The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer Trilogy, #1)

by Michelle Hodkin

Seventeen-year-old Mara cannot remember the accident that took the lives of three of her friends but, after moving from Rhode Island to Florida, finding love with Noah, and more deaths, she realizes uncovering something buried in her memory might save her family and her future.

• ISBN10: 1442421789
• ISBN13: 9781442421783
• Publish Date: 27 September 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[bookishzelda]

Wow. This book had my mind reeling. I honestly at some points had to stop reading just because I felt like I was going crazy. This is a longer book with 452 pages but the writing makes it breeze to get through. I would be so caught up in the book I wouldn't realize I had just blown through 150 pages in what felt like seconds. I felt like there was always something strange going on. There were some things that I thought is this real or is this a hallucination. Which is great that it kept me guessing, I love when a book does that.


Mara was an interesting lead. There were times that I thought she was just crazy, then became absolutely convinced she must be possessed and then I was even imagining in her a black cloak as the grim reaper. When we find out what is actually happening to her I had a sense of relief to finally know. I liked her character though, I felt like her actions were fitting to her situations. No matter what was going on with her, she did just lose her best friend. Which would be traumatic at any age and in any circumstance. Her character felt real and understandable to me. She was a ghost of her former self for most of the book, just ghosting in out of life. At the end though she seemed to finally get a hold of herself and gained a new sort of confidence.
Noah is of course the bad boy who actually has a good heart. I like that fact that his past "sins" don't just get washed away. It's not like they never happened but it doesn't mean he can't be different with Mara. He seemed genuine and not afraid of being who he is, whether people thought he was bad or good.


I liked the love story between Mara and Noah. Especially because Mara was so resistant to it at first. I never felt like she was obsessed with him. This is a girl who feels like she has lost everything and thinks she might be going crazy. Noah became her anchor, the good thing that she could think about when she seemed to slipping from reality. It's easy to say that her family would be that, but she felt like she was disappointing them by not holding it together. There were no expectation with Noah, she could lose herself and because she thought he was a player, she wasn't going to hurt him. I think that it was easy for her to finally fall into the support of someone who wasn't going to run away from her. She needed that bit of security and Noah was offering it. It seemed natural for her to appreciate and fall in love with him for that.


I really enjoyed this book and I understand that it is not for everyone. From what I've seen it's either people love it or hate it. I would give it a chance, just read the first few pages in the bookstore and you might find yourself hooked like I was.

[Stephanie]

What I Loved: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is one of those books you need a day with nothing planned to read. It will suck you in and refuse to let you go until the very last word. I think what I loved the most was that I was never 100% sure what was going on. It kept me guessing and I really enjoyed that. I don’t want to go in to too much detail because I would hate to give anything away. I did enjoy the relationship between Mara and Noah. Noah balances Mara in a way that makes them absolutely perfect for each other.

What I Could Have Lived Without: Hmmmmm…..This is a fine line and I want to make sure that I express myself correctly. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer deals with post traumatic stress disorder. I do have a close family member who struggles with this. *BIG SPOILER**********************************************************************YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only problem that I really had was that I was never sure if Mara had PTSD and this supernatural power, if the supernatural power caused the PTSD or if they are two 100% different events happening to Mara at the same time. *If you’ve read the book and have an opinion on this, email me at stephanie (at) onceuponachapter (dot) com and tell me what you think! Please don’t leave any spoilers in the comments. :) **********END SPOILER************

Recommended For: Readers who enjoy the type of roller coaster rides where you’re in the dark for 90% of the time and then the ending is revealed in a bright glorious sunshiny day.

Avoid If: Complex plot lines and a sense of never being sure annoy you as a reader.

[Amber]

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. Here is my attempt at conveying my emotions after reading it:

aJDqapouworuwsej!!!!!!NOAH!!!! asfhsihfsile'reurl!!! WHAT?!?!?

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Warning: This is probably going to be such a gushy review. You guys know I'm useless at these, so I've decided to just write out my notes and try to elaborate as best I can. I've never done a review like this before, but let's try it.

"Mara was a great character, and I loved her. A lot of the time you didn't know if what she was seeing was real or not, which made reading from her POV excellent."

