and Renee, Bella's (or in this case, Beaus's) parents. Meyer explained her reasons for that in her foreword as well, although I think she could have managed to make the change work if she'd really wanted. 

The Cullens and "that time of the month"

So, I was standing in my kitchen, making pizza rolls and, for some reason, thinking about Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series when a thought occurred to me. The Cullens get so crazy around the scent of blood that most of them find it hard to hold themselves back when Bella gets a little cut. Jasper is worse and probably would have eaten Bella if the other Cullens hadn't been there to stop him.

The high school the Cullens go to is filled with teenage girls and women. At the very least, all the teenage girls probably have their period once a month, and they probably don't all have it at the same time. The Cullens could probably avoid the girls who aren't in the same classes they are, but there's still a fair chance that, every single day, there is at least one girl in at least one of their classes who has her period.

Even assuming that Carlisle makes sure they can miss however many classes they need to in a day in order to avoid all these girls, the Cullen "teens" all use the cafeteria. Somewhere in that cafeteria, there is likely always a girl who's having her period.

It's possible that the Cullens (except for Jasper) just have really good control, but wasn't there a part in the book where Edward didn't go to science class one day because they were going to be looking at blood? If that was going to bother him, how could all those menstruating girls not?

Also, what did Edward do whenever Bella had her period? Did he avoid her for a week every month? How did poor Bella not die of sadness?

These are the weird thoughts that just pop into my head sometimes. And, since my timer just beeped, now I'm going to go eat pizza rolls.

Eclipse

I just saw Eclipse.  I think I read too many amusing blog posts beforehand, because all I could think about were things like Bella's eyebrows, counting how many times Jacob appeared onscreen with his shirt on, and everyone's wigs.  I also couldn't stop wondering why no one in Forks ever commented on the Cullens' eyes.  Maybe they were distracted by their hair.  This time around, though, I think Bella's hairline stole the hair spotlight - I could not stop staring at it.

A few other things I wondered about:

1. After spending the night shivering (even though her nose didn't turn red or drip), how was Bella able to easily stand outside in the snow without a coat on the next day?  Granted, it didn't appear as though there was any wind, but it should still have been too cold to just stand there.  Of course, Bella's breath wasn't showing either, so there were more problems with that scene than just her lack of a coat.
2. Why do Edward and Jacob love Bella so much?  Four books, three movies, and one graphic novel later, and I still don't get it.  I suppose you could argue that Jacob is young and his hormones are just out of control, but Edward doesn't have that excuse.  Maybe her delicious scent overrode his brain?
3. Why doesn't anyone in the Cullen family go wild for the scent of Bella's blood anymore?  Yes, Edward had that incredibly sappy answer for Bella, but that answer doesn't hold for everyone else in the family.  Bella was able to parade around in front of them after having gashed her arm open, and no one even seemed to notice.
4. Was I the only one who cringed every time Jacob talked about how much he loved Bella and how much Bella loved him?  All I could think about was, "And very soon you will be imprinting upon her infant daughter."  Ew.
5. Were the vampires always made of plaster?  I sure don't remember that being the case in the previous movies, and I don't remember it coming up in the books.  And yet now they shatter.  Wouldn't this sort of thing actually make them more fragile than human beings, rather than less?

For me, the best parts of the movie were:

1. Charlie.  He was awesome, and easily the most natural, grounded character in the whole movie.  I had another one of those "gosh, Bella's relationships are unhealthy" moments (actually, multiple moments), and I felt like cheering every time Charlie told Bella he wanted her to spend more time with people besides Edward.
2. The bit where Jacob explained to Charlie why he and Edward had been fighting.  "I kissed Bella...and then she broke her hand."  On his face.  
3. Seth.  In human form, he's adorable.  In wolf form, if I saw him at the pound, I'd want to adopt him, scratch him behind the ears, and give him a big hug.  Who cares that, even while standing on all fours, he's still taller than I am?

Do I want to own this movie when it comes out on DVD?  No.  Although I might get it one day anyway, just because this would be a wonderful movie to watch with a group - it begs to be made fun of.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel (graphic novel, vol. 1) by Stephenie Meyer, art and adaptation by Young Kim

Synopsis:

If you've already read the book, you know what's going to happen in this graphic novel, even though you may not know exactly how it's going to happen or what details might change or get condensed. If you haven't read the book, unless you'd like a Cliff's Notes version of the original story, I suggest you start with that instead.

So, I'll just make this brief. This graphic novel adaptation covers a condensed and sometimes a little altered version of the events of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight, up to the point where Edward tells Bella what he is and that she smells fantastically delicious to him. They kiss, and there's the bit where she rides through the forest on his back. Yeehaw.

Commentary:

My initial reaction to this volume, when I flipped through it, was "ooh, pretty artwork." That's one thing this adaptation has over, say, the movie - the Cullens don't look like pale plastic Barbie people, they look like the inhumanly gorgeous creatures they're supposed to be. Unfortunately, the super-gorgeous character designs include Bella, who, rather than looking like an ordinary girl, has a tendency to look like a manga (or is manhwa the better word to use here?) princess - what's going to happen when the story gets to the point where Bella gets turned into a vampire and she's supposed to become inhumanly beautiful? I'm not sure it's possible to draw her more beautiful than this.

Had I been a newcomer to this series, I don't know that I would have liked this adaptation all that much. While Bella's narration can get a bit...trying...in the original novel, this graphic novel condensed things almost a little too much. The worst part is, the annoying aspects of Bella's narration are still there, so it's not like that particular weakness is overcome (it's still incredibly dramatic in an unintentionally amusing way, and Bella still doesn't "sound" like a teenage girl to me). Anyway, it's probably a good thing that I didn't read this for the story. I already knew the story, what I wanted was to see the artwork and take a look at the visuals for any scenes I remembered enjoying in either the novel or the movie.

While I, for the most part, enjoyed the artwork, with its gorgeous character designs (although I thought Jasper actually looked better than Edward), dreamy shading, and clever use of color (only a few pages in this volume have any color), there are still things about the look of this volume that I hated. For now, this is only a minor weakness, although it'll become a greater weakness if this graphic novel series ever makes it to the more Jacob-heavy parts of the series: while the first wolf depicted in this volume looked really good, the second one looked off and bothered me. A more generalized problem I had with the artwork involved characters' facial expressions. While some subtle facial expressions were well-done, other times (quite a few times actually) characters' facial expressions were so subtle that they seemed to be non-existent, at least to me. Also, is it too much to ask that not all facial expressions be subtle? It was rare for characters' facial expressions to be more pronounced or to involve their whole face. Maybe they all got Botox treatments?

All those complaints feel kind of nitpicky in comparison with my hatred of the conversation bubbles, lettering, and "trembling" lines used, although at least the "sweat drops" weren't overdone (unlike in In Odd We Trust). The conversation bubbles tended to be large, perfect, translucent things, with a scraggly little line pointing in the direction of whoever was saying the text. The lettering used throughout the entire volume was perfect, the kind of thing you'd see in a Word document. The overall effect, combined with the inhumanly lovely characters and smooth shading, was one of lots and lots of perfection. A little hand-lettering, or at least a font that would give the illusion of hand-lettering, might have broken up that perfection somewhat. The translucent conversation bubbles just annoyed me - they screamed "lookit what we can do with the computer!" more than anything else to me.

The "trembling" lines (such as when Edward is shaking from the effort of being around Bella at the beginning of the volume) had a look that was similar to the weird scraggly lines coming out of the conversation bubbles. The lines were too strong (especially when outlined in white while on a dark background), making them stand out way too much, I hated that the look screamed "we did this on the computer, after everything else had already been drawn" (making the trembling less a part of the artwork and more something like a sound effect), and there was something about them that didn't seem quite right to me. When I first saw the "trembling" lines, I had a second where I couldn't figure out what they were. That shouldn't happen. Things like these lines need to perfectly follow conventions, which will allow them to be interpreted by readers as being certain emotional cues, all without the reader ever necessarily being aware of what's going on. If you're actually seeing the lines, the way I did, and not feeling them as emotional cues, then something's not right.

I already wrote a lot about the original novel in a separate post, so I don't think I need to say too much about what I thought about the story. I still think Bella's a bit too masochistic. I think this adaptation proves that there is no way to do Meyer's "sparkling vampire" look without it seeming stupid - it was stupid in the movie, and, although it's marginally better in this graphic novel (the bit where Edward walks out into the sunlight is absolutely gorgeous and one of several instances of the book's really effective use of limited color), it's still pretty lame. In addition, because of Young Kim's style, I couldn't help but think "shojo sparklies!" when I saw the sparkles shining in Edward's hair.

If I had bought this instead of getting it via ILL, I would probably consider this a keeper for the artwork alone - despite various shortcomings, the artwork is still lovely. As far as its story goes, though, it's pretty meh. If you want the story, I'd recommend the book or even the movie over this graphic novel any day.

