The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)

When Mara Dyer wakes up in the hospital she has trouble remembering how she got there. Slowly details are filled in though. She was with her friends and boyfriend in an abandoned asylum when it collapsed. She's the only one who survived. Mara has a hard time dealing with this and is suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) so her family decide it's time for a fresh start and they move to Florida. Things in Florida are okay. Mara makes a friend, Jaime so school isn't so terrible...then there is that cute boy, Noah. English accent, disheveled clothes and tousled hair make him hard to resist. The only problem Mara has, are her hallucinations. She's trying to play it cool so her family doesn't have to worry, but Mara is having a hard time telling between what's real and what's not. When a few people start dropping dead, Mara knows that something has to be going on. She can't figure everything out on her own though.

So while I was not like OH MY GOD THIS BOOK! I do see what people reacted that way. This was a pretty awesome start to a trilogy. Mara is a very fascinating narrator, since her brain isn't completely 100%. She has hallucinations and delusions and it makes it interesting trying to figure out what is really going on.

I wish there was more Jaime in this book. I think it just adds in Mara's dysfunctionality though that she doesn't have a good solid friend. Jaime seemed interesting though and I really wish him and Mara hung out more.

Then there is Noah. He is a dream. I sort of picture him as Nicholas Hoult, especially as Tony in Skins. The cocky air to him as well as being English and cute. Regardless though, he was a very interesting character and he counteracted Mara perfectly.

I am deadly excited to see what happens next with Mara. This story is very ensnaring and the whole concept is just...wow. The only flaw in this novel are more of a preference flaw; the whole girl in new town dates mysterious and attractive boy who only wants her like he's never wanted anyone before. Some people find this unrealistic, I find it perfect for a novel. That's how love in a novel should often be. It's a much nicer reality than the truth. ;)

Michelle Hodkin's writing is amazing. She creates sentences that lure you in and chapters that keep you turning pages. You think you can put the book down, only to realize that you have to read one more chapter to be satisfied.

If you haven't read this novel yet, it's probably time you do. I really enjoyed it and will be biting my nails until all the secrets have been uncovered.

First Line:
"The ornate script on the board twisted in the candlelight, making the letters and numbers dance in my head."

Favorite Lines:
"'I mean asscrown. The crown on the top of the asshat that covers the asshole of assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses,' I said, as though reading from a dictionary of modern profanity."

"Lightning flashed in distant purple clouds that spread over the sky like a dark quilt."

"'Because I am European, therefore more cultured than you,'..."

ISBN: 9780857073631
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 452

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger. She wakes from a coma in hospital with no memory of how she got there or of the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her best friends and her boyfriend, yet left her mysteriously unharmed. The doctors suggest that starting over in a new city, a new school, would be good for her and just to let the memories gradually come back on their own.

But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and when she suddenly begins to see other people’s deaths right before they happen, Mara wonders whether she’s going crazy! And if dealing with all this wasn’t enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen can’t seem to leave her alone… but as her life unravels around her, Mara can’t help but wonder if Noah has another agenda altogether…

I really enjoyed reading The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer, it was a mixture of Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson, Entangled by Cat Clarke and the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong! I enjoyed reading the flashbacks, I think they were well thought out, and written in, just in the right place! One of my favourite parts of The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer was learning more about the accident with Mara, as she herself discovered it.My favourite character was Mara, as despite being told to move on and gradually let the memories come back with time, Mara can’t. She feels guilty that she was the only one to survive so, regardless of the possible consequences, she tries to unearth her memories of that night. I like the cover of The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer, however for me it’s too abstract. I feel it could have fitted in with the actual story within more than it does.

Holy. Wow. I want to know why someone didn’t force me to read this sooner, because I was most certainly, without question, missing out. This book has it all: mystery, romance, thrill (I’m not sure if that works, but I’m using it), just a dash of paranormal, and, of course, Noah Shaw.

First, I’m a sucker for mystery and psychological thrillers and The Unbecoming had plenty to offer me in those departments. Even though I thought I knew what was real most of the time, I was never completely sure. When dealing with psychological thrillers, one can often get confused and that’s definitely the case here, but I was never annoyed by my confusion. It totally worked for my enjoyment of the story.

