The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is one of the few Rad Read certified bangers!
*Little summary* Mara Dyer woke up in the hospital one day having no memory of a building collapse that she was the only survivor of. She seems to be struggling through PTSD and paranoia, and the people around her are treating her as such. However, it turns out that there's much more to the accident --and to Mara herself-- that she can't explain. In going to a new school after the tragedy and meeting Noah Shaw, someone who seems to already know more than Mara herself about her situation, Mara is thrown into an entirely new terrifying world, wondering what she truly could be.
I. Am. IN LOVE. With. This. Book! So, I have just read this book this past week and oh my god do I have to talk about it! I have already started reading The Evolution of Mara Dyer as well and the excitement only continues BTW. I digress, this book is just phenomenal and took me through a WHIRL WIND of a reading experience. So, from what I understand now, this book was extremely hyped up a few years ago, but that was before I kicked my reading into "high gear" if you will, so I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. I actually got this book at the GoodWill bookstore over my school's winter break. I usually just pick from the selection in my school library but over winter break I couldn't check out any books so I had to just roll with whatever I could find. I mainly bought the book because it conveniently also had The Evolution of Mara Dyer right next to it and I was like... sick, two books in one trip! I wasn't even excited to read it... oh how young and naive I was... those five days ago.
Anyways, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is absolutely insane. So, this is a paranormal, thriller type of genre but I did not know that going into it because it was just in the regular young adult section in the store, and honestly I think not knowing that this was a paranormal made my reading experience way more exciting. You may think that it is kind of weird that I didn't notice it was a paranormal when I was reading it, but it's not that weird, I promise you! It reads a lot like a contemporary and until near the end when it is straight up confirmed that there are paranormal happenings, it really does read like all of this could be going on in Mara's mind. As I was reading, I genuinely could not tell if Mara was actually going crazy and that all the crazy paranormal things that were happening to her were inside her head, or if this was the actual reality of the matter. It was beyond exciting.
The way Michelle Hodkin told this story was just amazing. She is so good at creating an eerie atmosphere, creating what might be real but still making you question it. I have learned that I hate it when books overwhelm you with information, they don't let you figure anything out. This book did NOT do that. It reminded me a little bit of those books you would get in, like, elementary school book fairs where the reader tries to solve the mystery. I loved that it was told through Mara's perspective because I got to figure everything out along with her. This was the first time I've ever been "jump scared" by a book! With very abrupt twists I was genuinely left with my mouth open in shock.
I loved how I was never sure if I could trust Mara. As Mara's story is (like I said) in her first person account, at one point I thought that she could be an unreliable point of view. The fact of the matter is, Mara is in fact a very unstable character. You don't know if what she is telling you is actually happening or if it going on inside her head as a part of her paranoia and PTSD. You don't know if the people around her --treating her and telling her she's insane-- are right. It makes for a VERY interesting story! However as I came to find out that there were in fact supernatural factors surrounding her and causing all these crazy things to happen I still had a great time reading it because the story line was so interesting and thrilling.
The plot is so fast paced and I just couldn't put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen. The paranormal-ness and contemporary-ness worked so well together! The creepy aspect wasn't so overwhelming that it read like something that was very far fetched. Like I said prior, for the longest time as I was reading, I couldn't tell at all if this was a paranormal or not, so I think that speaks a lot for itself. And that cliff hanger!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!! I couldn't believe what I was reading!! (but no spoilers...) ;)
That however, is all just plot A. Plot B is just as intriguing! Mara is in high school and is going through all the trials and tribulations that such times entail. With a powerful and entertaining character like Noah and a funny "best friend-ish" character like Jamie, you grow to want to know just as much about Mara's teenage drama as her life threatening supernatural drama. One of my favorite attributes was the dialog. It is so genuinely funny that there were times I actually laughed out loud. Another complaint I frequent in my reviews is the lack of realistic portrayals of high school and teenage dialogue. Often it seems forced or awkward, or just plain wrong in terms of personal dynamics. However, this book hit the nail on the head! I also read this book at a very great time in my life, so I suppose that among other reasons is why I hold this book so near and dear.
Mara is a very enjoyable character. She has a super creepy aspect to her which is interesting and intriguing because often we read books where the protagonist is just some innocent wouldn't hurt a fly kind of person. However, Mara is NOT like that. She is angry and vengeful and dark. It is -well- for lack of a better word, cool.
Noah Shaw is so witty, funny, intelligent, and a little conceited and annoying, but I just couldn't even handle it! This is one of those books where the characters are so well written and developed, you feel like you already know them. The way Hodkin writes the little things, like small habits or motions, it makes you so much more invested in the character and the story. The way she wrote Noah was perfect and I loved reading about him.
I really liked Mara's older brother and her best friend. Daniel and Jamie were both awesome. Daniel was cool, loving, caring, believable, and teasing towards Mara. Like I said, Hodkin does such a great job at portraying accurate dialogue and relationship dynamics that it is just so believable and intriguing and just adds to the wonder and enjoyment of the book! Jamie at times did seem a little far fetched, but as the story went on he got better and better!
So, my rad readers, that is my hot take on Michelle Hodkin's The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I think it goes without saying that I gave this book 5/5 stars on GoodReads and HIGHLY recommend it. This is absolutely one of my favorites of all time now!
Have a literature filled and splendid day, and keep it rad my fellow readers,
-C8 ;)
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