My read-alikes list is nearly the same as the one I wrote up for Twilight because, well, I copied and pasted most of it. Yes, I'm lazy. Especially because a complete and updated list of Twilight read-alikes would probably be at least a few dozen pages - dark (or somewhat dark) YA romances featuring supernatural heroes are everywhere you look these days. If you need more suggestions than I've listed below, let me know - I can come up with more, no problem.

Read-alikes:

• The Awakening (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Vampire Diaries series. Elena is a beautiful, popular high school girl who is intrigued by Stefan, a brooding and mysterious newcomer who is the only one to ever resist her. Damon is Stefan's sexy and dangerous brother, who, in order to get revenge against Stefan, is willing to take Elena from him by whatever means necessary. What Elena doesn't know at first is that both Stefan and Damon are vampires - by getting closer to them, she's involving herself, her friends, and her family in their dangerous world. Those who'd like another story involving high school romance, vampires, and a vampire character the heroine can't keep her eyes off of might like this book.
• The Initiation (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Secret Circle series, although it is no longer available on its own - the link will take you to the Amazon.com page for a volume combining the first book and half the second book (what were they thinking?!). Cassie isn't thrilled to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, but it isn't long before things get interesting for her. Her new school is practically ruled by a group of gorgeous teens who appear to be feared and/or respected by everyone around them. Cassie gradually discovers that, not only do these teens have special powers, so does she. As she gets involved with the group, she begins to fall for one of the girls' boyfriends. Those who'd like another story involving a teenage girl who's recently moved to a new town, dangerous fantasy elements, and romance might like this book.
• Blood and Chocolate (book) by Annette Curtis Klause - Vivian is a werewolf, part of a small community of werewolves living in secret among humans. Vivian's father, the pack leader, was killed when the pack was driven out of its previous home, and all that remains is for a new leader to be chosen before the pack can move to a more permanent home. In the meantime, Vivian doesn't really feel at home with anyone in the pack. She begins dating a human, but how long will their relationship last if she tells him what she is? Even worse, people have been getting killed and Vivian can't be certain she wasn't responsible. Those who'd like another story with supernatural beings, high school-aged characters, and romance might like this book.
• Vampire Kisses (book) by Ellen Schreiber - This is the first book in Schreiber's Vampire Kisses series. Raven, a Goth obsessed with all things dark and creepy, is in oddity in her tiny hometown. One day, a handsome teenage boy moves into town, and Raven is immediately drawn to him - like her, he's pale and dresses in dark clothing. She's sure he's a vampire, just as she's sure she wants to be his girlfriend. Those who'd like another "teen girl and her vampire boyfriend" story might like this book and series, which is aimed at a somewhat younger age group than Meyer's books (the books are much shorter, under 300 pages, and things don't get quite as dark and dangerous). In addition, this series has also been manga-fied - check out Amazon's page for the first volume here.
  
• Vampire Knight (manga) by Matsuri Hino - Yuki's earliest memory is of being attacked by a vampire and then saved by another, the gorgeous and mysterious Kaname. Ten years later, Yuki, now the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, spends her time blushing over Kaname and protecting the Day Class students (all humans, unaware of the vampires around them) from the Night Class (all vampires). She is aided by Zero, a brooding teenager hiding a dark secret. Those who'd like another romance involving teens, vampires, and guys with conflicting desires (should they rip the heroine's throat out or kiss her? hmm...) might like this series.

The Host (book) by Stephenie Meyer

After the horrible experience that was Breaking Dawn (see my post here), I was hesitant about reading this book. I finally ended up bumping it up to the top of my list of things to catalog because it's so freaking thick - at the moment, as far behind as I am on my cataloging, thick books are appealing. So, after I cataloged it, I figured I might as well read it. Surprisingly, I liked it. Meyer's writing style, which seemed unnatural in a first person book written from the perspective of a teenage girl, fit well in a first person novel written from the perspective of an alien. That's not to say I didn't have some gripes about the book - more on that in my commentary section.

Now for the synopsis. I don't reveal everything in the book, since that would take forever, but I do give away the ending. You have been warned.

Synopsis:

Humanity has been almost completely taken over by body-snatching aliens. No one noticed what was happening until it was too late. Now, the few remaining humans who haven't been taken over by the souls (what the aliens call themselves) hide, do their best to survive, and try to figure out a way to get their planet and the people they once recognized as friends and family back.

The only thing humans have on their side is that adults who resist are amazingly hard to truly take over. For this reason, souls are generally encouraged to take only young humans as hosts. However, when a human who may have information about the resistance is captured the Seekers (souls who gather up hosts and protect other souls - the only souls capable of anything even close to violence) decide that much could be learned if she were made into a host. A special soul, given the name Wanderer, is chosen to invade the human. Unlike most souls, Wanderer has never found a planet she truly felt was her home. Her experience with many different kinds of hosts might possibly make her the ideal candidate for dealing with an unruly human mind and overwhelming human emotions.

Wanderer is upset to discover that even she has problems with her human host. Amazingly, her host, Melanie, is still around, and she has no intention of telling Wanderer anything that might cause her loved ones harm. Mel can't manage to keep everything from Wanderer, but this turns out not to be too big of a problem. The constant bombardment of Mel's memories and emotions eventually causes Wanderer to care for Jamie, Mel's younger brother - and Jared, the man Mel loves. Mel's not too thrilled about the idea of Wanderer loving Jared, but, when she gets the opportunity to persuade Wanderer to go to her family without telling the Seekers what she's doing, she takes it.

Mel is overly optimistic. While she and Wanderer do manage to find Jeb (Mel's uncle), Jamie, and Jared (so many "J" names...), the reunion isn't as rosy and wonderful as she seems to have expected it to be. Jeb and the rest now live with a hidden community of humans and, although Jeb seems willing to wait and see if Wanderer is as harmless as she appears to be, the rest of the community, Jared included, isn't quite so accepting. As far as Jared is concerned, Mel is dead, and Wanderer is just a monster controlling her shell. Mel longs to convince him that she's still around and can't believe he would possibly hurt her. Although Wanderer has fallen in love with Jared via Mel's memories of him, she is less convinced that Jared will happily accept the truth, and rightfully so. Jared and others repeatedly try to harm Wanderer. For the most part, the only ones on her side are Jeb, Jamie, Doc (who was originally going to experiment on her), and Ian (who tried to kill her when he first saw her).

With the help of the few people who do seem to like her, Wanderer eventually gains the acceptance of many of the people in the community. Jared eventually believes Wanderer when she tells him that Mel is still alive, which introduces another complication. Remember, Mel's memories have caused Wanderer to fall in love with Jared. Jared loves Mel, and Mel loves Jared, but Jared can't kiss Mel's body without Mel getting upset, because Wanderer enjoys the kiss too and Mel doesn't want Jared kissing Wanderer. As if things aren't complicated enough, Ian eventually falls in love with Wanderer, which again upsets Mel because she doesn't want Ian. Mel's emotions make it impossible for Wanderer to figure out how she feels about Ian. There's no way either Mel or Wanderer will end up with anyone as long as they both share the same body, which Wanderer, by the way, still completely controls.

Although many people in the community have come to like Wanderer somewhat, and although many people enjoy listening to her stories about other worlds (when those stories don't remind them of the plight of their own people), hardly anyone really trusts Wanderer not to betray them if given the chance. When Jamie gets sick, Wanderer knows she could get him medicine that could help make him better, but no one wants to risk letting her go back to her own people. Jared sneaks Wanderer out, the raid is a success, and Jamie gets better. Suddenly, everyone realizes they've got a golden goose - all they have to do is send Wanderer out, and they can have all the medicine and food they need. Constantly taking from her people without giving anything back makes Wanderer feel a bit guilty, but she's happy to be of some use to the community.

Unfortunately, the Seeker originally tasked with collecting whatever information Wanderer managed to get from her host has not given up looking for her and kills a member of the community. Wanderer doesn't want the Seeker to be killed, but she doesn't want to put the community at risk either, so she comes up with a plan. She tells Doc that she'll show him how to remove a soul from its host, but only if he promises her a few things first. First, no soul that is removed must ever be killed. Instead, they must put the souls into cold-storage tanks and arrange for them to be sent to one of the other planets the souls have colonized. Second, Wanderer must be removed from her host. Third, when Wanderer is removed, she doesn't want to be placed into a new host. Wanderer would rather die than continue to live as a parasite.

The last request is the hardest for Doc to agree to, but he really wants to learn how to remove the souls, so he does. Wanderer won't let him tell anyone else what he's agreed to, but people find out anyway. Jared doesn't seem to mind too much (except when he does, although I'm still not sure that his sadness was genuine), but Ian is deeply upset. In the end, Wanderer sneaks off and has Doc perform the procedure.

