Rook Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

 

Publish Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 450
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3239-0
Series: Mara Dyer #1
Source: ARC from Publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

Well Ms. Hodkin, you have written yourself one heck of a book! Hands down, one of the best books I've read this year.

I'd had my eye on this book for quite some time, and was thrilled when a copy from the lovely people at Simon and Schuster ended up in my mailbox. From the first page, I was hooked!

Michelle Hodkin isn't just a great writer, she is a great story teller. Everything about the way she wrote The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, her debut novel, is extraordinary!

Ms. Hodkin clearly has a way with words. They draw you in and make you want more. The story was painted clear in my head and I love when the author can do that. I felt like I was there, experiencing things with the characters. The other thing I loved about Mara Dyer were the short chapters. I love that I can read here and there (like on my break at work, waiting for my ride, whenever I had a few minutes) and I wouldn't have to worry about being in the middle of something big and important. But honestly, the way Ms. Hodkin ends the chapters...HOLY COW! At some points, it's almost impossible to stop reading.

Let's talk characters. I loved the characters in Mara Dyer. Obviously, we have Mara, a girl who was the only survivor of her friends in an accident. She is such a great character. Everything about Mara is honest, believable and real. She was going through a tough time, dealing with the deaths of her friends. As I was reading, I could really relate to Mara. Her parents were great characters too. And her brothers played key roles in the book, which was great to see. (Not like other books where the family is there just for the sake of having a family) Then we have Noah...oh Noah. I love him! (He's everything I want and more :) !) He was the bad boy with the bad boy reputation (and yes, admit it, we all adore the bad ones) He was sweet, with a gentleman quality and I saw some modesty in him too. Together, Mara and Noah were wonderful. Michelle Hodkin got the characters perfect! Their playful banter and smart remarks always had me smiling and actually laughing out loud.

Engaging characters aside, the story and the plot really had me going. Hodkin had me guessing from the beginning as to what was going on, why Mara was the only survivor and I was a little worried that it would get cheesy at the end when the final plot was revealed. But trust me, there was no cheese in this book, just twists, turns and a whole lot of guessing.

I really can't say enough good things about Michelle Hodkins book. Everything was fantastic. Michelle is a great writer and I believe we will be seeing a lot more greatness from her in the future.

Read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, if you don't read anything else, just read this!