You may not have seen me at Lemuria yet, since I’ve only been working here since mid September. When I was younger, I really hated to read; I knew I was bad at it, so I avoided it unless it was required for school. But around the time I was fourteen, I was introduced to young adult fantasy, and ever since I’ve been hooked on reading.
So, here we go with the main reason I’m writing this blog. About four years ago, I read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. It was one of those situations where you love a book, but get distracted and miss the release of the next book in the series. This past summer, I was trying to find something to read and I came across The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer again. I decided to reread it and ended up binging on all three books in a matter of about a week, completely captivated.
The book follows the story and life of Mara Dyer (or is that even her real name?). Right at the beginning of the novel, her normal high school life takes a tragic turn. She is the sole survivor of an accident that took the lives of her best friend, schoolmate, and boyfriend. Or did it really?
She convinces her family that she needs a different location to recover, so they move to Florida. Not only is she struggling with the loss of her friends and the pain of being the only survivor, but strange things start to happen to Mara. At first, she thinks she’s just hallucinating due to post-traumatic stress. But is it really? One of the things I love about this book is that you really can’t place it into a specific category. At times you truly believe that Mara is just a girl struggling with the loss of her friends. At other times, it seems like there is something magical and science fiction-y going on. Then you’ll switch back to thinking it’s just PTSD. Or is it some weird, dark, and creepy mix of the three? The plot twists, turns and keeps you guessing what’s going on.
Mara Dyer is a believable high school girl, struggling to act like everything is okay to keep her family happy while being terrified by all the weird things happening around her. Then there is Noah. And yes, he is that token attractive, sarcastic British boy (I don’t mind, what can I say? I love those) and yes, he plays the love interest. But aside from the type he plays, he is a fully developed character who truly adds to the story. I enjoyed getting to know Noah and seeing his progression.
Over all, this book has witty and sarcastic dialogue. It keeps you giggling and helps to lighten the creepy and dark side of the story. Michelle Hodkin is great at writing dark, ominous, and sometime violent scenes that will have you looking around your own room and questioning what’s real. I would put this book into the hands of anyone looking for a witty, twisted, dark tale that will keep you guessing all the way until the end of the series.
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