Except, of course, it's not the end. It turns out there's a little loophole that will allow Wanderer to continue to live without having to be a parasite in an unwilling host. Doc and the others discover that not every human who is freed from being a host can fully recover - some of them have been hosts too long or were unable to mentally fight back the way Mel did. After Doc removes the soul from one such body, Wanderer is given that body. Although she's upset at first, the soul who originally had that body will be safely sent to another world, the body itself would be an empty shell without her in it, and everyone seems happy to have her back. Without Mel's emotions to confuse things, Wanderer happily begins her new life with Ian. When members of the community run into another group of free humans, she also discovers that she's not the only soul who has chosen to side with the humans.

Commentary:

Despite its length (slightly over 600 pages), I read this book in two and a half days, which is a good general indication that I enjoyed it. I'm not sure how well all the alien worlds Meyer writes about would hold up to scientific examination, by they are at least fun to read about. The love story (stories?) is a bit awkward but also interesting. Meyer does an excellent job of making Wanderer and other souls sympathetic, which has the unfortunate side effect of making humans seem like violent, nearly irredeemable monsters. True, the human hosts are taken unwillingly, but I couldn't help but think that the souls were doing a better job with their human bodies than humans themselves do. One of the ways humans finally noticed they'd been invaded: lots of humans suddenly became kinder. Pedophiles, drug dealers, and others who harmed people and broke the law began turning themselves in. Oh, the horror.

Overall, I actually found myself liking the aliens more than the humans. When Mel turned up among the souls, they chased after her so that she could be implanted with a soul. She was badly hurt, but only because she tried to kill herself in an attempt to avoid getting taken over. The souls healed her body, implanted Wanderer into her, and sent Wanderer off to her new job (as a teacher of soul history) and new life in the nearly perfect human world - no one ever has to pay for anything, all injuries can be healed, all illnesses can be cured, everyone trusts each other, no one lies if they can help it, and the only negative emotions anyone feels come from their human hosts.

Aside from the Seekers, souls aren't capable of violence, and even most of the Seekers would probably prefer not to hurt anyone. The souls really have more to fear from humans. When Wanderer turns up among the human community, they, for the most part, try to hurt her. They make their hatred of her clear and, even though she has never once lifted a hand even to defend herself, they fear her. I can understand their fear that she might tell the Seekers about them - after the way they treated her, it was crazy of her not to want to. However, you'd think they'd eventually realize that, on an individual, physical level, they have nothing to fear from her, that all the violence in their interactions with her comes solely from themselves.

Well, enough about that - time to write about those gripes I mentioned at the beginning of this post. In short, they are the book's length, the ending, the way Meyer writes about love, and the whole "humans are so unique" thing.

The Length: Meyer's editor seems to be afraid to force her to tighten up her word count, since book length has been a frequent problem for her. No, I don't think the only good book is a short book - I like plenty of long books. However, I believe that there should be a purpose to all those words. As I read The Host, I found myself thinking that, although I was mostly enjoying myself and certainly making good time reading the book (the check out period of this book was only a week, so I had to finish it quickly regardless), the book didn't really need to be this long. There are many, many pages spent on Mel longing for Jared, Wanderer lamenting how much she is hated, and Wanderer trying to win people's trust like an eager puppy. A better writer, or better editor, could have condensed all these things and more without, I think, the quality of the book suffering. Heck, it might even have become better, and maybe I wouldn't have wanted to smack Mel so much.

The Ending: Usually, when someone complains about a book or movie's happy ending, I'm the one wondering what's wrong with that person. I don't like it when my entertainment depresses me, so I tend to like happy endings. I liked Wanderer a lot and was happy that things turned out well for her, but Meyer's determination to make this a happy ending for everyone, absolutely everyone, was difficult for even me to swallow. Wanderer lives, and humankind will eventually be freed from its alien invasion (one person at a time, but I suppose Doc could teach others how to do it). The alien invaders, who aren't actually all that bad, won't be killed. The truly nice souls, the ones willing to do just about anything for their human friends, will be able to stick around, inhabiting mindless bodies. Ian's brother magically becomes a decent guy. Everybody's happy. Well, everyone except the beings the souls use as hosts on other planets, but who cares about a bunch of non-humanoid aliens? The humans are saved!

To my mind, it's a happy ending that's only happy because Meyer allows her characters to just forget all the things that can't be fixed. The souls will continue to take over hosts, because that's what they must do to survive, and the humans (or, at least, Wanderer's humans) won't be killing the souls they remove. What about the souls who lovingly care for their unimplanted human children? Will they remove the souls from those human bodies, even though those souls would then have to leave behind the children they've grown to love?

I can imagine Wanderer and Ian eventually having children, but they would be human children only. I'm sure Wanderer would continue to hate what she is too much to spawn millions of little host-needing parasites. From a soul perspective, this is kind of sad. Wanderer may have found herself some friends and someone to love, but she can only keep all of that if she doesn't let herself truly be what she is. When Wanderer's host is ready to die of old age, I suspect she'll just let herself die. It probably won't even occur to her to have children the way souls do.

Love in Meyer's Books: I suppose I could just write about love in The Host, but what I have to say really applies to all of Meyer's books. Love, in Meyer's worlds, has a tendency to be disturbingly masochistic. In Meyer's Twilight books, Bella and Edward would just die without each other - in fact, when Edward thinks Bella is dead, he tries to commit suicide. Bella realizes that Edward craves her blood and could possibly kill her at any moment, but she loves him unconditionally (I guess having surivival insticts would make her love less pure?) and doesn't care. Plus, she'd love it if he would turn her into a vampire - who cares about the friends and family she'd have to leave behind, after all?

The Host has similar problems, plus some readers may take issue with Meyer's love of large physical age gaps. Mel is 17 when she meets 26-year-old Jared - he kisses her the first time they meet, but, because of her age, refuses to have sex with her. How gentlemanly! (You can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes.) When Wanderer is put into her final human body, she lies about its age (almost 17), so that Ian won't go all gentlemanly on her. That one threw me a little because, it seemed somewhat unnecessary. After all, while Wanderer new body may be disturbingly child-like (she looks smaller and younger than her actual physical age of 16-nearly-17), Wanderer herself is a few thousand years old. I can't help but wonder what Meyer was trying to do. Why not make Wanderer's new body a sweet-looking, cute, petite 20-year-old or something?

Ok, I got a little sidetracked there. Back to what I really wanted to write about - love in The Host. Mel loves Jared, so much so that she can't possibly believe he would hurt her when she comes back to him implanted with Wanderer. She doesn't think she could have harmed him if he had been in the same situation - her love would be too great!! Oh, I swoon. Ahem. Well, as far as Jared not harming her is concerned, Mel is so very, very wrong. Jared wants to kill her. He tries to kill her. Several times. The only reason he stops is because it upsets Jamie so much. Mel wants to throw herself at Jared even though it's practically guaranteed that he would break her face if she tried it.

Apparently, only one person in Mel's body can have survival instincts at a time. When crazy Mel wants to throw herself at Jared, sane Wanderer holds them both back and tells Mel to get a grip. When Wanderer starts to love everyone so much that she begins to hate her existence as a parasite, Mel tries to stop her from having herself removed and allowed to die. Again, a character's love is so great that she is prompted to express it in ways that cause her pain/death - at least in Wanderer's case, one could see her actions as part of her species makeup, since soul Mothers must give up their lives for their children to live. Both characters lose there sanity where Jamie is concerned, although I found this much easier to swallow. Mel and Wanderer both viewed themselves as something like Jamie's mother, and mothers will sometimes do crazy things to protect their young. I can buy that and even be ok with it. Plus, Jamie never once tried to kill Mel/Wanderer. I still can't believe Mel was hardly even phased by Jared's reaction to her. The more I think about it, the more I hate Jared. Or maybe Mel. Or both of them. Ian, at least, only tried to kill Wanderer when they first met - perfectly understandable, since she was the enemy and he had never known Mel pre-implantation. I also appreciated that he didn't like how willing Wanderer was to harm herself and overlook her own needs/wants in order to help others. That gives him several points over Jared.

"Humans Are Unique": This cropped up a lot at the beginning of the book, and it annoyed me. Wanderer had been implanted in 7 or 8 extremely diverse hosts prior to being implanted in Mel. Readers are told that humans are so very unique. Their emotions are stronger, more erratic, and harder to control than the emotions of any other beings the souls have used as hosts before. One thing Wanderer notes is that Mel is her first host to have a sense of smell.

Saying "humans are unique" makes me think to much of all those sci-fi shows in which some alien, in a tone filled with awe and/or respect, notes that some "uniquely human" characteristic makes humans one of the strongest/most frightening/most whatever species he/she/it has ever encountered. Even shows I love, like Babylon 5, have engaged in that sort of thing. I really dislike it, because it implies that humans are special. Why do we have to be special?