If you’re a reader of this blog, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t really read a lot of paranormal. As I mentioned before, The Unbecoming has just a dash of paranormal and it’s totally perfect. So if you’re afraid of paranormal, you should definitely still give this one a chance.

I suppose you want to hear about Shaw now. Well, let’s just say he’s pretty freaking amazing. He’s sexy and, well, he has an accent. Who can resist a boy with an accent? He’s also just the slightest bit jerk-like, but it gets balanced out by his sweetness most of the time. If nothing else, you definitely want to read this for him.

Ever since The Unbecoming came out, I’ve been hearing about its WTF quality. I had no idea what people could possibly mean by that until I read it, and let me tell you, it’s most certainly a good thing.

Final Thoughts: This book seriously has it all. I was never bored and for the last 50-100 pages or so, I was basically glued to the pages. Oh, and the ending. Seriously, what the crap?!? When I reached the last page, I was actually talking to the book going “No. No way. It can’t be over. I can’t believe that just happened.” Basically, there’s no possible way to be eloquent about this book which should make you want to read it all the more.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer has something just so off about it that it automatically draws readers inside. The story had some very artistically vague parts in it, adding to its element of the unknown, while other times the scenes are so detailed it seems almost real. As debut novels go, this one is truly a gem.

Mara is quite an interesting person. Her name alone is a bit of a representation of her character; I've read somewhere that Mara means bitter, and a Mara is (I think) a suupernatural creature who apparently sits on your chest and enter your dreams as you sleep. She's sensible, and very very smart, doing everything to stay out from Noah Shaw's spell. I love her character, but I seriously don't get how she could jump so quickly from the position of vice-president of Avoid Noah Shaw At All Costs Club (Jamie Roth's undeniable the president) to devout member of the Noah Shaw Fan Club. Still, seeing her confusion and pain for not knowing after she kills - accidentally - her Spanish teacher, the owner of Mabel, and the animals seems a lot more believable than her feeling sad, and then later consoling herself by believing Noah's words saying that it couldn't be helped.

And there's Noah. Hot, mysterious, unattainable, and way too interested in Mara. Sounds familiar? Yes, but I'm not complaining. I'd probably not go for that kind of guy in real life but fiction makes the rough edges very nicely concealed. I seriously don't think it would be possible, but he probably has the power of charming the pants off of the entire Dyer household with a few short sentences. Nevertheless, I have to hold against him his notorious womanizing ways. Puh-leez. I don't have anything for nor against feminists, but his history with Jamie's sister was a bit cruel. Scratch a bit. He gets some points back for 'saving' Mara and her sketchbook from a certain demented jealous girl. And for getting her brother. And for being a fantastic adviser to Mara. In some ways, Mara and Noah reminds me of Bianca and Wesley in The Duff by Kody Keplinger. Y'know, smart chick, kinda asshole-ish guy. End up together in some odd circumstance. Oh, and a quote. From a 'conversation' between Mara and Noah. Which wasn't really a conversation. But still.


“You smell good," he whispered into my neck. He was warm against me. Instinctively, I arched back into him and smiled.
"Really?"
"Mmm-hmm. Delicious. Like bacon.”

Of course, he didn't say that because it was a dream. But still. He had me at bacon.

One person I'd really love to hear more of is Jamie. He's probably among the greatest best-friend characters I've read, and I sincerely hope that he'd make another reappearance in one of the later Mara Dyer books.

Mara was given a terrible power, much like Juliette's power in Shatter Me, only much more potent and lethal; she does not need to touch anything to put her power in use, and no one is immune. In Mara's mind, the cause of death is explicitly described, giving it a certain oomph in the freakout-o-meter. That I like.

As the story progresses, Mara gets more and more immersed in whatever her power is; the story put perfect gaps on the powers source and, well, everything. With careful manipulation of words, Michelle Hodkin leaves readers at a devastatingly perilous cliffhanger, with fingers threatening to slip, as her audience fights to claw their way up from the abyss. Wow, that sounded . . . lyrical. But I have a bit more wisdom to enlighten you all with. Lesson of the day: read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. And its sequels. Seriously, it rocks so much I don't have words for it.

