Humanity has been taken over by a race called the Souls – parasites that insert themselves into a human’s body, and then live their lives. The original memories of the body are intact, but the person is gone. The Souls have been on Earth for a while, so there are very few ‘wild’ humans left. When one of them, a girl named Melanie, is caught in Chicago, her body is given to a Soul named Wanderer.
Wanderer has been warned about the volatility of humans – their extreme emotions and propensity for violence. But what she’s not told is that some humans fight back. Melanie isn’t willing to let go, and she and Wanderer now share Melanie’s body. Melanie’s memories and emotions increasingly influence Wanderer, until she finally sets out to find the man that Melanie loves. The journey ends in ways that neither or them expect, or could even have anticipated.
I have to hand it to Stephenie Meyer – she can spin a compelling story. I was pretty quickly hooked, and really wanted to know how Melanie and Wanderer’s story would end. I also have to say, this book is much better than the Twilight series. The story is better, the writing is tighter, and it’s so much less of what became an uncomfortable Mary Sue like story by the end of the series. If she writes another book, I’ll definitely read it, in the hopes that it’s like this one.