Thursday, January 15, 2015

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Review: Mara

I don't remember the last few days.
Just that I woke up in a hospital.
And all my friends were dead.

I don't know what happened.
But I keep seeing my dead friends everywhere.
I'm afraid I'm losing it.

There's got to be more to the accident.
The one that killed my friends, but not me.
There has to be more.

Something happened. 
Something involving me.
I know it.

My name is Mara Dyer.
Hey guys! Today, I happen to be the awesome Mara Dyer!

Book: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer
Book status: Book 1
Setting: Florida
POV: Mara, first person
Genre: YA paranormal, romance

Reading: first time
Favorite line: "I think not knowing is worse. I'd rather remember."
Categories: assumed insanity, bit of mystery, animal lovers/saviors
Rating: 5 stars

Heads up: might be a tad spoilerly. Given that the book description gives you nothing and I got to say something.

The question I asked myself 30 pages into this was: "Why the heck didn't I pick up this series earlier?" I'm serious. I'd known about this series for a while now, and yet I stalled to read it. I stalled. Shame on me.

If you haven't guessed from my reaction yet, I adored this book. There was the perfect amount of humor, alienation, romance, determinism, and paranormal abilities. You had a mixing of political sides of the world (lawyers and law suits) along with justice enforcement (cops, detectives), plus scary events (murder, kidnappings, death). It was so good. I got shivers reading this (yes, Noah was part of the reason, but he wasn't the only reason).

Mara...gosh, where to start. She has no clue what's happening. All she knows is what her parents told her, that she was found at an abandoned asylum, which had collapsed with her in it. She keeps seeing her dead friends, keeps hallucinating things that aren't--can't--be there. Solution to prevent her parents from sending her to a mental institute? Move away. Which lands her in Miami, Florida. New school, new faces. And, of course, Noah.

(Noah. *sigh*. That boy. I mean, he stands up for her, convinces the whole school they're dating when they're not, then persuades her to go on a date with him, even showing up at her door with flowers. He goes to all sorts of extents for Mara, and it. Is. Simply. Adorable.)

Mara's coping levels to the new school (she jumps from a public school to a private school) are admirable. She's still mourning the loss of her friends, trying hard not to fail school or give her parents any reason to send her to a long-term facility, plus dealing with the fact that she still doesn't know what happened that fateful night. It doesn't help that she makes some enemies, both schoolmates and adults. And what she ends up doing...well, I can't spoil everything. Just know that it. Is. Epic. To be able to do what she can do...just...wow. That girl has power.

This is the first book in the series, so I'm really interested on learning what becomes of Mara!

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