The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (The Mara Dyer Trilogy)

Mara Dyer, the main character of this epic story, has gone through many changes and troubles since her friends' deaths. This is completely evident from the absolute beginning of the novel, creating a good sense of mystery and depth right from the start. Michelle Hodkin took an interesting perspective on the characters of the story...not your usual cup of tea. Noah, player, lover-boy, "that guy who could get in anyone's pants" kind of person, ended up being the main male character of this novel. I really enjoyed that Hodkin didn't introduce him as a knight in shining armor, and that played a key role in whether or not I would've continued to flip the pages or set that book down.

The mystery and macabre of "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" left me dazed and confused. In a good way, of course. I couldn't stop reading! This is one of those rare novels a teenager or young adult can come across and really attempt to figure out what exactly is going on, without the obvious being thrown at them left and right.

This had the right amount of romance. Right amount of mystery. And the right of amount of information given...to keep you waiting for the sequel!

Oh.. my... God.
Dark, sexy, funny. This book has it all. Seriously, I was about halfway through when I ordered the other two, because I HAD to know what happens, and also have zero chill. Read this, you won't regret it!

I really don't understand the people who have given 1 & 2 star reviews for this book. I just finished it in one day because I absolutely could not put it down! It's just a gripping mystery/paranormal/romance although in all honesty the romance is just such a small little sideline to the huge puzzle that is this excellent book. Wow! I have to cut my review short I am sorry but. Must. Download. Next. Book. Immediately!!

I had really enjoyed this book until the reveal and climax. I won't give anything away, but the heroine is a horrible, terrible, selfish person who somehow is justified in her actions, no matter how heinous. It was a decent book but quickly went off the rails with the Scooby Doo mystery squad team.

Debating on whether to buy the second book because the last third of this book was so off the chain.

Excellent excellent excellent book! His book had me sucked in from the very first page. I sat and read it all in one sitting because I NEEDED to know what happened next. Can't wait to read the next two books in the series!!

It's hard to review this book without leaking spoilers but I have to say that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer left me bored and unimpressed, which is odd because I bought the book based on the raving customer reviews. I should've listened to the few one-two stars.
Plot: There isn't one. The story is solely based on the fictional character, Mara, and her relationship with Noah Shaw. Of course, Noah is a "supposed" womanizer and knows several languages( cough...correction: knows the word, vagina, in multiple languages and apparently, that's an impressive and funny feat) but it just had me rolling my eyes. Other side characters (Mara's family/ best friend, and enemies fell flat and felt completely fake).
I went into this book thinking it would be a suspenseful and spooky read, unfortunately, it dragged and I am quite positive I will not be continuing with this trilogy.

So much potential. Based on its description I was very excited to read this book. I love a good creepy psychological story. Not the case. This falls flat.

Perhaps it is my own fault. Knowing this is a Trilogy I read the synopsis of the following two books. Fearing limited character growth I have not purchased the remaining two books.

This book is nothing short of mastery. Mastery of characters, the written word, plotting, everything. I couldn't put this book down once I started. It was truly amazing and I'm still thinking about it after finishing last night. I'm so happy I can dive right into the next book!

Michelle Hodkin's first book to her trilogy is called The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. This book is about a girl named Mara and she has lived through some crazy stuff. (Poor girly) She has just survived a falling down building accident , living her alive without her best friend Rachel , her boyfriend Jude and his sister. She can't remember anything and worst of all..... She is seeing Jude's ghost.. So her family of 2 brothers and her parents move down to Florida. Where she meets the famous , sexy and might I add British Noah Shaw. In this dreamlike book we unravel secrets , experience incredible stuff and see the beginning to a trilogy that has SUCCESS written all over it. Michelle Hodkin , Thank you ! And get the last book out already :)

Very well written characters and an intriguing story. It may be labeled as teen but I really believe that is only because of the age of the characters. Would easily captivate an adult audience who enjoys fantasy/fiction. Only thing I really rolled my eyes at was the character smoking in his car and then barely smelling of it. Guessing this author has been a smoker for a long time because she clearly doesn't know that people who smoke REAK to non-smokers. Not really something to stop anyone from enjoying the book, it just really annoyed me.