At the beginning of the novel, Mara starts a new school because her friends have died in an accident. Mara can't remember this accident or how she came to be in the building that collapsed, but she starts seeing her dead friends everywhere. As I was reading I had no idea if they were real, if she was going insane or if they were ghosts or zombies or ... just about anything. Mara is a great character overall, she's witty and clever and her banter with Noah was HILARIOUS. There are a couple of things that I didn't like about her, which I'll touch upon in a moment.

"NOAH! *lots of hearts* Hot, awesome, arrogant. Reminded me a bit of Adrian from VA."

Okay, this note pretty much speaks for itself. I loved Noah! He was such a wonderful guy, and a great character in general. He was as well developed as Mara, which is what I look for in a love interest. He's also really, really hot. Like, Adrian hot. SQUEE! I love him so much. He's definitely made my top ten list.

"Great psychological novel."
"Really creepy as well, I had to turn away from my mirror."

Like I said, Mara has lost her memory and her mum takes her to a psychiatrist (or psychologist? I don't know the difference). Throughout the novel, Mara sees her dead friends in the mirror and at various times while she's outside. It gave me shivers every time she saw them and there is a scene in which Mara discovers her door has been left unlocked, which really put the hairs up on the back of my neck. I loved this part so, so much! It was really well written and I was on the edge of my seat.

"The beginning was awesome but in the last quarter of the book the pacing seemed to drop & Noah and Mara got weird."

Okay, this is what I was talking about earlier. I ADORE the first three quarters of the novel, but during the last part it got kind of... strange. Mara and Noah seemed to act out of character, and I'm not sure if this is because of certain revelations or what it was. Mara's intelligence seemed to dwindle - if you've read the book, then it's the kissing thing I'm talking about - and Noah suddenly became a different person. However, with that said, both characters started to act 'normal' again by the end of the book.

"Cliffhanger! HUGE CLIFFHANGER!"

This... speaks for itself. Can the autumn get here any sooner? I. AM. DYING. HERE.

Overall, I LOVED THIS BOOK! Despite the weird characterization at the end, I enjoyed every single moment and I have next to nothing to complain about. The plot is top notch, the characters are lovable and awesome and the writing blew me away. If you don't go out and buy this book then I don't know what else I can say to convince you of it's pure awesomeness. Maybe I should start handing out cookies? *Throws them from the rooftops*

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 4.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/11/02/review-the-unbecoming-of-mara-dyer-by-michelle-hodkin/

I went into The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer knowing that it was going to be a wild and confusing ride. I think that 1) you have to know this and 2) you have to be okay with it in order to enjoy the story. And you have to be open to possibilities. I don’t know that I’m extremely sold on what happens at the end, but I know I want to read the sequel to find out. I even want to pick this one back up and read it all over again. And maybe I will. There’s something about The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer that is intoxicating.

For all my “I must know everything NOW” need that I continually flaunt in my reviews, I also like when books jerk me around in a way that tells me everything and nothing. It reminds me somewhat of Catch-22, which is one of those rare 5 star books for me. My brain seems to be rolling all over the place and I’m not really sure where to start picking up the pieces. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer pulled me in, sucked me out, and folded me upon myself. It makes sense and it does not, and I could spin myself in a tizzy trying to explain it to you, and that’s exactly why I liked it so much.

Mara has no idea what is going on or what happened to her. We learn slowly with her — kind of — but can we really trust what’s there? Side note: Michelle Hodkin signed my book with a “What will you believe?” Before I read it, I thought the statement was melodramatic, but it turns out to be aptly fitting. I liked Mara. She’s got spunk and attitude, and that’s always a plus. Noah is pretty much the guy you dreamed about dating in high school, and exactly how you dreamed dating him would be. No, seriously. It’s true. And for invoking my boy crazy memories of high school — some of the most positive memories I have of that time — I love Noah and Michelle Hodkin.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer flashes back between present day and before the accident. These flashes leave you wanting more but afraid to know the whole truth. And more than that, this book is funny in a way that I wouldn’t expect from a book that knocked my emotions all over the place. I can promise you that not everyone is going to like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. The few interactions I’ve had with people on Twitter since attempting to start writing this review has only confirmed that. But part of what makes The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer so good for me is its ability to provoke so many conflicting and rolling emotions. You react to it, even though you’re not really sure how you want to or ought to react. And it is awesome.