Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: #1 - Mara Dyer
Format: Hardback
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
My Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: #1 - Mara Dyer
Format: Hardback
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
My Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.
My Review:
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was a book that I didn't think I would enjoy and didn't expect at all. I thought at first it would be a good classical romance novel and that I would swoon over. The characters were great, and Mara just caught me completely off guard. Than there is Noah Shaw, the counterpart to Mara, and there were parts of him that just didn't seem natural to me. I wanted to see more of Noah to be honest, and when he did show up I was worried that I wouldn't get a chance to follow or get into his character.
My thought of this book as a contemporary romance was far far off. While there is parts of that romance in this book, I would classify this book as a Thriller sort of, with some sci-fi twists to it near the end. I loved how the book just toyed with my perception, based on the synopsis and some reviews from fellow bloggers, and tore it to shreds. Normally that would be a downside to a book, twisting that way and dramatically doesn't end well from previous books. However, in Michelle Hodkin's case, this book pulled it off.
The book starts off with Mara trying to figure out what happened to her that killed her friends in an abandoned building collapse. The story is revealed slowly throughout the book. I loved the flashbacks and how the story is slowly unveiled, and aids in showing just how far Mara has grown. This adds a layer of growth on top of the current growth to her character as well. Furthermore, in the current time the book circles around a series of murders around town at the same time. Which adds to the suspense and eeriness the book conveys nearly the entire way through it.
Mara Dyer was a great weird snarky character that just caught me right off the get go. I thoroughly thought of her looking like the girl on the cover. She's just everything I would love to have in a girlfriend, maybe that's why she's probably one of my favorite Female characters so far. However, at times I think she's a little too assertive. There are times where she could act and you get the feeling she wants to, yet doesn't in the end. It makes me mad and anxious. I wanted more action from her, but that flaw makes her believable and just how dire the situation was at the time.
Now for one of my more mysterious character, and one that I just don't know what to make of yet, Noah Shaw. He's a great guy and while he wants the best for Mara, there is the idea he's too good for Mara. Yeah, I understand that "too good" is a shitty excuse, but when you look at what he has. What he's come from, and the style of life he has compared to Mara, it's obvious he's in a completely different country than Mara. While I understand that he took interest in her, it still doesn't convince me. Other than that though, Noah is a great, sensible guy, that seems to look after, follow, and trust Mara completely, even when he probably shouldn't.
This book does have sci-fi in it. While I would love to go into it, it gives some of the story away and I don't want to spoil any of that for potential readers. This would normally turn people away and I would love to see everyone read it. I have to acknowledge that the sci-fi bits of this book would turn some off, so I war everyone that if sci-fi isn't your style of book, there is some here and may not be your type of read. However, saying that, the sci-fi wasn't that big of a part. About halfway through the book it starts to focus on the Romance bit, instead of the sci-fi part.
Michelle Hodkin's writing was fantastic. The book flowed and the plot was great; characters were well developed and showed what she is capable of. I found I kept turning the pages and I always wanted to know what happened on that next page. She left you questioning, but provided just enough of an answer to make you keep going. Great Style, Great Twist at the end, and I cannot wait to read the sequel.
My thought of this book as a contemporary romance was far far off. While there is parts of that romance in this book, I would classify this book as a Thriller sort of, with some sci-fi twists to it near the end. I loved how the book just toyed with my perception, based on the synopsis and some reviews from fellow bloggers, and tore it to shreds. Normally that would be a downside to a book, twisting that way and dramatically doesn't end well from previous books. However, in Michelle Hodkin's case, this book pulled it off.
The book starts off with Mara trying to figure out what happened to her that killed her friends in an abandoned building collapse. The story is revealed slowly throughout the book. I loved the flashbacks and how the story is slowly unveiled, and aids in showing just how far Mara has grown. This adds a layer of growth on top of the current growth to her character as well. Furthermore, in the current time the book circles around a series of murders around town at the same time. Which adds to the suspense and eeriness the book conveys nearly the entire way through it.
Mara Dyer was a great weird snarky character that just caught me right off the get go. I thoroughly thought of her looking like the girl on the cover. She's just everything I would love to have in a girlfriend, maybe that's why she's probably one of my favorite Female characters so far. However, at times I think she's a little too assertive. There are times where she could act and you get the feeling she wants to, yet doesn't in the end. It makes me mad and anxious. I wanted more action from her, but that flaw makes her believable and just how dire the situation was at the time.
Now for one of my more mysterious character, and one that I just don't know what to make of yet, Noah Shaw. He's a great guy and while he wants the best for Mara, there is the idea he's too good for Mara. Yeah, I understand that "too good" is a shitty excuse, but when you look at what he has. What he's come from, and the style of life he has compared to Mara, it's obvious he's in a completely different country than Mara. While I understand that he took interest in her, it still doesn't convince me. Other than that though, Noah is a great, sensible guy, that seems to look after, follow, and trust Mara completely, even when he probably shouldn't.
This book does have sci-fi in it. While I would love to go into it, it gives some of the story away and I don't want to spoil any of that for potential readers. This would normally turn people away and I would love to see everyone read it. I have to acknowledge that the sci-fi bits of this book would turn some off, so I war everyone that if sci-fi isn't your style of book, there is some here and may not be your type of read. However, saying that, the sci-fi wasn't that big of a part. About halfway through the book it starts to focus on the Romance bit, instead of the sci-fi part.
Michelle Hodkin's writing was fantastic. The book flowed and the plot was great; characters were well developed and showed what she is capable of. I found I kept turning the pages and I always wanted to know what happened on that next page. She left you questioning, but provided just enough of an answer to make you keep going. Great Style, Great Twist at the end, and I cannot wait to read the sequel.