What a ride! This book was an interesting and fun experience. I have read a lot and I think Michelle Hodkin's writing is excellent. The story keeps a great pace, and the timing and delivery of the different events and twists (including the cliff-hanger non-ending) displays a masterful instinct on the author's part. I enjoyed the characters, as far as I'm concerned they were vivid and became actualized. (With one caveat here: though I mostly like Jamie as a character, he was the one that bordered on being a "stereotype". It didn't hit me over the head at first, but once I heard another reader bring that up, I have to agree. Maybe it was a little obvious to have him call himself a token. That may be the weakest point in Hodkin's writing if I had to pick one!) I did not feel it was overwhelmed by cliche', Noah's persuit of Mara was entertaining. I enjoyed the sassy banter between them. To me, it was delivered with a unique voice and style that stands apart from the standard young adult story. Mara was pretty self-aware for a young woman going through a strange mental phenomena after an alleged traumatic event. She knew that her reaction to Noah was strictly physical at first and she wasn't fooled. I appreciate other reader's reviews, and the detail and perspective they offer. I would like to offer a response to two major "complaints" I have noted in other reviews, however. I don't feel the "romance" part of it, Mara and Noah's relationship, overwhelms the rest of the story. To me, they were very well blended together. Plenty of time was spent describing some eerie or creepy events, and Mara dealing with her family, (I found her mother to be a very dominant character), that didn't involve Noah at all. Honestly, I'm not sure why someone would pick this story, considering the plot description AND the cover, and expect that relationship to be a "smaller" part. Also, I notice a lot of people feel that things just "don't make sense" (Mara's behavior, some events) don't follow a logical pattern (ABC, or 2 + 2 =4), or are not fully explained. Considering the traumatic event that we are supposed to believe happened, and the mental wierdness Mara's going through, AND the fact that, yes, she's falling in love for the first time (again, as we are supposed to believe if we follow the story), is it really reasonable to expect everything to "make sense"? My answer would be no, and just to take this story for the slightly "dark" fun that it is.

I had ragher low expectations for this book, bought blindly on a whim, but the YA story drew me in. I could not predict the outcome, and all threads of Maraa's story--past, present and future--kept me guessing. As I approached the end I expected to be done with Mara in short order. Instead, I ended up buying the sequel within five minutes. So, now I must get to that one. :)

Every time I read a book where the author managed to introduce things that are not of this world in the most natural way, I am blown away. Creating a story where the characters are not quite human of possess qualities that quite human is difficult, but Michelle Hodkin manages it in an almost effortless way. She keeps you guessing if the plot is reality, paranormality or just insanity until the last pages, and even then you still question everything, but that is what makes this book as gripping as it is.

I would recommend it for all ages, kids, young adults and grown up, because it dealt with topics that are familiar to all of us, regardless of our age.

THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER is definitely one of those "what the crap is going on?!" kind of books. And I LOVED that. Michelle Hodkin kept me entertained the entire way and always had me on the edge of my seat.

First off, this book is insane. And I'm not sugar-coating that. This book starts off with action from the prologue and barely contains any slow moments. And I loved how the main character, Mara Dyer, has had something tragic happen to her, and she can't remember what it is. I was in a book slump when I read this, so when I first picked this up, it threw me out of that slump instantly.

Michelle Hodkin's writing style was perfect for this kind of book. It's eerie, creepy, but still contains some light-hearted elements in it. She made this book almost disturbing at some points; again, it was perfect for this novel. And oh wow, can she create some fantastic characters. Mara's brothers were so quirky and hilarious; they were definitely some of my favorites in the book. But while they're all fun and games, they still have the protection element that all brothers should have for their family.

