As a former fan of Meyer's books, I know how terrible the writing is. And it is terrible. But while the beginning is slow (props to the movie for shortening it) and the ending is terrible (the entire Aesop being negated), the premise is remarkably well-explored. The part that stuck out to me were the divisions: trying to balance two opposing ideals. Yes, the Souls bring a paradise, but is it worth it if it means losing your humanity? Are humans violent or passionate? How much of us is our body and how much is our mind? I particularly loved the part where Wanda kisses Jared and Ian in turn: with Jared, her body reacts, but with Ian, her soul does.

Mostly I wish it had been in the hands of a more competent writer. It was much better than Twilight, but the beginning and the ending ruined it for me, and frankly I found Wanda to be a very annoying narrator, almost to Bella Swan levels of Suedom.

Stephenie Meyer still writes from the point of view of a young woman, but she does so much better than in Twilight. I think the reason for this is that Wanderer has to adjust to being a young woman, rather than just wallowing around in it. In this way, we get to examine human emotion and all its irrationalities. We also get to see some much more nuanced character interaction. For example: While Wanderer does get a separate love interest, it develops organically, rather than instantly.

I'd call it fantasy, rather than Sci-fi, because anything remotely scientific is never explored in detail. Sure, there are aliens, other planets, and advanced medicine, but they're treated more like supernatural entities, other worlds, and magic.

Helpfully, it's not too light on action or suspense, which I actually think Stehpenie Meyer is pretty good at. (but to be fair, I don't recall if it had Twilight-style punctuation abuse).

Overall, it's not a bad read.