The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Or - Mom's Eye Book as Lillian renamed it.

Am I the only one who's read this? I liked it better than the Twilight series, but I did think it had a Stranger than Fiction ending, which I'm not sure I liked. I think it was written that way to set it up for a sequel. (Sorry if that ruins it for you) Which is another thing: what's with the sequels? Time was a story could be contained within 250-300 pages or so. Now, probably because of J.K. Rowling, authors think they can keep the story going for books and books and books. Look, I've got better things to do than stress over your characters. Especially, if I thought I was going to say goodbye to them two novels ago.

Sometimes, I like it. Actually, most times, if I liked the story, I'm happy that I can keep living it in another form. But maybe, in some twisted way, I don't like it for the characters; I have anxiety for them. They've already had 300 pages of conflict and resolution, why put them through any more? Why not just let them have their happily ever after already?

Don't worry, Tyler's already pointed out that I don't actually have to read these sequels. Oh, but I do. He doesn't get it.

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victorial Forester

This was recommended to me by one Stephanie Meyer on her website. I don't usually read her website, but she was the one who recommended The Hunger Games, so I thought maybe her other recommendations would be worth looking in to. The book is what Meyer calls a mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men. A farm girl from middle America discovers she can fly, after she shows off her talent, she's taken away to a secret learning facility.

I liked the book, mostly. It was suspenseful, and exciting, and funny, and feel-good. It's juvenile fiction, not that there's anything wrong with that... I just found it sort of... simple. And, there were some parts where I found myself saying, "I've read this before, except it was a movie, and it was called X-Men." But, the plot took some interesting twists, so it ended up being it's own story.

The verdict: A good read for a plane ride or something. I finished it in about 5 hours.

Both of these books are delightful. They are short (around 130 pages) and full of laugh-out-loud events. I can't recommend them enough. I read the first one a while ago, so I don't remember it as well, but the sequel I just read on the flight home from Utah. It was great. I give it two thumbs up. I thought about reading it to Tristan, but some of the humor he might not "get" for a few years. By the time I explained why parts were funny... it would take a long time. I want someone else to read it so we can say, "Wasn't that a funny book?" "Yeah... it was."