The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

november 20, 2014

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

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 want to detest this book for its Twilight love scenario. He's all that and even though she's broken and whatnot, she's all he wants - the "they're made for each other" kind-of-love. Through a rich-ass father he's got enough money to buy the moon and with the money comes the power to do everything and the reckless attitude to not give a fuck. He's manipulative, bossy and just so ~~Edward~~ freaking unreal, but I can't stop myself really digging it. I don't know if it's 4½ years of singledom speaking and this book just being read at the exact right time, but so help me God, I liked it. All of it.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is pretty straight forward to begin with with a paranormal plot seeping in over time. I can't tell much of the plot as it unfolds without spoiling things, but I can probably say that many will absolutely hate it. Others will love it, I did, to an extent. It's also a book that leaves you hanging, being part of what is so far a trilogy. Book 2, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, came out in 2012 and book 3, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, is being published in early November 2014. I definitely want to read onwards. There is some confusion towards the end as it's a bit hard to keep track of exactly what happens, and why, and how the characters feel about it, but I have a general idea.

5 stars is my immediate reaction to finishing this book. I think it's well written, and extremely engaging and easily read. The love story is an obvious cliché as I mention above, but even acknowledging that and even finding other parts of the story lacking and a bit quickly glossed over, I just still loved reading that. And that means something. A book doesn't have to a masterpiece to be a really good experience.