Body snatchers Archives - The Busy Bibliophile

A Teen’s Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Publisher: August 28th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: His mom!

Summary

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

My (son’s) thoughts

After I finished Every Day and sighed my contented sigh, I handed it to my 14 year old son and told him he had to read it. He did and loved it, so I asked him to share his thoughts. I’ve polished up the wording and sentence structure, but these thoughts are all his:

MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS

I thought this was a unique and well written story. It was sweet, what A was willing to do for Rhiannon.

A was my favorite character because he tried so hard to get the girl. If I were in the same situation (a new life every day), I wouldn’t be as well-adjusted as A, I would be antisocial and unhappy. I would be too afraid to make a mistake in another person’s body and I wouldn’t be able to adapt quickly, like A did.

Rhiannon was nice, but I didn’t like how stand-offish she was to A, after she first learned the truth. She eventually warmed up to him, which I liked.

I liked the extra plot about the body who remembered being possessed, it was interesting. The man only wanted answers about what had happened to him.

Spoilers ahead! Click here if you want the details.

The book left a lot of questions, and I wish there were a sequel so we could get the answers.

The sum up

Overall, I would suggest this book to everyone, it was a very good book and I would give it 5 owls.

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09/19/2012 Filed Under: A Teen's Review, Body snatchers, Fast pace, Loss, Paranormal, Science fiction, Sweet, Young adult 2 Comments

Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Publisher: August 28th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

My thoughts

What an incredibly unique and interesting story. The main character, A, is just a soul with no body. A (who is neither male or female) just wakes up every day in a different body, always the same age as A would be, and always in the same area where it went to sleep the night before. A accepted that fate a long time ago and just goes with the flow, until it meets Rhiannon, the girlfriend of A’s latest body. Something clicks and A doesn’t want to do anything else but stay with Rhiannon.

The characterization was one of the high points for me. A, though a sexless, bodiless being, was kind, honest and had a fun sense of humor. A was always conscious of the host it was in and tried hard to keep things the same, never doing anything stupid or unexplainable. While reading the book, I kept wondering how I would feel to be in such a position: no home, no family, no stability, nothing ever the same. I can’t even tell you how miserable that would make me. But A learned a long time ago that’s just the way it was and didn’t see the point in being mad or sad about it.

Rhiannon was a wonderfully flawed character. She was in a not-so-great relationship and just too scared to get out of it. She was too nice to her boyfriend, who didn’t deserve her. I thought her struggle with accepting A’s life was realistic. Though having no identity was normal for A, Rhiannon struggled to see the same person in many different bodies. We met a few other random characters (the families of A’s bodies, Rhiannon’s friends), but the story was all about A and Rhiannon, which was fine; the two of them carried the novel well.

There was a bit of suspense in the story, when one of A’s bodies suspected something, which I thought was a very nice addition. I couldn’t wait to find out how that plotline would end. There was a wonderful message threaded throughout the story: love is blind. It doesn’t matter someone’s sex, color, religion, height, weight or hair color. All that matters is what’s underneath. But for A and Rhiannon, there were complications that made it not so black and white.

The cover is perfect. I love the feeling it evokes, it’s very appropriate for the story.

The sum up

Another home run for David Levithan. It was sad and sweet and just… wonderful. Read this book. Trust me.

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09/18/2012 Filed Under: 5 owls, Body snatchers, Chemistry, Fantasy, Fast pace, Loss, Paranormal, Science fiction, Sweet, Young adult 1 Comment

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

die for me by amy plum Title: Die for Me
Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: May 10th 2011 by HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 341 pages
Series: Book 1 in the Revenants Trilogy
Source: purchased

Summary

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier’s parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life–and memories–behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate’s guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he’s a revenant–an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

My thoughts

To be honest, I had no idea what the book was about, but I heard all of the fanfare for the second book in the series, and I wanted to give it a try. The plot wasn’t especially unique in young adult literature today (girl destined to be with boy, obstacles abound), but I liked how this one was handled.

I liked all of the characters, especially Kate. She was a strong person who’d recently lost her parents. She was still struggling with being an orphan, but she had her sister to commiserate with. I thought it was interesting to see how the sisters dealt with their grief so differently: Georgia went out and distracted herself with boys and parties, while Kate’s solution was to occupy her mind with school and art. But they were there for, and supported, each other. I especially liked Kate’s decision to not have a relationship with Vincent, once she realized how his being a revenant might bother her so soon after the death of her parents. It was a wise and atypical teenage thing to do.

Their grandparents, whom they lived with in Paris, weren’t around very much, so we didn’t learn a lot about them. They seemed nice enough, just showing up every once in a while for an understanding pep talk or an encouraging suggestion. Clearly, they were taking the lax approach to parenting. Vincent was a very sweet guy. We learned about his background and how he ended up where he was. He was a classic swoon-worthy hero. At first, I kind of rolled me eyes and chuckled at the swooniness of it, but finally, I just accepted it for what it was, and I really ended up enjoying the romance aspect of the story. These were two people who had a connection and wanted to make it work. There was no insta-love (though there was insta-attraction!). Just good old-fashioned interest and talking and getting to know each other.

