I’ll admit it: I’m a big Twilight fan. Even though I’m quite far from being a teenager, I love the romance and angst of it all. So when I saw that Stephenie Meyer had written The Host, a book NOT within the Twilight series, I was very skeptical. This was before the Twilight series was done and I couldn’t imagine Stephenie writing anything that didn’t take place in the hallowed Twilight universe or with its beloved characters. So when the book came out, I boycotted it. I knew I would not be able to accept some other world by this great (yes, I said great) author.

Now it’s been a few years since the last Twilight book came out. Last month I saw a trailer for a movie made of this book and decided it was time. Time for me to finally read The Host. So I checked out the enormous tome and dove in. It’s a hefty book! No way a slow reader like me could read the whole thing in three weeks. There was a list of people waiting for it, so I wouldn’t be able to renew it. Because of this, I read the first half and listened to the second half on CD in my car. I was dubious about liking it but, like her other novels, it dragged me right in. The characters are so well-drawn. The plot is intriguing and exciting.

The story takes place in an alternate America. Aliens have landed and have taken over the bodies of almost all of the Earth’s population. The humans act as hosts to these parasitic beings who are much more peaceful than we are. But there remain sects of resistant humans trying to escape being taken over by the peaceful parasites, called “souls.”

I don’t normally read science fiction, but this really drew me in. The story is really about displacement, adaptation, and trying to forge a good life and make everyone happy, which is pretty much impossible. This book is classified as adult fiction, where Twilight was for teens, but I would recommend it for teens and adults. It’s a wonderful story and [dare I say it?] even better than the Twilight series.

Deadly by Julie Chibbaro can be found on Link+.  After reading an article about strong female lead characters in an article by Joanna H. Kraus in the San Jose Mercury News, I became interested in reading the titles she recommended.  Of course, this was after reading the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I was interested in reading other young adult titles with strong female protagonists like Katniss Everdeen.

Prudence is a young lady who is much more interested in learning about science in the male-dominated early 1900's.  She applies as an assistant to an epidemiologist, Mr. Soper.  Soon, Prudence finds herself involved in finding the cause of several typhoid epidemics around the city. 

This tale is a fictional account of what happened to Typhoid Mary.  Mary Mallon was the first person who was identified as a healthy carrier of the typhoid disease.  It was unheard of at that time for a healthy person to spread disease.  Trying to convince the public, the courts, and Mary Mallon becomes an uphill struggle. 

Julie Chibbaro is also the author of Redemption, also a Link+ book.