It helped, I guess, that Wanderer loved the characteristics of some of her other hosts' bodies almost as much as the emotions she gets when she's in a human body, but I still could have done with a little less focusing on the ways humans are different from any other host she's known. Aside from the bit where Wanderer talks about previous hosts that are most physiologically similar to humans, Meyer writes very little about the similarities between humans and other hosts Wanderer has been in.

Well, I should wrap this up. Again, I liked this book. If the Wikipedia article I read is correct, there will be a second book (unless of course Meyer decides not to publish it, just as she decided to "indefinitely delay" her leaked book), and possibly even a third. Personally, I think The Host stands well enough on its own. I'll read the sequel, when and if it comes out, but I do hope it's not just an attempt to milk another potential cash cow.

By the way, try reading the blurbs on the book jacket. Meyer is called "a hybrid combination of Stephen King and Isaac Asimov" (by author Ridley Pearson). Umm... I wonder if Stephen King read that - it reminded me of his "Meyer can't write" comment. Maybe the blurb was set up to mess with him. Also, just in general, the blurbs are kind of funny. I mean, they practically glow. It's like a madlib of fawning.

I consider my first two read-alikes to be good matches for this book - my third and fourth are a stretch. I know I've read something at some point in which two minds lived in one body. It would probably make a better read-alike, but I can't remember it, and Amazon, Google, Fiction_L's archives, and NoveList haven't been able to help me figure out the title. Well, if I think of it, I can just tack it onto the end.

Read-alikes:

• Uglies (book) by Scott Westerfeld - This young adult science fiction novel takes place in a future where, at age 16, "uglies," teens who haven't had any cosmetic surgery yet, are put through a major surgical procedure that turns them into "pretties," gorgeous, placid, fun-loving, bubble heads. Tally Youngblood is an Ugly who wants nothing more than to become a Pretty, but things become complicated when she is asked to betray a friend who has decided to leave the city and remain an Ugly. This is the first book in the series - next are Pretties, Specials, and Extras (the only book not featuring Tally as a main character). Those who'd like another book with action, a bit of romance, and a group of rebels might want to try this. There's something about The Host's style that reminds me of this one, too.
• Blood and Chocolate (book) by Annette Curtis Klause - Vivian is a werewolf, part of a small community of werewolves living in secret among humans. Vivian's father, the pack leader, was killed when the pack was driven out of its previous home, and all that remains is for a new leader to be chosen before the pack can move to a more permanent home. In the meantime, Vivian doesn't really feel at home with anyone in the pack. She begins dating a human, but how long will their relationship last if she tells him what she is? Even worse, people have been getting killed and Vivian can't be certain she wasn't responsible. Again, something about The Host's style made me think of this one. Like Wanderer, Vivian has to somehow figure out how to fit what she is in with her new human relationships. I prefer this book's resolution to The Host's.
• I Am Legend (book) by Richard Matheson - A terrible plague of some kind has turned almost all of humanity (and many animals) into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Robert Neville, who is immune to the disease, appears to be the only remaining uninfected human, although he is hopeful that there are others like him out there and that he can find a cure for the disease. As in The Host, humankind is on the brink of being completely taken over. To say too much would be to give things away, but Matheson, like Meyer, also blurs the lines between the "good guys" and "bad guys." The style isn't much like The Host, and the tone is bleaker. This book has been made into a movie featuring Will Smith - the movie is, not unexpectedly, pretty different from the book, although it keeps the basic premise. Personally, I enjoyed the book more.
  
• Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (anime movie) - In the future, almost everyone has been cyberized. Batou, a police officer who is practially a cyborg, and his new partner Togusa, who is mostly human, investigate murders committed by prototype "sexaroids," female robots created for sex. This movie probably won't make complete sense unless you've seen the first movie. Actually, it might not make complete sense even then. Still, it's great eye candy, and it has an interesting way of looking at dolls versus humans. It's not much like The Host in tone or style, but those who'd like something in which a human and something non-human (in this case, dolls/robots) don't exactly live comfortably together might want to try this.
  

Breaking Dawn (book) by Stephenie Meyer

Although I'm sure I could summarize this book in a paragraph or two, I'm not going to. Therefore, this post has a lot of spoilers - if you don't like that sort of thing, either don't read the post or skip to the very end of it, where I've got all the read-alikes/watch-alikes.

Bella and Edward finally get married. Bella is thrilled when Jake turns up at her wedding, but, as usual, she manages to upset him - this time, by making it clear that she intends to have a proper honeymoon with her new husband. Jake is, of course, horrified and angry, since he expects that Edward won't be able to keep from killing Bella when the two of them have sex. Bella, in keeping with her general lack of survival instincts, is not worried about getting her throat ripped out on her wedding night.

The honeymoon actually goes rather well. Edward is deeply upset by all the bruises Bella collects after their first time together. Bella, on the other hand, enjoys sex with Edward enough that she's willing to put off being turned into a vampire for a while longer in order to keep having it. Things become rapidly less blissful, however, when Bella and Edward realize that she is pregnant.

At this point, Meyer does something unusual - she switches from Bella's viewpoint to Jake's (she did this once before, at the end of the previous book, I believe). Jake is convinced that Edward will soon be turning Bella into a vampire, and, when he hears that she's being confined due to "an illness," he's ready to go kill Edward. He's brought up short when he realizes that Bella really is sick - her pregnancy is killing her. Now Jake's Pack (specifically Sam, the Alpha) wants to kill Bella and the monstrosity that is her unborn child. Jake breaks free from the Pack and becomes an Alpha in his own right in order to defend Bella and the Cullens. Seth and Leah leave the Pack as well, in order to become part of Jake's new Pack (which he refuses to see as such). Quite a few people would happily give Bella an abortion in order to save her life (Edward and Jake, for instance), but Rosalie (who, if you remember from the previous book, had wanted a child when she was human) is more than willing to keep that from happening. Besides, Bella loves her baby - after all, doesn't she always love the things that stand a good chance of killing her?

Eventually, it's time for Bella to give birth, and it's awful. Bella's spine is broken, she spews blood, Edward chews through her stomach and womb in order to get the baby out (the womb is too tough for a normal birth - half-vampire baby, remember?), and then Edward injects Bella with his venom.

Around the time of the birth, Meyer switches back to Bella's viewpoint. Bella's not really aware of too much that's going on around her, since she's in so much pain from the birth and the venom. Once she snaps out of it, she does extremely well for a new vampire, exhibiting a remarkable amount of control. Eventually, it's agreed that it should be safe enough for her to see Renesmee (this is the horrible name Bella gave her baby girl). Jake's awfully protective of Renesmee, which confuses Bella, until she realizes that Jake has imprinted on the girl (who, by the way, is aging incredibly fast and was even born with teeth). Bella first reaction is anger, but she doesn't actually try to kill Jake until she finds out that he's nicknamed her Nessie ("You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?"). Even though there's nothing sexual in the feelings of a werewolf who's imprinted on a child, it still strikes me as a little icky, since someone will eventually have to explain to Renesme that Jake used to love her mother. Anyway, now that Jake has imprinted, all romantic tension between Bella and Jake is gone as though it never existed. For me, as a reader, this is both a relief and intensely disconcerting.

Once the personal stuff is dealt with, a life-and-death situation arises that soon involves vampires from just about every continent. The Volturi have been told about Renesmee and have wrongly assumed that she's a vampire child - vampire children have all the powers of adult vampires, plus a heavy dose of cuteness (no vampire can resist them and all want to protect them) and complete lack of control. The rule is that all vampire children and those who made and protected them must be killed. All the group needs is for the Volturi to pause long enough for it to be made clear the Renesmee is not a vampire child and doesn't pose a threat. To that end, Alice instructs the Cullens to gather as many vampire witnesses as possible and then mysteriously leaves with Jasper for parts unknown.

The Cullens gather up lots of vampires, so many that Meyer feels compelled to include what she calls a "Vampire Index" at the end of her book (since when are the Cullens the "Olympic Coven"?) - I'd like to add that this is not, in fact, an index, but rather a list, or, if you're feeling generous, a guide. Not that the "index" matters much, since most of the vampires don't do much to distinguish themselves from the rest, anyway. Although the vampires are supposedly only going to act as witnesses, everyone prepares for a fight anyway. Bella gets a little training in fighting and a lot of training in using her special gifts, which, it turns out, are more special than she realized - she can extend her gift so that others besides herself are protected from vampire powers.