I really loved this book. It wasn't what i expected but i loved it anyways.

We get to know what is happening with Mara (the main character) and Noah and i was surprised to see that Noah also has secrets of his own.

I loved how Michele made this book unpredictable, i wasn't expecting what happened and i was really shocked at the end to see that Jude was still alive.

I loved how it ended-leaving me hanging and making me think about when the sequel is coming out and i just can't wait!

I hope it is as good as this.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this, as the synopsis really doesn't give you much detail. I am thrilled to report that I was very pleasantly surprised. Mara wakes in the hospital with no memory of the accident that killed her friends and left her mostly untouched. In the hopes of putting the accident behind her (and not having to be committed to a psychiatric institution, her mother's suggestion), Mara asks her family to move to a new state. The past still haunts her however, and she experiences hallucinations (Claire replacing her reflection in the mirror; Jude standing just a few feet away outside her school) that lead her to believe she's going slightly crazy. She meets Noah, an infuriatingly charming and arrogant boy at her new school, who has quite the reputation of "using girls like condoms" - trashing them once he's used them once. A romance ensues, and we learn Noah is hiding secrets of his own.

I won't go in to too much more detail, plot-wise, as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read this yet. I will say that there is a touch of the paranormal, which combined with Mara's hallucinations, leaves your hair prickling and standing on end. There were so many scenes where I found myself looking around, expecting to see someone standing over my shoulder, or staring at me from a distance; this book thoroughly creeped me out in some parts. It was awesome.

The romance was refreshing for a YA novel, as it developed throughout the entire book. There was no love-at-first sight (Mara actually calls Noah an asshole after their first encounter), and we are actually allowed to experience their initial attraction blossom into something deeper as we seem them face different situations together. Some of the more steamy moments left me breathless, and I admit that I really enjoyed Hodkin's writing during those parts; she gives just enough to leave you wanting more, while allowing the sexual tension to build up between Mara and Noah so that you can see the electricity that must pass between them when they do touch. The moments where Noah tells Mara that he was made for her, and that he's happy as long as he can that say she belongs to him, were a little uncomfortable for me as I don't like that possessiveness quality, but those moments weren't overwhelmingly present, so I was able to (mostly) ignore them.

The only real issue I have with the book is the ending. The surprise revelation at the end was a welcome one, but Mara's uncharacteristic shift in attitude was not. Throughout the entire book Mara was able to recognize that her hallucinations were a result of her PTSD and she fought to control her mind, so they couldn't overwhelm her; she was strong. Towards the ending, as Mara starts to piece together what actually happened to her friends, she starts to unravel, and the strength she showed early on starts to waver, and then disappear. During the last couple chapters, I really didn't like Mara, her selfishness, or her complete lack of faith in Noah, but most importantly, in herself. I didn't feel like she gave trying to find a solution (or purpose for her...power? for lack of better word) an honest chance, and instead took the easy way out - running away. I'm also not a fan of books that purposely set themselves up for sequels, but I will be reading the next one in this series that Hodkin releases.

Warning: Rants, ramblings, a unfavorable review, and some very light spoilers up ahead written by a frustrated, and very disappointed blogger. Read if you’d like. Comments will be read and are welcomed, but any particularly mean or possible argument-starting comments will be deleted. You have been warned.

Oh, Mara Dyer. You win, you win. The publisher’s summary was just amazing. The cover? Drop dead gorgeous. Mara, you left me pinning, literally begging, and, later on, you tricked me into buying you. Shoot me, but I judge books by their covers. It’s a bad habit, I know. And, if I hadn’t already learned my lesson, Mara? You’ve taught me that for sure. Because you left me oh so disappointed in you, Mara. You win. You’re officially one of my biggest bookish disappointments this year. You win.

Where to begin? Shall we start with the plot? The romance? The characters? The un-necessary things that somehow made their way into this edited, published copy? The writing? The alligators? I’ll start with the plot. And the alligators. The rest will follow.

