The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Let me start by saying I'm one of the people in the world who was not an instant Twilight fan. I read the first one and didn't care for it. So this book, same author but otherwise not at all related, has been sitting on my shelf for YEARS unread. Honestly, I wish I'd read it sooner.

The premise is this, an alien race of parasites have peacefully taken over human host bodies. But Melanie isn't giving up that easily. She's refusing to leave. Instead, she finds herself invading/sharing the brain with the alien. What follows is a story of what it means to be human that I recommend.

Note for the parents/teachers: This book is described as an adult (as opposed to YA) sci-fi. I assume it got that label because of the word count, which is high enough to jump itself right out of YA. Nothing in this book would make me shy away from handing it to a teenage reader or even a middle schooler.