Unfortunately, this book took a downfall in the middle of the book. Why you may ask? The romance. For me, the romance in THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER overshadowed the true plot-line too much. At first, the story was about Mara trying to piece together what happened to her, and then all of a sudden, we're focusing on the love interest, Noah Shaw, and how he's so "dreamy" and "caring".

That whole middle portion of the book annoyed me so much. I was truly enjoying the story a lot, and then a romance blooms, making Mara forget what she's suppose to be doing. But I do understand why the romance was there (the ending really supported the romance); I just feel like there was too much "lovey-dovey" scenes in this crazy book.

THAT. ENDING. For the entire last chapter, I chewing at my fingernails. I knew something insane would happen, and then BAM, Michelle Hodkin throws at us something crazy and unexpected. That's what really made me love this novel; how she took the problem and potentially made it bigger, setting us up for the second novel in this trilogy. And that last page? My mouth was open the entire time. It just blew my mind.

Overall, I recommend that you pick up THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. If you don't really like the romance part, keep reading it because the ending is totally worth it.

-Review originally posted at bookyareview.blogspot.com-

I really enjoyed this book. Mara was a really cool character and what she was able to do, I haven't read a book about a character being able to do that before. It was really interesting. The concept f her power and the guys were not bad. Noah and Jamie were awesome. How they both stuck up for her.

I loved how Michelle Hodkin did the amnesia aspect so that as she was discovering what really happened the night her two friends and boyfriend died, the readers were discovering it along with her. I really liked that and wish there were more books out there like that. I was amazed at how much people were led in their emotions, especially Anna. Jealously leading to the point of cruelty. Jamie was a really cool character, I think he was one of my favorite characters. I loved how much he cared about Mara and how he protected her.

This was a really good debut novel. I would definitely recommend this for readers looking for a good romance/paranormal/mystery novel to read.

I really enjoyed this book. After passing out from boredom while reading "Carrier of the Mark," this book was a refreshing jolt of excitement. I like the author's writing style - show not tell, excellent dialogue, well paced story, sprinkled with pop culture references (but not too many as to be obnoxious.) The characters are well done and fleshed out nicely. Overall, I would recommend this book (but, due to the use of the "f-word," and quite a few instances of sexual innuendo (and some blatant sexual talk-- but no actual sex takes place in this book, it is just discussed- ) I would not let my children read it until they are at least 16........and, I have to also note, that the author overused (for my taste) the whole "my chest ripped open", "I was torn apart", "I shattered", "I was ruined" hyperbole to describe the main character's reaction/attraction to her love interest. These references were a bit overdone. But, overall, a good book that I took great pleasure in reading and it held my interest until the very end.

I dont even habe a clever comparison of this book to another but the plot feels at homes, with twist I would never be able to predict. Hodkin's able to make you fall in love with Noah (seer British that would be the death of me) at the same time you befriend Mara.
Only three things: the ending will have you pulling out your phone to order the sequel with Express shipping
- This novel won't let you get any sleep
- I'm writing this at 4 am I warned you.
READ IT

This book is flawless. It's beautiful, captivating,and just down right perfect. This is my new favorite book, I have seen it for awhile at the Barnes and Noble and it caught my interest but I never bought it until recently. Best decision ever. I read this book from 10pm to 7am because finishing this book was more important than sleeping. I fell in love with the characters, I felt they were very relatable and I couldn't help but fall in love with Noah Shaw. So if you're like me and love a good paranormal romance this book is a must read. I can not wait to buy the next book and see what happens to Noah and Mara. Don't pass this book up, if you're thinking about buying it then do it right away, I promise you won't regret it.

I found this book very interesting. I would prefer a different ending, but maybe there is a sequel in the making. My daughter had recommended this book to me. I am happy that I took her advise.
Guess what! I just checked the store for a possible sequel and there will be one out in October 2012. I have pre-ordered the book.

