Review Detail

I read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer online through Simon and Schuster's PulseIt program. And yes, IT WAS FREE. AND LEGAL.

Mara Dyer and her family move to Florida after an accident that kills her best friend and two others. Sure, there's nothing new there, but somehow, Hodkin made it work. Although Mara is broken on the inside, she still manages to have fun with her family sometimes.

I liked Mara, both as a character and a narrator, right up until the end. I didn't understand her motives about the thing involving Lassiter. (Yes, I'm sure I spelled that wrong.) Nightmares have been haunting her since that night when Rachel, Claire, and Jude died. She's been put on anti-psychotics. I understand that she's angry, but why does she not even consider the consequences of taking a man's life when it's made her feel so horrible all the other times?

Most of the time, Mara's emotions really got to me. She felt real, and even if she irritated me with her repetitiveness, I still felt for her.

Noah Shaw, on the other hand, never irritated me. Not once. He was awesome *-* He wasn't cheesy, but he wasn't an asshole, either. Most of the time.

I only have one question involving his personality: WHERE ARE ALL THE SWEET AND INNOCENT VIRGIN BOYS IN YA? Not every boy has to have had sex with the entire female population of the school. Really. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't have liked Noah as much if he was all sweet and innocent, but it's a valid question.

Another thing I really loved about this book was how when Mara thought she was crazy, I was asking that question right along with her. Were there paranormal events involved, or was Mara just hallucinating and dreaming?

My biggest issue with this book: The pacing was way too slow for me. While the pacing of Mara and Noah's relationship was fine, the pacing of the actual plot was a bit of a problem. Most of the book is just full of Mara's "hallucinations," and you don't get any real answers until the last 70 or so pages of the book. Even then, there are too many unanswered questions for me to be happy with. I know The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is only the first book, considering it says "End of volume one" on the last page, but I think a few more questions should have been answered, or the book almost has no point.

Overall: Although I think large parts could have been cut out and questions really should have been answered, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was an interesting novel full of real emotions and just a hint of paranormal. The characters were addicting, the writing style was perfect, and I can't wait for the next book. 4 stars.