A dark, supernatural romance, perfect for fans of Holly Black, Cassandra Clare and Stephenie Meyer.
Mara Dyer 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.
Praise for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer:
'Haunting and dreamlike... the intrigue and romance will inescapably draw you in' - Cassandra Clare, bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments series.
'The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer strikes a rare balance of darkly funny, deliciously creepy and genuinely thoughtful. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next, I was so scared I wanted to turn on all the lights and hide under the covers. Michelle Hodkin's talent and range are obvious, from her chilling descriptions to romantic scenes that almost crackled on the page. I've never read anything quite like it.' Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Divergent
Also by Michelle Hodkin: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
The Retribution of Mara Dyer
The Becoming of Noah Shaw
The Reckoning of Noah Shaw
So, I wrote up a pretty thorough review which didn't post, and since I don't feel like writing this entire thing again I'm just going to go over my main points.
Cons first: I felt like Noah was such a tired trope - hot intelligent attractive rich British guy. His relationship with Mara - loner girl meets unattainably and unrealistically perfect boy, hates him, then falls for him - has been done to death. I just couldn't get over how completely laughable Noah was. Nobody is like that! I also found a lot of the dialogue far too witty and articulate to be believable. A lot of what was happening to Mara seemed painfully obvious to me, and she didn't figure it out for ages, which was irritating.
Pros: I liked the general story and plot (though the pacing was a bit odd - slow for a very long time before speeding up). Structurally and technically it held up; the author actually knows how to write. The multiple subplots were handled well, and the book ended in a good place: with enough of the loose ends tied up to satisfy me, and enough left hanging to hint at a promising second book. (Although, shit, I've read so many first books in a series this year that I don't know how I'll keep up!)
I would be interested in reading the second despite the VERY irritating flaws.