I get it. There are some books with plots that are character-driven. There are some books based on the romance, with a sub-plot hovering on the side. There are some books containing a few smaller, somehow related sub-plots that then tie together at the end. There are some mystery plots that span over several books, with the solution/thief/person responsible/etc revealed at the very, very end. But if you’re going to write a book like that, you have to make it work. With Mara Dyer, I wasn’t even sure of which category this belongs to. Let me explain. I’m going to have to break this down into smaller, separate paragraphs, so bare with me.

First, we have the romance. We have a guy-meets-girl story. Mara’s a new girl at a new school, and she meets Noah Shaw, the boy every girl wants, the boy who sleeps around, but the boy who no one can keep. But (surprise!) Noah likes her. Really, really likes her. As in I’ll-believe-anything-you-say likes her. As in I’ll-tell-the-world-that-you’re-my-girlfriend-although-I’ve-never-told-anyone-else likes her. And Mara? She all but throws herself at him. After she meets him, we literally read about nothing else but their relationship. Oh, and the alligators. But they’re still together in that scene. I think a better word for their relationship would be: obsessed. They’re definitely obsessed and infatuated with each other to a point in which it’s embarrassing to read about – even for the reader. But Mara? She isn’t embarrassed at all.

Then there’s that delicious murder story we were promised in the publisher’s summary. Mara, oh Mara. You’ve definitely fooled me here. The prologue was pure awesomeness. It gave me the chills, and was just… wow. Eerie, creepy, mysterious. I kept reading faster and faster. You sucked me right into the story, Mara. I thought this was going to be amazing. Chapter one was great, too. Until… Mara met Noah. That’s right. Because, from there, all that eerie, creepy, and mysterious stuff that was built up before? It all but dissolved. Faded away. Instead, we were left with a high-school romance story. Sure it popped up a few times later on. But it wasn’t as strong anymore. I thought this was supposed to be a eerie book. A horror book. A thriller. Congratulations, Mara. You definitely had me fooled right there.

Then there’s the smaller scenes. There’s that high-profile criminal case that her father was apparently working on, the random dog rescue scenes, flashbacks, a seminar, and that one alligator scene. The high-profile criminal case seemed to have been written there only as an excuse for Mara to move. After she moves, the case all but disappears. And, don’t get me wrong. I hate seeing those poor, thin, homeless animals out on the streets or being abused, too. But the random dog rescue scenes in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? It seemed so irrelevant to the plot. It was just another thing to dilute the already weak mystery. The flashbacks, I know, were put there to add suspense and to build-up on that mystery surrounding Mara’s friends’ deaths. But… they didn’t seem to do anything. They didn’t drive the plot forward. Granted, it didn’t slow the plot down, either. The flashbacks were just… there. Then, of course, we have the alligators. In a way, it kind of amused me that the author put a scene like this in her story. Like the dog scene and the flashbacks, it didn’t seem to serve any purpose to the story.

The publisher summed up the story in six sentences. I summed it up in three long paragraphs. That alone should tell you something: it’s misleading. That wonderfully compelling story is misleading. Mara, oh Mara, you’ve managed to fool us again.

And Mara, it wasn’t just the characters that made me disagree with this book, was it? Let’s talk about Mara and Noah Shaw. And their relationship.

Okay, maybe I’m a little biased when it comes to Noah. He has a British accent. I’m part British, and I have a British accent, too. Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t see what’s so fascinating about accents. I don’t see what’s so sexy about a I-just-rolled-out-of-bed look, or a playboy guy whom you can’t tell half the time if he’s joking or not. And, again, this might be just me, but I like characters with flaws. Noah’s ‘flaw’ is that he smokes. Anything else? Nope, not that I can see. He speaks many different languages, has a huge house, is rich (at one point in the story, I do recall him casually pulling about $5000 dollars from his wallet), is pinned for by all girls, composes music, and he gets perfect grades without even studying. Oh, and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? Twilight called. They want Edward Cullen/Noah Shaw back.