This was my first introduction to revenants and I was quite pleased. I’ve seen some compare them to zombies, but I didn’t see that at all. The revenants died sometime in the past, and for reasons unknown, they came back to life. Now, compulsion drives them to sacrifice themselves to save strangers. Even if they don’t die during these rescues, they still have a 3 day period every month (kind of like PMS from hell) where they appear dead, though they can “haunt” other revenants with their spirit. There are also evil revenants who like to kill people. Basically, Kate has to decide if she can fall in love with Vincent and watch him die over and over, or if that would be too hard for her, given that her own parents had recently died.

The dialogue was peppered with the occasional French phrase but it wasn’t hard to understand what they were saying. Otherwise, everyone was very straight-shooting and I liked that. I enjoyed the way one of the other revenants flirted with Katie, the innocently sweet way he did it and always managed to make her blush.

There were plenty of swoon-worthy moments. Vincent was basically every girl’s dream boyfriend. He was kind and sweet and hot and once his revenant occupation became a problem, he did what he could to make it easier on Katie. When they were apart, he was just as torn up as she was. He said all the right things and was protective of her. No wonder she fell for him!

I’m a big fan of this cover. Of course, it doesn’t have anything to do with the story (though it does feature a Parisian landmark), but it’s very pretty.

The sum up

A classic young adult love story with a few twists.

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Check out my review of Book 2, Until I Die.

04/19/2012 Filed Under: 5 owls, Body snatchers, Chemistry, Cover love, Fast pace, Romantic, Steamy hotness, Sweet, Swoon-worthy, Young adult, Zombies Tagged With: paris 5 Comments

Review: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: May 6th 2008 by Little, Brown and Company
Format: Hardcover, 619 pages
Source: Purchased

Summary

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.Wanderer probes Melanie’s thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer’s mind with visions of the man Melanie loves – Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

My thoughts

This book is so unique, so unlike anything else out there, you simply must give it a try.

Body snatchers have invaded our planet and they’ve just about taken over the world. The good news? They are peaceful and only do good. The bad news? Well, they take over your body.

Wanderer, one of the Souls (aka body snatchers) is implanted into the body of Melanie, a member of the resistance, a group of humans who are fighting the Souls. Only Melanie doesn’t quietly disappear like she’s supposed to. She sticks around and she and Wanderer begin duking it out for control of her body.

“You… She… she’s still that… present?”
The appalling truth tumbled from my lips. “When she wants to be. Our history bores her. She’s more dormant while I’m working. But she’s there, all right. Sometimes I feel like she’s as present as I am.” My voice was only a whisper by the time I was done.
“Wanderer!” Kathy exclaimed, horrified. “Why didn’t you tell me it was that bad? How long has it been this way?”
“It’s getting worse. Instead of fading, she seems to be growing stronger… She hasn’t taken control. She won’t. I won’t let that happen!” The pitch of my voice climbed.

Complicating matters is Melanie’s memories of her boyfriend Jared, and her little brother Jamie, both hiding out with the insurgents. With Melanie unable to control her body, she has nothing to do but think about her life, exposing Wanderer to those memories. Even at night, Wanderer experiences Melanie’s life through her dreams. Though she fights it, Wanderer finds herself intrigued with these people, especially Jared.

Wanderer decides she must meet Jared and though letting her do that puts him and the entire resistance in danger, Melanie can’t help but agree. She needs to make sure he is okay.

We follow their travels as they search for where the resistance is hiding out. We’re treated to flashbacks to how the Souls took over, how Jared and Melanie met and how Wanderer ended up where she is. Once they do find the resistance, will Melanie and Wanderer finally be safe? Can they trust the resistance? Can (and should) the resistance trust them?

Once they find where the resistance is hiding out, the story takes another turn as Melanie/Wanderer try to find out where they belong. Not quite human and not quite Soul, it is difficult for them to find out where that place is. And these feelings that Wanderer finds herself having for Jared, are they real? Or are they Melanie’s memories and feelings?

The plot is so different, I never knew what was going to happen next. There were a few spots where it got a little long (especially the trek through the desert), but it picked back up quickly. There are elements of mystery (Will Wanderer give them all up? Will the Seeker find them?) and action. The dialogue and characters are excellent, very real. Nothing fake or stilted. Especially the (inner) dialogue between Melanie and Wanderer. It could have been hokey, with the two “people” inside 1 body, but Meyer manages to strike the perfect balance. The romance is also different – with 2 people in 1 body caring for 1 guy (and that’s before the second guy shows up!), it’s quite a lusty triangle.

The sum up

The Host is an amazing, un-put-downable story. The writing is vivid and the characters are real and full. It’s a long one, but I found myself hurrying to find out how it ends and wishing it would go on and on.

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