Loved all the angst and uncertainty in this book. Characters are appealing and likable - high school hell and you're the new kid school, which is bad enough, but when Mara starts having visions, this really go off the rail. Can't wait to read second installment!

A thrilling suspense mixed in with a spicy romance? What more can a person ask for?!

This book was enjoyable and had me at the edge of my seat so many times I should have just sat on the floor. Mara was a great character and anyone can fall in love with Noah, hehe.

Definitely recommend it. If you're not a romance fan, don't worry. There's plenty of family/psychological/action in this book!

Loved all the angst and uncertainty in this book. Characters are appealing and likable - high school hell and you're the new kid school, which is bad enough, but when Mara starts having visions, this really go off the rail. Can't wait to read second installment!

A thrilling suspense mixed in with a spicy romance? What more can a person ask for?!

This book was enjoyable and had me at the edge of my seat so many times I should have just sat on the floor. Mara was a great character and anyone can fall in love with Noah, hehe.

Definitely recommend it. If you're not a romance fan, don't worry. There's plenty of family/psychological/action in this book!

This is an intriguing book with interesting characters and unforeseen plot twists. While I'm still not completely satisfied with the resolution, I am interested enough to read the next book in the series. Would recommend for young adult reading.

Hodkin keeps her reader as she keeps her character--unbalanced, unsure, and questioning the reality of the world around her. What is true? What is real? Is Mara psychotic, or special, or perhaps simply being manipulated? The cool thing about it is that, even at the end of the book, we have no answers--just more questions, and strong anticipation for the sequel!

Swoony guy - check
Average girl who is "different" - check
Some kind of power or weird heritage (angel, fairy, vampire whatever) - check
Swoony guy is actually not fully human or has a power too - check

Same old YA tropes. But, good writing and story so I still enjoyed it.

Very well written book! It's suspenseful, but the writing is also funny! Sarcastically so! Noah is just super dreamy! My only complaint would be that there's almost no romance-they don't even kiss for crying out loud! Hopefully there will be some romantic moments in the sequel..

This book was very good... and kind of creepy. The reason I gave this book for stars is because there was sadly no character development on the friends of mara that she lost in the asylum. I wish we could have learned more about them.

I love looking for new fiction for my teen students to read and this met all my needs and then some.
I absolutely LOVED this story.
I also loved that it's set in Miami (where I live) and that the author incorporated "brujeria" which is Latin Voodoo
into the plot.
Excellent read.
Can't wait for the sequel.

[Originally posted at [...]]

Yeah, this is my second time reading The Unbecoming, and it is my second review for it. I don't think I did it any justice in my first review, and I just love it so much, I had to fix that. (Plus Michelle Hodkin is having a contest for an ARC of The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and I didn't remember exact details from The Unbecoming) Anyways, I love this book and wanted to talk about it some more.

So, Mara's friends are dead, she ends up in the hospital with no idea how she got there, she is diagnosed with PTSD, the Dyer family moves to Florida. There Mara and her brothers start school at Croyden, a fancy private school. At Croyden, Mara meets Noah, the sexiest man on the face of the planet, who just might understand what's happening to her, if she can let him in (he has kind of a bad reputation). The majority of the story is filled with scary, confusing plot turns, and some amazing romance, and then a lot of death. It has this sad, dark feel to it the whole time, and it makes everything really interesting. I loved it. Oh, and then there's this heart-wrenching cliffhanger that hooks you into needing to read the next book. I think I nearly cried both times I read this book.

I freaking love Mara Dyer. She's snarky and funny, but she can also be sweet and loving, especially when it comes to her family. And then she and Noah made the book with their amazingly funny banter all the time. She will do whatever she has to do to get things done, but she needs to be rescued sometimes, and she allows that. She's terrified that she's actually crazy, and she will do anything to protect those she cares about from herself. I loved that the book was written in her voice, because it completely made the book a thousand times more interesting. And then there was Noah Shaw. I love Noah. He really is the most amazing YA hero I've read about in a long time (seriously, I think he might be above Jace in my book). He's gorgeous and tortured and funny and sweet and I just love him! He even has a British accent (I read all of his lines in an accent the second time around and fell in love with him even more). He wears skinny ties and listens to Death Cab for Cutie (both of which I love). He is protective of Mara, and really isn't afraid to fight for her (and the guy can fight). I just... I adore him. Lots. I loved the minor characters, too. Especially Mara's brothers, Daniel and Joseph. They were cute and protective of Mara, and Daniel was just like the amazing big brother poster child. She had an amazing family.

