Thursday, January 19, 2012

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 452
Genre: YA Paranormal 
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository 
Haunt Author: Website | Blog | Twitter

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.

The beginning prologue definitely drew me right into the story. It opens with Mara and her two friends playing with a Ouija board and they ask how Mara's friend will die. The Ouija board spells out Mara. Then six months later, Mara wakes up in the hospital. She doesn't remember anything that happened but is told that she, her best friend Rachel, her boyfriend Jude, and his sister, were all in an abandoned asylum when it collapsed, killing all of them except her.

Mara desperately wants to put this tragedy behind her so they move. Mara continues to have visions. She believes they are just part of her post traumatic stress syndrome. She will walk into the classroom and see it falling apart. But then she begins to have visions that come true. She hates this dog abuser and pictures him dead. Then walking home from school he turns out to be dead, just the way she pictured it.

At school she meets the typical hot bad boy, Noah. Noah is known as the school heart-breaker and man whore. Typical YA love interest and he didn't do too much for me. He has some sweet and hot quotes. He was slightly entertaining but was just missing something for me. He also has the typical something important in common with Mara that ends up binding them together. You have to read to find out because it will spoil the book if I tell you.

Overall the book was intriguing. It kept me turning the pages to find out what happened to Mara and her friends that night. The visions leave questions but by the end everything is pretty much explained with some twists and surprises. I understood her visions, what happened that night, and all about Noah. The book leaves off with a big cliffhanger so I'll definitely have to read the next one.

"You're supposed to say, 'All I want is your happiness. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means being without you.'" "Sorry," Noah said. "I'm just not that big of a person."

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?" I stared at his beautiful face and his beautiful mouth and I wanted nothing more than to taste it. "I would kiss you back."

"You want me as much as I want you. And all I want is you." My tongue warred with my mind. "Today," I whispered. Noah stood slowly, his body skimming mine as he rose. "Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever."

Rating: 4/5 Stars!

15 comments:

  1. You almost seemed to have been underwhelmed by this one. I can tell you liked it, though. I got Mara for Christmas and plan to read it when I get the chance.
    Nice review!

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  2. @Andrea@The Bookish Babes Yeah I did enjoy it but I was hoping for a little more. The romance was what was lacking for me. I enjoyed the visions and the mystery.

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  3. Why are the Jude's always guys? and why are they always dead...? O_O

    hehe, kidding. The book sounds interesting and I Love the quote! Seriously can't wait to start :3

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  4. Oh my gosh, I loved this book. I especially loved Noah. ;) DAMN he's one of the hottest guys I've encountered in YA.

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  5. @Jude Oh well it makes you unique! Their always dead? LOL What other books were they dead in?

    @Alice Noah was hot but I just felt like he was too similar to other book love interests. Maybe I just read too much...LOL Glad you enjoy him!!

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  6. I hear good things about this book. It's in my TBR pile now, I have to read this soon! Thank for the review!

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  7. @Hilda It was a very mysterious and interesting plot. I kept wanting to know what happened that night!

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  8. I loved The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- Mara and Noah were perfect characters, perfectly imperfect I think, and I agree with you on the beginning! It drew me in immediately!

    Romi.x

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    1. Yeah I really like the beginning! It was super creepy! I hate Ouija boards lol

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  9. I'm so excited to have finally got my copy of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Everyone's been going on about how great Noah is, but if he's a typical man-whore YA love interest I'm not sure I'll like him so much. I love hi lines, though. But after reading The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, I realised that man-whore characters like Wesley Rush just disgust me. The DUFF was a great read, though :)

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! I expect the suspense and intrigue will capture me in this book rather than the romance.

    Sarah

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    1. I really want to read The DUFF! Yeah I'm a little overdone with the man whore guys that all of a sudden turn good or whatever you want to call it. The mystery was good in this book but I just wasn't that into the romance. Hope you enjoy it!

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  10. I won this book through a giveaway, but haven't yet had a chance to read it yet. Looks good! I love the cover design and I'm hoping to really love Mara. Thanks for your review.

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    1. Congrats! The cover design is really neat! I hope you enjoy it. It was an interesting story and I really liked it but didn't love it. But it ends with a cliffhanger so I'll definitely be reading the next book.

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  11. I want to read this series so bad! I'am waiting till The Retribution of Mara Dyer will come out, so that I can read all three. I'm glad you liked it, now I know that I need to read it for sure!(:
    Thanks for the review(:

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    1. It is so hard having to wait until the next book comes out. I love being able to read a series straight through. I still need to read the second book myself. It was a really trippy story!

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