The Host

    I loved this book, I loved this movie. It got horrible reviews, and I don't really know why. I also have not seen Revenge of the Body Snatchers, so that might be where part of the issue is. The story is definitely better, more developed, in the book (as it should be), but it is still a good/moving story. I cried (every time I saw it), and I don't cry (let alone more than once for the same movie)! So there!
    This is a story set at some point in the future where a group of aliens, that kind of look like amoebas, have invaded earth by living through human hosts. They are peaceful, they are super intelligent, and they believe they are serving the greater good through their symbiotic occupation. However, as in every alien story, we do not do well with invasions, with being told what to do, and especially with anyone or anything that tries to tell us what should be done for our own good. As a result, there are groups of "rebels" that hide from and sometimes fight the aliens to survive and not become hosts. This story follows one girl who was a part of that group before she was captured after failing to kill herself. She has such an impact on her alien invader that she gets the alien (who has lived for hundreds of years through multiple different lifetimes of other aliens) that has never developed any sort of attachment to forsake her own life for that of the host and her loved ones.
    This story was one that made me take back most of the other bad things I thought and believed about Stephanie Meyer. And this movie did the book well. The story was truncated, the timing was cut WAY short, but I still fell in love with all of the characters and felt with and for them in all of their ups and downs along with the way. It might have helped that Max Irons and Jake Abel are super cute, and that William Hurt never fails to impress. I was also impressed with Saoirse Roman's ability to portray the two very different personalities of the alien and her host.
    In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10, I really did love it.