Don't even get me started on how gorgeous that cover is. I even love the font. I love Mara's dress and the underwater-ness and I love how dark it is. It suits the book so perfectly, I just love it. It's what made me pick it up a couple months ago when I first read it.

I can't resist adding a couple quotes from the book here:

"You're distracting," I said truthfully.
"I won't be. I promise," Noah said. "I'll get some crayons and draw quietly. Alone. In a corner."

Finally Daniel spoke. "Wow, Mara. You look like... you look like..." His face scrunched as he searched for words.
[...] "Like a model," Mom said brightly.
"Uh, I was going to say a lady of ill repute." I shot Daniel a look of pure poison. "But, sure."

"My God, you're like the plague."
"A masterfully crafted, powerfully understated, and epic parable of timeless moral resonance? Why, thank you. That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me," he said.
"The disease, Noah, not the book."
"I'm ignoring that qualification."

"I find it hilarious that whenever I light up, Americans look at me like I'm going to urinate on their children..."

My mouth fell open. "Did I just see you litter?"
"I'm driving a hybrid. It cancels out."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're evil."
In response, Noah smiled, and raised his finger to gently tap the tip of my nose.
"And you're mine," he said, then walked away.

"Grounded likely means no phone or computer," Jamie said. "But if I encounter an owl, I'll try to smuggle a message to the outside, okay?"

I should probably stop there, but I'm guessing you are starting to see the genius that is The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Obviously, seeing as this is one of my favorite books ever, I give it five stars. It's brilliant and funny and scary and amazing and I highly suggest reading it.

All around an amazing read. This book had me from the very beginning. And even though I didn't think it could be any better than it was after I was 80% through it...it did. I won't ruin anything for you, because I assume you are reading this review to decide if you should buy this book, but let me say I NEVER SAW IT COMING AND I AM SO GLAD IT DID. There is no book on the market right now to compare this to. It is nothing like anything I have ever read before. If I HAD to choose, I would say it is similar to "Before I fall" but mostly in style and not in story. If you are unsure, read the sample because after that first few %, you will be. Well written, fun, confusing, and exciting this is the kind of book that will haunt you when you are trying to sleep.

Everything about this book is incredible, from the first chapter I was hooked. The characters in the book, I swear, has a pulse and a breath. And the way Noah and Mara interact, I just want to melt. The vocabulary and imagery is over the top. The plot is mysterious and twisted but without being too dense. I don't know what to do with myself after reading this book, I burned my breakfast, I haven't gotten any work done and my social skills are nonexistent. If you read this book, prepare to be in a book coma for days.

I downloaded and read "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" this past weekend. Even though I am a voracious reader and typically finish books very quickly, I can honestly say that I finished this one in a day. The characters are complicated and somewhat predictable, although the author, Michelle Hodkin, added a twist or two that I hadn't anticipated. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed the "Twilight Saga."

Great story! Moves quickly, keeps your attention throughout. Good for teens through adults. As soon as I finished this one, I went to the 2nd in the series. Now I can't wait until the third book in the trilogy comes out!

The book synopsis on the store made me leery about reading this book. The protagonist, Mara Dyer, wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. She's the sole survivor after some sort of accident. That's really all the book description tells you, aside from making a reference about her still being able to fall in love.

