Oy. I had to "proof-read" that for a teacher last year to make sure it was appropriate. It took me TWO EFFING WEEKS to finish it. And I'm a freakishly quick reader and I'm usually excellent at comprehension. I hated the Twilight books, and I trudged through those for the same teacher (she was a friend of the family, and she knew I liked to read so I always was assigned reading through the new books) and I finished all 4 in less than a week, even though I didn't like them. The Host was so confusing, I didn't get it at all.....Mrs. Porter tried to read it after I said that I didn't get it and she gave up after the first few chapters. She returned it and didn't buy any of the others in the series.