The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin Review

While I was trying to edit my book last night, I started to go cross-eyed, so I decided to do something else. I've seen this book for a while and have had some serious cover love for the books in this series, but for some reason, I never started reading it. My sister bought the book a while ago and loved it. Then, she let my best friend borrow it and she also loved it. So, I stole the book from my sister and brought it to college with me. I was sitting in my dorm room last night, avoiding studying for my Biology test on Monday and decided to finally read it.

OMG.

I'm so glad my sister convinced me to read this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. I started at 10:00 p.m. and finished in about four hours. I couldn't put it down. This is one of those books that even once you're finished, you'll think about it. You'll wonder what you just read and may even want to read it a second time just to make sure you didn't miss anything.

(This is my first actual book review, so keep that in mind when reading!)

Synopsis:

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

As you can tell, the synopsis for this book is pretty vague. I picked it up not really knowing what to expect. This story has a much darker feel than most YA novels. In fact, it's completely different than most of the YA novels I've read before. The characters are well written and balanced and the storyline flows beautifully.

Honestly, even as I'm writing this, I still can't wrap my head around what I read last night. I'm going to write as much as I can without giving anything away, because I really want you all to read this.

I knew the second I read the first BEFORE section in this book, that this was going to be a good read. However, as I read a few more pages, I got really confused. I like "What the heck just happened?" Granted, I accidentally turned too many pages, so I literally missed a huge chunk of information. Once I fixed that issue, I was good...for a while.

Who is Mara Dyer? Well, I have no freaking idea. What I do know is that she's a high school junior who life was forever changed after an accident that killed her friends. She thinks that she's damaged. Her mother treats her like she's made of glass and is going to crack open at any second. Her dad is always working on a case and her brothers are just awesome. She  has the mouth of a sailor and very quick-witted humor.

After an accident, Mara wants to move. Her family packs up their life and moves to Florida. In Florida, Mara meets Noah Shaw. Noah. Noah. Noah. I loved Noah. I mean, he has a British accent. Like really? That was swoon-worthy enough. However, I wasn't sold at first. Noah is confident, cocky, arrogant, and maybe a little too smart. I thought he was going to be the disheveled, stereotypical bad-boy. You know the type: too attractive for his own good, mysterious, and a jerk to all girls. For some reason, these guys are instant crushes for so many YA heroines. As the story progresses, you start to see that there is MUCH more to him. His insecurities and flaws are revealed and you start to understand him a little more. Then, when he reveals the information about this mom, I was sold.

This was not one of those love at first sight books. Thank goodness for that. Mara and Noah's relationship builds naturally. There was tension between the two the entire time though. One of the reasons, I kept turning the pages (besides it being so good) was because I love the relationship between the two of them. They both have very quick humor that had me laughing out loud at some moments. The emotional elements between them was written so well. It was very believable. 

For secondary characters, I loved Mara's relationships with her brothers Daniel and Joseph. Daniel makes me wish that I had an older brother growing up. He's so protective of his little sister. He's slightly OCD and basically perfect. He has to be on time, worries about his school curriculum and extra-curricular activities, and whether or not he'll get into a great college. But, he loves his sister. He watches out for her, protects her when she needs it, and covers up for her with her parents. Then, there is Joseph. Cute, little, confusing Joseph. I don't even know how to describe him. Lastly, there is Jamie. I loved Jamie. He was hilarious. I wish that I had friend like him in high school. There would never be a boring day around him.

This book ended with a cliff-hanger. However, this cliff-hanger was the one thing I guessed earlier on! I literally started laughing when I found out I was right. Then, I realized that my roommate was asleep, so I should probably quiet down. I also just found out this was Michelle Hodkin's debut novel! I'm blown-away. That's mind-blowing.

 

Final Thoughts: This book had me hooked from the first page. It is gripping, dark, funny, confusing, emotional, surprising, and unpredictable all wrapped up in beautiful cover. It left me reeling and needing more. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. 

That's all I have for today. Until next time!

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