When the Volturi finally arrive, it's less that exciting. They can't do much, since Bella's abilities stop the Volturi from hurting anyone (including the werewolves, who've joined the fight in order to protect Renesmee since Jake has imprinted on her), while allowing those on her side to use their powers against the Volturi. Renesmee gets a chance to use her abilities (she can project her memories into others' minds when she touches them) to convince the Volturi that she's not a vampire child. However, the Volturi have a strong motivation for continuing to fight - they'd like to collect a few more vampires with amazing abilities, and Bella and Edward are at the top of their list. Alice appears in the nick of time, with a grown-up half-vampire in tow, in order to prove that Bella won't grow up to be a danger. The Volturi, lacking a good excuse for continuing this fight in front of witnesses, leave.

As I mentioned in an earlier post for the this series, a student worker's enthusiasm for this series prompted me to continue reading it. Her favorite books, she told me, were the third and fourth ones. I had already read blogs that described this final book as horrifically, hilariously awful, so I was interested to see who I'd agree with, the bloggers or the student worker. Well, I'm sorry to say I'm a little more on the side of the bloggers here - what was Meyer thinking?

I could probably write for ages about this book, but, since my summary was so long, I'll try to limit myself. First, the jarring viewpoint switch, then the omigod sex/pregnancy/birth, then Renesmee, and finally the lackluster ending. Hmm, maybe I'm not limiting myself all that much.

The Jarring Viewpoint Switch: I already mentioned this - for some reason, Meyer decided, after three books worth of writing from Bella's perspective (minus the odd little bit at the end of the third book from Jake's perspective), to write a good-sized chunk of this book from Jake's perspective. While I usually like Jake, and I find his "voice" much easier to take than Bella's sometimes is, it was still an odd decision. Was this really necessary? The only thing extra this gave the readers was a peek into Jake's mind (which wasn't that hard to read, anyway), a better view of what Pack life is like (which, I admit, was nice), and not having to experience Bella's pregnancy. While it's great that readers didn't have to sit through a description of Bella's feelings and pain as the baby broke yet another one of her ribs, she could've gotten around this just as easily by condensing her description of the pregnancy (and thereby making the book, which is longer than it needed to be, much shorter).

The Omigod Sex/Pregnancy/Birth: Meyer was remarkably... vague in her description of Bella and Edward having sex. Actually, I don't think there was any description. Maybe she was worried about offending parents, but that seems odd when you consider that Bella looked like an accident victim after sex - I would think that those who'd be offended by descriptions of sex in a young adult book would be just as offended by massive bruising as a result of sex (and a horrific pregnancy, and a violent, bloody birth). The pregnancy, as I've said, is just horrible and painful to read about. I admit that the birth, though also horrible and extremely bloody, could have been much worse - Meyer went into so little detail about Edward's role (biting Bella's stomach and womb open) that I almost missed it.

Renesmee: When Meyer writes about the vampire children, she mentions that one of the things that made them so bad was that other vampires loved them so much and felt compelled to protect them. Was it only me that thought that Renesmee seemed awfully similar in this regard? Sure, she's not an out-of-control killer, but it creeped me out a little how many humans/werewolves/vampires instantly fell in love with her. The other thing that bothered me - her name. What was Meyer thinking??? Did the effort of thinking up so many names for new vampires drain her so much that she had to resort to the idiocy of Renesmee Carlie Cullen for Bella's baby? Yes, I know it's unlikely that Bella will ever have any more children (I won't say impossible, since Meyer already broke her own rules by allowing new-vampire Bella to have so much control - she never did explain that to my satisfaction), so she'll probably never have a chance to name any other children after her and Edward's parents, but did she have to smoosh all the names together like that? Carlie's not so bad, unless you think of how she came up with it (smooshing together Carlisle and Charlie), but Renesmee (Renee and Esme) is just awful.

The Lackluster Ending: The Volturi are terrible and powerful, and no one has ever been able to stand against them. They come to kill everyone and take anyone with interesting powers away, and when they get there they... bluster a bit and then leave? Huh? This is not what I expected, but Meyer seemed determined to have a Happy Ending at the expense of believability. Every loose end is tied up, and everyone who matters survives. The "Jake Problem" is solved when he imprints on Renesmee (by the end of the book, Bella is just fine with the whole thing), conveniently allowing him to still be a part of Bella's life (just forget that she ever thought she loved him - Bella's certainly forgotten). The Volturi are laughably easy to turn aside, especially because Alice has conveniently found another half-vampire to parade before them (Meyer's explanation for Alice's method for finding him also stretches the boundaries of believability). Everything is wrapped up nice and clean, and everyone is happy. Now, I like happy endings, but I also like them to feel like they've happened naturally. I can usually turn a blind eye to the occasional overly convenient detail, but Meyer is asking a bit much with this book.

Overall, while this book wasn't unreadable, I still say "What was Meyer thinking?" It had all the failings of the previous books, plus a whole bunch of new ones. I'm happy if this series got some teens to read who aren't generally readers (I know that the Harry Potter books did, but I'm not sure if the same phenomenon occurred with Meyer's books), but I'm sad that their rare exposure to reading had to be so awful. It's like talking to people who say they're anime fans only to discover that their idea of the height of anime brilliance is Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z.

Read-alikes and Watch-alikes:

• Ceres: Celestial Legend (manga) by Yuu Watase; Ceres: Celestial Legend (anime TV series) - This series is also often referred to by US fans as Ayashi no Ceres, its Japanese title. A long time ago, Ceres, a celestial maiden, came down from the heavens to bathe in a stream. She hung her hagoromo (robe) on a nearby tree, where it was stolen by a young man who forced her to become his wife. Since that time, Ceres has been trying to get her hagoromo back so that she can return to the heavens. In present day Japan, Aya Mikage, a descendent of Ceres, has turned 16, along with her twin brother. Aya's grandfather plans to kill her, since Aya's celestial blood can cause her to transform into Ceres, who is a danger to the Mikage family. However, Aya escapes. Can she learn to control Ceres and get her life back to something approaching normal? Those who'd like another supernatural love story with lots of action and drama might enjoy this series. As with Meyer's books, there's a love triangle (Aya's "nice guy" protector loves her, Aya loves the guy her grandfather is sending after her to kill her, Ceres might like Aya's protector, etc.).
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (live action TV series) - Buffy used to be a popular cheerleader, until she discovered that she's the Slayer, the girl whose job it is to defeat the supernatural baddies intent on killing everything and taking over the world. She does her job with the help of her friends, her Watcher (her high school's librarian), and, eventually, a brooding vampire. Those who'd like something else with teenage vampire romance, werewolves and other creatures, and the occasional supernatural threat (including big, dramatic showdowns that tend to be less disappointing than the showdown with the Volturi) might like this series.
• The Awakening (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Vampire Diaries series. Elena is a beautiful, popular high school girl who is intrigued by Stefan, a brooding and mysterious newcomer who is the only one to ever resist her. Damon is Stefan's sexy and dangerous brother, who, in order to get revenge against Stefan, is willing to take Elena from him by whatever means necessary. What Elena doesn't know at first is that both Stefan and Damon are vampires - by getting closer to them, she's involving herself, her friends, and her family in their dangerous world. Those who'd like another story involving high school romance, vampires, and a vampire character the heroine can't keep her eyes off of might like this book.
• Interview with the Vampire (book) by Anne Rice - Louis tells the account of his transformation into a vampire by the charismatic vampire Lestat. The two seek out others of their kind and eventually turn a young girl into a vampire. Stylistically, Rice's books are different from Meyer's - if I'm remembering this correctly, I think they might also be slower paced. However, those who'd really like more books with vampires from all over the world may want to try Rice's Vampire Chronicles, beginning with this book. At the very least, Anne Rice has Egyptian, French, American, and Roman vampires (I stopped reading the series at Pandora, so it's likely her vampire population is even more varied now).
  

Eclipse (book) by Stephenie Meyer

I'll start this off with the usual spoiler warning - it takes too much energy to watch everything I'm writing, so don't read this if you want to avoid all spoilers for this book.

Edward and Bella are back together again, although, of course, that doesn't mean things are easy and danger-free. There seems to be an awful lot of killings going on in Seattle. Bella is a bit worried about that, since one of her high school friends will be going there after graduation, but she soon discovers that she has even more personal reasons to be worrying about the violence in Seattle. It turns out that the killings are caused by vampires, who may or may not be connected to the Volturi (who warned the Cullens, in the previous book, that they would be after them if Bella wasn't turned into a vampire) and who may or may not be after the Cullens.

Bella and the others later realize that the vampires are not, in fact, connected to the Volturi, although the Volturi will most certainly become involved if the killings go on much longer. These rampaging vampires are actually an army of newborn vamps created by Victoria, who still hasn't given up on her quest to kill Bella. Bella, as usual, is relieved that the baddie mainly wants to kill her, and not the Cullens. Silly Bella.

The sheer number of vampires, plus Bella's connections to both the werewolves and vampires of Forks, prompts an unprecedented alliance between the Cullens and the Quileute werewolves. Victoria is finally, finally dealt with - unless she rises from the ashes, she won't be showing up in the next book.

