Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Date Published: September 27th, 2011
Pages: 450

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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.

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is one of the most appealing, mystifying, sinister books I have ever read. It seized my imagination from the start, “The ornate script on the board twisted in the candlelight, making the letters and numbers dance in my head,” (1). Michelle Hodkin excellent storytelling grabs the reader by the mind and doesn’t let go until the last page. My stomach hurt with anticipation.

The characters were so well developed. Mara is obviously plagued with emotional baggage after a traumatic event. However, at times I feel she could open up a little more. At the same time, I couldn’t even imagine the difficulty in trying to deal with her chilling past. Aside from the occasional intransigent moments, Mara is very witty. Although, she made enemies quickly at her new school, she didn’t deserve the harsh reputation that she received. I really liked her friend, Jamie. He definitely reminded me of some of my guy friends back in high school. Jamie was there for Mara even though he didn’t agree with her at times. Noah Shaw was totally swoonworthy. At first, he does come off a little as an arrogant prick, but throughout the story he becomes more and more irresistible. Extremely smart, incredibly good-looking, beautiful British accent…enough said.

The writing is so fluid and really sets a quick pace. I flew through the 450 pages of the book because it was well written and the story was completely enthralling. Here is one of my favorite lines, “I twisted my arm to curl him behind me and he unfolded there, the two of us snuggled like quotation marks in his room full of words,” (375). Sigh. Another element of the book that I thought was really well done is the cover. When I first saw the picture of the female being held by the male underwater, I was definitely intrigued. It is breath-taking and mysterious.

This was definitely one of my favorite reads of the summer. However, I do have to admit I was not really that thrilled about the ending. Hodkin throws in a twist that leaves the reader stunned and obviously left open for another book. It seems like every book I read is a series. It is definitely a good marketing on the part of the publisher, because I will by the second book since I loved almost every part of this one. But, come on! Can’t a story stand alone? Ending aside, I absolutely loved it. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a MUST-READ for all readers who enjoy a little bit of love, a little bit of humor, and a lot of suspense!