Of course, Mara’s infatuated with him. She just about forgets everything else in her life and flings herself at him. Drawing perfect pictures of him in class? Thinking about him 24/7? Dropping everything in her life to pine for him? And when Noah’s the same (minus the drawing – see my rant on their relationship at the beginning of my review for more)? Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t a romance. This is an obsession.

Of course, this also means she hangs on to every word he says. So when he says creepy things about him owning her, she doesn’t find it creepy. And when she goes to some Santeria priest and has a wrong drink and blanks out? She wakes up in Noah’s bed. Naked. With no memory of what had happened between then and now. But, of course, she doesn’t run away. Instead, she makes out with him. He could’ve lied. He could’ve messed with her when she wasn’t thinking right. He could’ve done something to her – anything. But she doesn’t think about that possibility. No, she makes out with him. Well, at least she has some sense as she puts on some clothes – his clothes – first.

Mara, you sounded amazing. But upon reading, I discovered a tangled web of multiple confusing, different plots, a messed up obsession between two characters, and alligators. All I wanted was a thrilling mystery. I think it’s safe to say that I was very, very disappointed.

Will I recommend this to anyone? I don’t think I can. Sorry, Mara. I just couldn’t enjoy you enough. However, go check on Goodreads. There’s plenty of five/four star, raving reviews on there to change your mind and coax you into taking a peek at The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Meanwhile, I’ll be off. There’s a certain vampire-boy that doesn’t belong in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I’m off to take him back to Forks.

SO GOOD! I love this book, and I hate that I have to wait so long for the next one! Noah and Mara are such interesting characters, and I really can't wait to get to know them a little better!

I am sooo glad that I signed up for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. Why? Because 'The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer' is a 2012 debut (at least in the UK) and, while I may have read it sooner or later even if it wasn't a debut, the fact that it was just meant it was sooner. Sooner, rather than later, that I read this AMAZING book, which I completely LOVE!

Nightmares, memories and hallucinations merge unsettlingly with reality, creating a darkly tense, mysterious story. I actually found myself to be quite spooked at some points in the book, with characters involving themselves in Ouja boards and old abandoned lunatic asylums; I know, that makes it sound like a classic, clichè horror story but it's not!

I think the main feature of this story is all the mystery. Right at the very beginning, before the story even starts, we are told "My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something." So from the very outset, we are already filled with questions, the biggest one being, 'Who is Mara Dyer???' This question is the foundation of the book, which builds up around it and, bit by bit, gives us fragments of insight into the protagonist's life in order for us to be able to start piecing together the answer. By the end of the book, we do have some answers, but the whole picture still eludes us, leaving us hanging and anticipating the sequel. And the end will leave you inwardly screaming for the next book.

I have already recommended, and passed on, The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer to one of my friends and I'm recommending it to all of you too!

As soon as I started it, I sat on my butt for almost four hours straight until the prospect of a blood clot rushing to my heart due to inactivity prompted me to get up. But I was obsessed! All I could think about was Mara's story! The characters are really strong in this book. There is some vulgar language, but really only enough to create a personality. It didn't feel overdone like some other books I've read...or tried to read. Mara is willful. Her emotional strength gets her through the story and although she starts out relying only on herself, Mara learns to ask for help when really needed.

Descriptions of Mara's "episodes" were done in very vivid detail. It was easy to connect to Mara's desperation even though I am not psychotic...or at least I don't think I am. But Mara's way of responding to outside stimuli was realistic. She pushed the thoughts away taking into account that she did have a problem that she needed to deal with. Nothing was overdone or understated. The balance between Mara's conflicting emotions and interactions with the other characters was wonderfully written.

Noah is also a very strong character. He is snark-y, slightly arrogant and distanced until later in the novel. He is very similar to Mara in ways of personality and it shows how they connect in that sense. But at the same time, Noah reveals insecurities that may be more emotionally traumatic than Mara's circumstances. This juxtaposition really shows Mara's ability to overcome, but is still down-to-earth.

The story has some surprising plot turns and I ended up figuring things out along with Mara. I am so amped to read the sequel. The cliff-hanger was devastating to me as a reader. I can't get enough of these characters, but especially the story. A must read.

*originally posted on my book review blog.