Besides the threat of death, Bella's also got lots of romantic and personal problems.

First, there's her volatile love triangle. Both Jacob and Edward love her, and Bella finally realizes that she loves them both (although she's always quick to say she loves Edward more). Sometimes Jacob and Edward are willing to share, and sometimes they're not. Edward had a few snarling jealous boyfriend moments, but he was mostly willing to share, as long as Bella was happy. Jacob was less happy with sharing, especially once he decided he had a chance at stealing Bella away from Edward.

Second, Bella wants to become a vampire. Maybe. She wants to be with Edward forever, staying eternally young with him, but she's worried about what she'll be like as a new vampire. She worries about possibly killing humans, and she worries that her thirst for blood will overpower her love for Edward, making her not herself for a while. She's also sad that she'll have to give up her family. Aside from all of that, there's also Jacob, who, in a fit of rage, tells her he'd rather she was dead than a vampire. What to do when one of the loves in your life says that?

Third, she wants Edward to be the one to turn her into a vampire, but he has conditions she must first satisfy. The main one is that he wants her to marry him. For some reason, the thought of everyone's whispers and stares when she announces she's engaged at such a young age upsets her more than just about anything else. Bella, as usual, seems to have her priorities out of whack. Bella's other difficulty is that, before the thirst for blood becomes her driving physical need, she wants to have sex with Edward. Edward is understandably freaked out by this idea - even if there weren't the possibility that he'd rip her throat out in the heat of the moment, he's incredibly strong and could accidentally hurt her.

I'd have to say that Edward is the most patient and understanding boyfriend in the world. He's practically textbook perfect. One minute, he's snarlingly jealous, willing to fight to keep Bella. The next minute, he's willing to either let her go or share her with Jacob, if only she'll be happy. Emotionally, he reacts in whatever way he believes is best for Bella. That's both sweet and incredibly...fake. When Jacob and Bella finally kiss (fairly passionately, too), does Edward get upset? Of course not. Perfect boyfriends don't get angry at their girlfriends for kissing other guys, oh no.

Well, all's fair in love and war, or at least Jacob seems to think so. He's no longer Mr. Nice Guy. He's willing to lie and steal kisses if that's what it takes to win Bella away from Edward. I missed Nice Guy Jacob - this new Jacob kind of pissed me off occasionally. I'm definitely on Team Edward here. However, the tension between Bella, Jacob, and Edward provided much of the conflict in this book, and it was usually pretty interesting conflict, so I guess I can't complain. I'm really surprised that Bella actually chooses between the two of them by the end of the book. Although I'm sure it's not over, it's still shocking that Bella manages to get over her own feelings about what she needs and finally cuts Jacob loose (not that he goes easy on himself after that).

Another interesting aspect of this book was the fleshing out Meyer did of vampire and werewolf cultures and history. Bella got to hear the story of the first Quileute werewolves (and then she went and identified with the self-destructive aspect of the story - what is with that girl?). The imprinting thing was also interesting (sort of a soulmate thing, although maybe more intense, since it seems to have the ability to alter the werewolf's previous emotions), although not something I could see any werewolf actually wishing for. I keep hoping that Jacob will imprint on somebody, not Bella. Besides the werewolf stuff, Bella also got to hear Rosalie's story (beautiful girl, killed by her beautiful monster of a new husband) and Jasper's story (soldier, turned newbie-vampire-cannon fodder). I hadn't really realized that Rosalie didn't like being a vampire and longed for a baby of her own, but, other than that, her story was only a bit interesting. Jasper turned out to be a more kick-butt than I expected.

I'm so very glad that Victoria is now dead. I never found her all that scary to begin with. Bella spends a lot of time terrified of her, but Victoria doesn't actually do much that's worth all of that terror. I'm not saying Bella shouldn't have been afraid of her (I'm actually kind of impressed that she managed to work up some fear for something she actually should be afraid of), but Victoria wasn't really all that frightening from a reader's point of view.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, although I really wish Bella could cut out all that melodrama and Edward could grow a spine. Despite my ever-present gripes about these things, I managed to read the book in about 5 days - I wonder how long the last one will take me?

Many of the read-alikes I listed for the previous books would work for this book. Since this particular read-alikes list is heavy on books intended for adults, that's important to keep in mind.

Read-alikes:

• Moon Called (book) by Patricia Briggs - This is the first book in a series. Mercy is a mechanic and a skinwalker, someone who can turn into a coyote at will. Mercy is smart and tough, but she's definitely no Mary Sue - she may be able to shapeshift or not whenever she wants, and she may be fast and have a good sense of smell, but she's also weaker and more human than most of the beings she's around. In this book, Mercy and others investigate attacks on local werewolves - although fairies have revealed their existence to humankind, werewolves haven't yet, and random killings could unveil werewolves before they're ready. Those who found the whole werewolf imprinting thing interesting might enjoy this book/series - the werewolves in Briggs's books don't have quite the same thing, but they do have mates. Also, Mercy has something of a love triangle going on between her and a couple werewolves. This series is intended for adults, so there's sex scenes and graphic violence that may not be appropriate for younger readers.
• Tempting Danger (book) by Eileen Wilks - This is also the first book in a series. Lily Yu is a cop who's trying to figure out who's going around killing people in gruesome ways. It looks like werewolves might be involved, and maybe even the prince of the Nokolai clan, Rule Turner. This is especially unfortunate, because Lily and Rule have suddenly discovered that they are mates - the result is a compulsion to be near each other, and it'll look really bad if someone finds out Lily's having sex with the prime suspect. Those who'd like more werewolf soulmate stuff might enjoy this book/series. This series is intended for adults, so there's sex scenes and graphic violence that may not be appropriate for younger readers.
• The Strange Power (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book is Smith's Dark Visions series. Kaitlyn Fairchild is a psychic whose drawings predict the future. The only problem is, her drawings usually don't make sense until after whatever they predict has happened. When she finds out about the Zeetes Institute, a place where she can learn to control her abilities, she decides to go, but the institute may have have more sinister intentions than Kaitlyn realizes. Those who'd like another fantasy story with action and romance (Kaitlin has to choose between a bad boy and a nice guy) might like this book/series. Another series by Smith with a romantic storyline involving a girl who has to choose between two guys is The Forbidden Game, which begins with The Hunter - I didn't add it to this list because, unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though this title is one of the ones by Smith that has been recently re-released, which makes it harder to find.
  
• Guilty Pleasures (book) by Laurell K. Hamilton - This is the first book in Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, set in an alternate history where vampires, werewolves and more are now a (sometimes uncomfortable) part of society. Anita Blake is a vampire executioner, an animator (she can raise the dead), and a consultant to the police on all things supernatural. In this first book, someone's killing innocent vampires, and, although Anita's killed her share of vampires, she does her best to find the killer. Those who'd like a story that, eventually, has a vampire-human-werewolf love triangle might like this series. Also, like Jacob, the werewolf in this love triangle starts off as a nice guy and gets bitter as the relationship stuff gets tenser. A warning, however - there is some very explicit sex in this series, especially in later volumes.
  

New Moon (book) by Stephenie Meyer

One of the student workers at my library is wild about this series - when she heard that I had read the first book, she kept bugging me to read the rest. After I decided to go see the Twilight movie, reading the second book in the series seemed like a good idea. One of the nice things about being the one and only cataloger at my library is the ability to be the first (or one of the first) people to check out whatever is cataloged. I can also bump things up to the top of the "to be cataloged" list. The student worker I mentioned had already had me catalog the first and fourth books in the series, so I cataloged the second one and checked it out right after it had been processed. Then I made it my reading project for the Thanksgiving weekend.

I didn't enjoy Twilight as much as I had hoped I would, although I didn't think it was a bad book. The things I didn't enjoy about Twilight didn't really go away in New Moon: Bella's thoughts (and often her speech) are terribly melodramatic, Bella seems to be lacking in survival instincts, and every single teenage male in Forks (the town the books are set in) finds Bella attractive. However, maybe this time around I was more prepared for all of that or something, because it was easier for me to ignore all of that and just enjoy the story. It made for some nice reading over the long weekend.

At the beginning of this book, Bella and Edward are still all lovey-dovey, but there is trouble in paradise. Bella is still a human, which is the source of all kinds of worry and trouble. Bella worries about growing older while Edward stays eternally 17. Then there's Bella's accident-prone nature - once again, she bleeds in front of the Cullens. Edward, as usual, is upset by his own reaction to Bella's blood and by the danger Bella is in whenever she's around him and his family. This has been an issue since the first book, but in this book Edward decides to actually do something about it, and his family's circumstances provide a convenient solution.

