Wanda I thought was more human in some ways, with her sensitivity and inner strength to put up with so much from so many coming from all angles from the humans, and then her many fears that had to with souls....and even for them. She was strong in so many ways. I loved her.

Yes! Nicely said. It's why I think Wanda and Ian are such a good literary match. Wanda is more human than the other souls and Ian is more soul-like than most humans. They are a balanced pair.

Yes they are very well matched Stephenie really can pick them the whole book all I wanted was Wanda and Ian together and Mel and Jared together and then I was excited for Wanda when she got both Ian and Jaime in her life.

I just loved the book the more I talk about tit the more I love it Wanda was great and she really made me look at things

I really loved Wanderer and would have to say I related to her the most. I also (I don't remember who said this, but...)secretly wanted Wanda to be able to stay in Mel's body and be with Ian, but I'm glad it worked out in the end thanks to Stephanie.
I agree that Pet/Wanda's body is good in the sence that people treat her well, but also like somebody also said it does not allow her to pull more of her share as she was doing before in Mel's body.
But...that may be the point, that she does not need to do more than her share. I do like that it worked out for everybody in the end and that Wanda did get to keep Ian and Jamie in her life. And for that matter Melanie and all her other friends she made. I'm also happy that Ian got to have Wanderer in his life, I would not want him to have his heart broken that badly (if Wanda was not saved). Sorry, I'm kindof longwinded I just now am posting...playing catchup.

I posted this in the Ian thread but I'll mention it here too. I honestly thought Wanda would wake up in Ian's body. At least until a more suitable arrangement could be made. He'd so want to keep her safe and with him. Giving her temporary custody would be no big deal. Of course, that would take quite a bit of adjusting by Wanda.

Do you think it was acceptable for Wanda to lie about the new host's age for the sake of a more immediate sex life? Or does the body not matter since Wanderer is 1000s of years old and SHE's the one robbing the cradle?

You know....I have always thought that the postponement of sex was due to maturity levels as opposed to the physical bodies preparedness. Lol! I mean teenagers around the world show that their bodies are ready for it....lol! It is just their hearts and minds that haven't caught up to it. Lol!
Therefore, I don't see an issue with Wanda fudging about her age. The mind of the body that she had taken over was no longer there so that wasn't a worry. And, as you said....Wanda was thousands of years old....she was more then mature enough. Lol!

Raegiff, you bring up an important distinction. I have students who are menstruating at age 9. Put another way, they are reproductively "mature" in that they are capable of becoming pregnant...at age 9, in the fourth grade. I solemnly swear that no nine year old on earth is capable of effective parenting. So you're right--just because a body is capable of having sex (and/or procreating) does not indicate the person is anywhere near mentally or emotionally prepared to have sex (and/or babies).

Wanda has the mental and emotional capacity to enter into a sexual relationship. The body she's in is less important than those qualifications, but I do think it's important. If her appearance were that of a 16 yr old girl Ian might experience some cognitive dissonance as an honorable person raised in a culture where 16 yr olds are children and men aren't supposed to have sex with them.

Hmmmm. This brings up all sorts of legal questions for the post-invasion world. Is it still statutory rape if someone is having sex with someone in a 17 yr old body even though the soul driving it is 1000 years old?

Shimmer, as always...
My mouth is hanging open in absolute awe, is it ok if I worship the ground you walk on?

Me to I have to agree you are so wise shimmer

I was totally going to comment on this last night but you beat me to it and I can so not follow those elegant words you amaze me shimmer

No, thank you. However, tithes and offerings are always welcome. I accept Visa and Mastercard, well-concealed cash, and Twilight memorabilia.

But seriously, though...I've been thinking about what y'all have said about the potential offspring of a soul-inhabited human and a total human. It seems that there wouldn't be any alteration in the DNA of the host person after being overtaken, would there, so any children of such a couple would be completely human, physically speaking, right?

What if Wanda and Ian were to have a baby? Would it have a similar unifying effect on their community as Renesmee's on the Twilight world? It would be another type of hybrid creation--not physically, perhaps, but in other ways. What would be the emotional impact on others? Imagine the emotional impact on Wanda, who can now have offspring presumably without having to sacrifice herself in excruciating ways. She wouldn't be giving rise to more souls, of course, but being able to remain alive to raise children would hopefully compensate for any guilt she might feel on that score.

now you have me thinking and even wanting to reread the host and know wanting SM to write more in this orld to see where she takes it because anything is possible. I wonder know what really would happen to Wanda if she were to have a baby also. though on a sad note though Ian would have to die someday because he is human but what about the baby would the baby be like Wanda in that case or Ian I am know curios what SM would do with this world huh.......

I think Shimmer hit it pretty close when she said there were no genetic changes when the Souls take over.

Therefore the child of a Human/Soul union would be human. They would have to offer that child up for insertion for it to have any physical link to the rest of the Souls.

I think that is why the child that Wanda and the gang see is so important.

Those Soul parents aren't going to want to give their child up. It is emotionally a part of them. Would they want someone else to come and inhabit that precious little body?

That's why the scene in the playground was so important. Wanda saw it as hope for the human race--that soul-parents wouldn't give their children to be hosts.

That said, what does that mean for the species and their way of life? Would they finally understand what they're doing is wrong? Or would they start kidnapping these children and force them into being hosts as they did with the original humans?

As for the original question I posed: I don't think it was wrong for Wanda to lie about her body's age. Because, for her, it was only the age of the host that was lied about. SHE, herself, is thousands of years old. The body, unlike Melanie, has no awareness of her former self. So it's not like the original owner of the body is being affected by any relations that Ian and Wanda had.

In the event of the government advocating child abductions, the souls with human children may stage a rebellion or go underground, or even seek help from human renegades to shelter the children. Either way, there would be a meeting of minds (so to speak) between a segment of the soul population and the humans who managed to escape implantation. They would have a mutual goal despite their natural opposition to one another.