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

by Michelle Hodkin

[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?!?!?

----

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*