The Cullens, being vampires, don't age, and it's gotten to the point where they won't be able to fake being human much longer. For their own safety, they decide to leave. Edward not only leaves Bella behind, he convinces her that he no longer loves her. Bella is destroyed. The only reason she doesn't just kill herself is because she promised Edward she wouldn't. Still, she spends months numb and zombie-like until she renews her friendship with Jacob.

Bella sees Jacob as a source of warmth and happiness in her life - she needs him in a way she hasn't needed anyone since Edward, but she doesn't love him like she loves Edward. Jacob loves her, even though he realizes she might not ever feel about him the way he feels about her (which, I'm guessing, doesn't stop him from hoping). Their relationship works out surprisingly well, until Jacob is drawn into what Bella at first believes is a cult.

Warning: there's some spoilers up ahead.

Anyway, the cult is not a cult, but rather a werewolf pack. Jacob has become a werewolf. Young werewolves are in constant danger of losing their tempers and turning on whoever is near them, so it's no longer safe for Bella to be around Jacob. However, she still needs him for her emotional well-being, and he still loves her. Since Jacob isn't allowed to tell Bella what he's become, it's a good thing Bella manages to figure it out on her own. Also, it turns out that the pack can help Bella - Victoria, one of the baddies from the first book, is back and determined to kill Bella in order to punish Edward for killing James, her mate. Werewolves are natural enemies of vampires, so the pack is perfectly willing to try to kill Victoria and protect Bella.

Eventually, Bella does something stupid and almost ends up dying. Actually, Alice Cullen thinks Bella really does die and returns to Forks to see if there's anything she can do for Charlie, Bella's dad. Unfortunately, although Alice discovers that Bella is still alive, Edward doesn't. Since he can't bear to live in a world without her in it, he travels to Italy, determined to force the ruling vampire family to kill him. Bella and Alice rush to stop him and manage to make it in time. However, Bella has now been brought to the attention of some very old, powerful, and dangerous vampires. Not only do they think she smells fabulous, they'd love to see what she's capable of once she's turned into a vampire. The only reason everyone gets out of this alive is because Alice and Edward promise that Bella will soon be made into a vampire. Bella may like that idea, but Edward doesn't.

By the end of the book, Edward has promised never to leave Bella again, Jacob refuses to be friends with Bella as long as she hangs out around the vampires (and he or one of his pack will probably kill her if she's ever turned into a vampire), and Charlie is pissed at Edward ("how dare the scumbag who hurt my daughter try to make himself a part of her life again!" - that sort of thing).

I'll quit with the spoilers now and move on to the commentary. First, I'll just say this: boy, Bella sure can pick them. In the first book, she ends up with a boyfriend who can't help but want to rip her throat out. In this book, she ends up with a "not quite a boyfriend but more than a friend" who might accidentally kill or maim her one day in a fit of rage.

Really, though, Jacob is a nice guy. He didn't show up much in the last book, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about him being one of the main characters in this book (this time, Edward is the one who's barely around), but I really grew to like him. Actually, I felt really bad for him. In Twilight, the guys practically panted around Bella, and she barely seemed to notice or care (poor Mike). The pattern repeats itself in this book, although she eventually does admit that she feels bad about basically using the lovestruck Jacob as a crutch. The only reason I didn't hate her for it was because she took the time to tell Jacob that she can't feel about him the way he feels about her. He said he was okay with that, but I wonder - it probably never occurred to him that Edward would eventually come back.

Meyer succumbs to the desire to include a few vampire-novel clichés - now her world of vampires and werewolves includes a ruling body of powerful European vampires, and Bella turns out to be Special. Powerful, scary European vampires are nothing new (see Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, although only if you're old enough to be reading explicit sex scenes), but that cliché didn't really bother me. Actually, I'm hoping this will turn out to be an interesting development (although it's also apparently a sign that this series will no longer be confined to the small town of Forks). The revelation that no vampire's special powers work on Bella (except, apparently, Alice's, but no one thinks to wonder why this is) may also turn out to be an interesting development. However, it means that Bella is no longer an average, ordinary girl who just happens to be dating a vampire. It also opens up the possibility of a Mary Sue situation, which would just be annoying.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, despite its significant lack of Edward. Although I'm sure that the later books will have all the same problems as the first and second books, and then some, I'm looking forward to eventually reading them.

Read-alikes and Watch-alikes:

• Daughters of Darkness (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the second book in Smith's Night World Series - the first book gives readers a little more information about the world and includes an appearance of one of the main characters in this book, but it should still be easy enough to follow along with the second if you haven't read the first. Mary-Lynette and her brother Mark are curious about the new girls who've moved to their town. They see something that lead them to believe the girls might've killed someone. Things get even more complicated when Ash, a relative of the girls, comes to town. The three new girls are actually vampires and fugitives from the Night World, and Ash is determined to bring them back. Unfortunately, Ash and Mary-Lynette turn out to be soulmates (very forbidden in the Night World), and there's also still a murderer to deal with in town. Those who'd like another teenage vampire romance with a crazy-in-love werewolf added to the mix might like this book.
  
• The Darkangel (book) by Meredith Ann Pierce - Aeriel is kidnapped by an impossibly beautiful darkangel who needs her as part of his final steps towards becoming a true vampyre. Although part of his plans for her include draining her of her blood, there's something about him that makes her want to save him. The romance in this book (trilogy, actually) is darker than in Meyer's Twilight series, but those who'd like something with a more pensive mood might enjoy this book. It's been a while since I've read it, but I was obsessed with this trilogy when I was 14 or 15 years old.
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (live action TV series) - Buffy used to be a popular cheerleader, until she discovered that she's the Slayer, the girl whose job it is to defeat the supernatural baddies intent on killing everything and taking over the world. She does her job with the help of her friends, her Watcher (her high school's librarian), and, eventually, a brooding vampire. Those who'd like something else with teenage vampire romance, werewolves and other creatures, and the occasional supernatural threat might like this series. Hey, there's even a little bit of teenage werewolf romance at one point.
• Guilty Pleasures (book) by Laurell K. Hamilton - This is the first book in Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, set in an alternate history where vampires, werewolves and more are now a (sometimes uncomfortable) part of society. Anita Blake is a vampire executioner, an animator (she can raise the dead), and a consultant to the police on all things supernatural. In this first book, someone's killing innocent vampires, and, although Anita's killed her share of vampires, she does her best to find the killer. Those who'd like a story that, eventually, has a vampire-human-werewolf love triangle might like this series. A warning, however - there is some very explicit sex in this series, especially in later volumes.
• Moon Called (book) by Patricia Briggs - This is the first book in a series. Mercy is a mechanic and a skinwalker, someone who can turn into a coyote at will. Mercy is smart and tough, but she's definitely no Mary Sue - she may be able to shapeshift or not whenever she wants, and she may be fast and have a good sense of smell, but she's also weaker and more human than most of the beings she's around. In this book, Mercy and others investigate attacks on local werewolves - although fairies have revealed their existence to humankind, werewolves haven't yet, and random killings could unveil werewolves before they're ready. Those who'd like another story with lots of werewolves, plus an element of romance (although this is much less of a romance than the Twilight series), might like this book and series. This series is intended for adults, so there's sex scenes and graphic violence that may not be appropriate for younger readers.
  

Twilight (book) by Stephenie Meyer

Bella has decided to live in Forks, Washington with her dad, a decision she's not entirely happy with, although she knows it'll be best for her mom. Forks is a small town where everyone knows everyone, and a relative newcomer like Bella (she's visited her dad, but it's been a long time since she's spent much time in Forks) catches everyone's interest. During her first day of school, Bella finds herself most interested in the five gorgeous teens who live with Dr. Cullen and his wife, especially Edward Cullen. Unfortunately, Edward seems to hate Bella on sight, an unusual reaction since she hasn't done anything to earn his hatred and all the other boys at the school like her. It isn't until much later that Bella learns that Edward (and everyone else he lives with, the doctor and his wife included) is a vampire. Bella is more intoxicating to Edward than any other human he's ever met, which is a problem, since he doesn't want to feed on humans, especially on her. Despite the danger, Edward and Bella grow closer and come to love each other more and more. Unfortunately, Bella is still a fragile human, and not all vampires are as against feeding on humans as Edward and his family are.

I enjoy vampire romances, but I read this book mainly to see what all the fuss was about. I know that some people have been wondering whether Meyer is the next J. K. Rowling, and I'd have to say no. I've only read the first book so far, but I don't think it has the wide appeal that Rowling's Harry Potter series does. There's a bit too much romance in the book for lots of boys to flock to it (which isn't saying that the books don't have male fans), and I think the teen angst might be too heavy for many adults. Also, while Rowling created a world full of witches and wizards, parallel to our mundane world, that fans of all sorts could imagine themselves in, Meyer's world seems a bit more limited.