From that description, the book sounds trite and predictable. Waking up in a hospital without a memory? That plot device is over used. Being the sole survivor of an accident? I had images of Stephen King's Carrie. Still, I took a chance on the book based on the multitude of glowing reader reviews, and I'm glad I did.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is fresh and original, and has quite possibly the best written male romantic interest character I've ever read. Ever. I'm still drooling over how uber sexy and uber cool the unattainable Noah is. And somehow, even with him fitting the bill as the stereotypical teen-novel romantic character, Noah rings absolutely true. Michelle Hodkin is a master at writing believable realistic characters.

I think it's very rare in the young adult genre to have the plot and action move in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Typically, if you read a lot of these kinds of books, the plot devices contrived to move the romance along are the same ones used over and over. Hot guy wavers between hot and cold, seems aloof and unattainable. Hot guy seems to betray girl. Hot guy saves girl from embarassing high school social situation, etc. These elements certainly exist in this book, but they are presented in such a way as to seem entirely new and fresh. There is also a sense of realism in the scenarios depicted, and in the reactions and thoughts of the protagonist. Often when you read these types of books you walk away thinking it's too bad things like that don't happen in real life. After reading this book, you walk away feeling as if story actually could take place, exactly as written.

And that's saying a lot not only for young adult fiction, but especially for paranormal fiction. The paranormal elements are haunting and evocative. The mystery surrounding what actually happened to Mara Dyer pulls you in from the beginning. Towards the end of the book I did find my credibility stretched a bit but overall the strong character development and realistic portrayal made for one of the best books I've read all year.

This book was AMAZING! It's this twisted and kreepy, romantic story that took my breath away. I have never read a book like this one, the topic and premis of this book is so dark but it all balances out because of the love interest in the book! I recommend this book highly to anyone who loves scary, dark, yet romantic books with a unreliable narrator and a story line that really makes you think.

Absolutely loved this book! Excellent pace, kind of spooky at times, keeps you on your toes, good romance... all around great. Don't listen to it on tape though, the voice doesn't really match the tone of the book... You'll want to read it yourself.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is one of those books that you either really love or you really hate. Before purchasing and reading the book I had read mixed reviews about it which only made me more curious. I did not have an advance readers copy of it so I waited until the book's release. It just so happens that I am from Miami, Florida, where the story takes place and also where the book's launch party took place, so I attended and had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Hodkin and getting my copy of Mara signed.

I am one of those that just loved The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. First of all, that cover. Just wow. The whole time I was reading I was thinking Dexter Morgan and Gothika both of which I love, coupled with the fact, as I mentioned before, that it takes place in Miami, my hometown. Mara Dyer, as is her pseudonym and not her real name, is apparently a very normal girl with very normal friends and a very normal boyfriend, whose life completely changes after an "accident" takes place in her hometown of Rhode Island. Mara has no recollection of the accident or how she even got to be present there as she wakes up in the hospital with her family watching over her and with the horrible news that her best friend and boyfriend are dead. In order to get Mara's mind off her loss, her family picks up and moves to Miami to start over. Little did they know what was about to unravel.

As I mentioned in the beginning of my review, this book reminded me of Dexter and Gothika at the same time. This is because the book has a supernatural feel to it. People are turning up dead in inexplicable ways but what is weirder is that these people deserved it, in Mara's mind. Mara is having what she thinks are hallucinations attributed to her PTSD, only those hallucinations are coming true. Is Mara responsible for all these deaths? Noah, the British bad boy at her school, certainly doesn't think so. Oh Noah, totally swoon-worthy and for the love of all that is holy, has a British accent, that is enough to do me in.

I enjoyed this book so much I am giving it 5 stars out of 5 for being different, entertaining, funny, snarky and mysterious. This book will have you googling places and words and will introduce you to a different side of the city of Miami and it's not the gorgeous beach-filled night-life paradise you are probably accustomed to. This book is a definite MUST HAVE.

Not much really original here but I liked the characters, finding their teenage feelings realistically portrayed. There's just fantasy and tension to be fun but not so much to be silly. Can't wait for the next in the series.