The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer(Mara Dyer #1)by Michelle Hodkin

 
Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Genre: YA paranormal
Pages: 452
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought ( Barnes and Noble)

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.

-Goodreads Summary

My thoughts:

Before I begin what I thought of the actual story I have to talk about the cover, it is absolutely breath taking. It just doesn't do it justice unless you see it in person. What's cool about it, is the the velvet touch, and that you can only see the cover title in certain lighting's . Even if you have no plans to purchase, or read the book I suggest checking out the cover if you happen to be in a book store. 

In my opinion this is a very difficult book to review. There's just so much craziness that went on. Let's start with the plot, or what the story is supposed to be about. The story focuses on Mara Dyer who has an average teenage life. Within the first couple of pages we are drawn into her world of mysteries surrounding who she really is, and some pretty tragic, and down right creepy things begin to unfold. The reader really never knows if something Mara is experiencing is real, or if she is crazy. With that, I don't want to say much else without giving away the major points in the book. 

We are introduced to a good amount of interesting characters. Mara Dyer the main protagonist, whom I really liked! She was independent, had a sarcastic, snarky attitude, and stood up for herself when needed. She was also vulnerable, and kind. Mara was perfectly well rounded, but managed to have a few human flaws like the rest of us. Noah the love interest is the quintessential bad boy.  He dressed like a slob, but still managed to look hot. I thought they really balanced each other out. There's also some side characters that stood out to me. Jamie you becomes Mara's best friend. He's a really nice, genuine guy. Daniel, Mara's older genius brother, and Anna the mean girl. 

The writing style was something I had to get used to as I continued through the story. It was sometimes overly descriptive which irritated me at times, and I thought some passages really didn't need to be there. Though it was easy to imagine, I just felt like I didn't benefit. The other thing that bothered me was the romance. The first quarter of the book was amazing! We learned a lot, got mystified, and I was ready for the nightmares! As soon as Noah is introduced it's like everything I was promised from the vague synopsis was thrown out the window. The story becomes more about their relationship, and Mara's struggle to figure out her feelings. So basically the middle portion of the book was a miss for me, and I was asking myself when is something going to happen again?

The last portion of the book really made that up to me. It was intense, some questions were answered, and you began to question Mara's sanity again. The cliffhanger at the end was intense, and now makes me eagerly await the second installment. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance, humor, and loves a small paranormal twist. I'm still seriously asking myself if anything in this book was actually real. For all we know Mara could be a mental patient in the middle of know where feeding us her crazy. Hopefully that answered some of your questions whom have not read it yet considering all the hype. 

-Happy Reading

Amelia.