I wasn't sure what to think of Twilight, at first. In the first pages (chapters?), Bella seemed to be looking down on all the people around her. Although, in my opinion, she gets a bit better as the book progresses, she still never really becomes part of the town, she just lives in it. She makes a few friends, but her bonds with them are really shallow - her feelings for Edward are so all-consuming that there doesn't really seem to be room for anything or anyone else, and I guess it doesn't help that she knows secrets about him that she can't ever tell anyone else.

Besides the problems I had with Bella, I also didn't entirely like Meyer's writing style. She seemed to be operating by a few annoying principles: "Never use a word with one syllable when you can use a word with many" or, to a lesser extent, "Never use one word when you can use five." If any Meyer fans ever read this post, I might get bashed for this paragraph, but that's how her writing felt to me. Meyer writes things like "I donned my jacket" instead of "I put on my jacket" - I'm sure it makes for an interesting vocabulary list, but these kinds of things seemed odd for a teenage girl to be thinking and made Bella seem like a heroine in a Victorian novel.

I did start enjoying the book after Bella found out Edward's secret - as I've already mentioned, I really enjoy vampire romances. I don't think I've ever read a romance novel, even one with vampires, where the hero had to always be afraid of killing the heroine - it was really interesting and added a nice bit of tension to all their "getting to know each other" conversations. I loved how Edward had to balance his desire to be close to Bella and protect her with his desire to drink her blood - the rational part of him wanted to get far away from her for her sake, but the emotional part of him wanted to be near her.

The only thing that really made their relationship possible, though, was Bella's sometimes shocking lack of self-preservation instincts. If there was a possibility that someone besides herself could get hurt, Bella feared for that other person to the extent that she didn't look out for her own safety. For instance, she'd go out with Edward without telling anyone who she'd gone out with, just so that none of the townspeople would know it was his fault if he lost control and killed her - all because she loved him. It's amazing she manages to survive this book. When Meyer introduced the bit about Bella finding Edward's scent intoxicating (particularly his breath), I started to wonder whether some of Bella's... stupidity in the face of the danger Edward presented was in some way due to Edward having unwittingly snared her. There were some indications that this might be the case, but Meyer mostly skims over that possibility - I doubt it'll turn up much in later books, although I suppose it could happen.

Besides the romance, I also enjoyed the vampiric elements. All of the vampires had some of the same basic abilities: super speed, strength, etc. Those were most humorously demonstrated in a family baseball game (I'm not sure even the strongest baseball bat could survive what they were doing, but it was still a fun scene). Then there were the more individual vampiric powers, like Edward's telepathy, Jasper's empathic powers, or Alice's precognition. I hope that Meyer does more with those in the future. I have to say, I found Jasper's ability to be the scariest - if he wanted to kill a human, he could do it and make the human feel happy about it.

Despite some of my gripes, I did likethis book overall. I've already gone on to read the second book, and I'm about 100 pages into the third; plus, I've seen the movie.

Read-alikes:

• The Awakening (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Vampire Diaries series. Elena is a beautiful, popular high school girl who is intrigued by Stefan, a brooding and mysterious newcomer who is the only one to ever resist her. Damon is Stefan's sexy and dangerous brother, who, in order to get revenge against Stefan, is willing to take Elena from him by whatever means necessary. What Elena doesn't know at first is that both Stefan and Damon are vampires - by getting closer to them, she's involving herself, her friends, and her family in their dangerous world. Those who'd like another story involving high school romance, vampires, and a vampire character the heroine can't keep her eyes off of might like this book.
• The Initiation (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Secret Circle series, although it is no longer available on its own - the link will take you to the Amazon.com page for a volume combining the first book and half the second book (what were they thinking?!). Cassie isn't thrilled to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, but it isn't long before things get interesting for her. Her new school is practically ruled by a group of gorgeous teens who appear to be feared and/or respected by everyone around them. Cassie gradually discovers that, not only do these teens have special powers, so does she. As she gets involved with the group, she begins to fall for one of the girls' boyfriends. I know, I know, this is the second L. J. Smith books in this list, but I really do believe that fans of Meyer should try out Smith - the two of them have very similar books, and fans who've already devoured Meyer's books will likely enjoy the fact that Smith has written five different series. Those who'd like another story involving a teenage girl who's recently moved to a new town, dangerous fantasy elements, and romance might like this book.
  
• Blood and Chocolate (book) by Annette Curtis Klause - Vivian is a werewolf, part of a small community of werewolves living in secret among humans. Vivian's father, the pack leader, was killed when the pack was driven out of its previous home, and all that remains is for a new leader to be chosen before the pack can move to a more permanent home. In the meantime, Vivian doesn't really feel at home with anyone in the pack. She begins dating a human, but how long will their relationship last if she tells him what she is? Even worse, people have been getting killed and Vivian can't be certain she wasn't responsible. Those who'd like another story with supernatural beings, high school-aged characters, romance, and a writing style similar to that found in Twilight might like this book.
  
• Blue Bloods (book) by Melissa De La Cruz - This is the first book in a series. Schuyler is treated like an outcast by the clique of popular, athletic, and beautiful teens made up of Mimi Force, her twin brother, and her best friend. At the age of 15, Schuyler learns that she is a "blue blood," a very special vampire who is descended from a very old line. Unfortunately, lots of blue bloods have been dying, and Schuyler has to find out why before she, too, ends up dead. Those who'd like another story featuring high school-aged main characters, vampires, and a bit of suspense might like this book.
• Vampire Kisses (book) by Ellen Schreiber - This is the first book in Schreiber's Vampire Kisses series. Raven, a Goth obsessed with all things dark and creepy, is in oddity in her tiny hometown. One day, a handsome teenage boy moves into town, and Raven is immediately drawn to him - like her, he's pale and dresses in dark clothing. She's sure he's a vampire, just as she's sure she wants to be his girlfriend. Those who'd like another "teen girl and her vampire boyfriend" story might like this book and series, which is aimed at a somewhat younger age group than Meyer's books (the books are much shorter, under 300 pages, and things don't get quite as dark and dangerous).
• Vampire Knight (manga) by Matsuri Hino - Yuki's earliest memory is of being attacked by a vampire and then saved by another, the gorgeous and mysterious Kaname. Ten years later, Yuki, now the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, spends her time blushing over Kaname and protecting the Day Class students (all humans, unaware of the vampires around them) from the Night Class (all vampires). She is aided by Zero, a brooding teenager hiding a dark secret. Those who'd like another romance involving teens, vampires, and guys with conflicting desires (should they rip the heroine's throat out or kiss her? hmm...) might like this series. By the way, it has also been made into an anime, which has not yet been made legally available in the US (which, um, hasn't stopped me from seeing the first four episodes - it's a lot of fun).
  

A day off at the movies

I had today off, and it was grand. I woke up really early and did a little bit of shopping. My Black Friday store of choice was Wal-Mart, because I was too lazy and tired to go anywhere else - I'd have to go to another town to shop at many of the stores I used to enjoy, and I think the nearest mall is about 2 hours away. I could only stand to be in Wal-Mart for about an hour before all the people got to me. The cashier I spoke to was extremely nice, though, and nothing seemed to faze her.

In the afternoon, I went to see Twilight. No, I'm no longer a squealing teenage girl, but it's going to be a while, if ever, before my inner teenage girl goes away. I enjoyed the movie - I think I might actually like it better than the book, although I've got gripes about both. I suppose I should get around to finishing my blog entry for Twilight the book, but, since it's not done yet, I'll just say that my biggest gripe about it is Stephenie Meyer's writing style. What teenage girl thinks and speaks the way Meyer has written Bella thinking and speaking?! With the movie, I only had to put up with that during Bella's voice-overs - I thought Kristen Stewart (Bella) did an excellent job of making Bella's dialogue sound reasonably realistic. I also found that I liked Bella better when I didn't have to hear what she was thinking all the time. All that "the guys in Forks are practically falling over themselves for me and I can't fathom why" thinking in the book really got on my nerves.

With the movie, my main complaints were that most of the Cullen family looked fake (although maybe they were made to look that way on purpose, in an attempt to make them look perfect?) and that Robert Pattinson (Edward) is really bad at snarling and looking scary. If you've read the book and worried about whether the filmmakers would change things drastically in the movie, I think you can relax. Scenes and lines were left out, and a few minor (in my opinion) details were changed, but otherwise this was an amazingly faithful adaptation. One thing that surprised me: I don't think I've ever seen a movie with this many intensely awkward moments before. Stewart does uncomfortable well.

Well, I don't consider this my "official" blog post about the Twilight movie, so I don't feel particularly compelled to write much about it (or to list read-alikes/watch-alikes). I enjoyed the movie enough that I think I'll eventually be getting it once it comes out on DVD - I can write the blog entry then.

I really should get around to finishing more blog posts. Unfortunately, I've also got to work on writing up my job qualifications. I really hate that form.