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Virginia Ronan � Herondale �'s Reviews > The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
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really liked it

I’m on now! =)

”I wanted to scream, but I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe. Claire was dead. She was not in my bathroom, and there was nothing to be scared of. My mind was playing tricks on me. I was going to go to a party tonight, and I needed to get dressed. One thing at a time.�

I heard so much about the “Mara Dyer� series before I picked it up and because I’m always curious about books that seem to be so controversial I decided to satisfy my curiosity by just reading it. So what did I think about it? Well, the book was published in 2011 and obviously was on the hype train with all the other YA books that were released back then. The interesting thing about this book was that it might have been full of the typical clichés but it actually kinda made fun of them? For me this was a really refreshing approach and I found myself enjoying it even more because of that. I mean we have the “not like other girls� trope and Noah Shaw having that “bad-boy with a heart of gold� vibe going for him. *lol* Plus: Mara is the only girl he’s interested in even though he’s mysterious and drop-dead gorgeous. And of course Mara is the new girl at their school.

There was an edge to his voice that I didn't like. "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."


Still, there’s something disarming about Noah’s charm and I couldn’t help but love his character. We all know I love MCs that know their literature and it’s almost impossible to resist a character that has his own library and can quote books by heart. XD I know a lot of people think that Noah is very demanding, arrogant and full of himself. Which admittedly he is, but of course he is hiding his true self behind his attitude. ;-) So yeah, this is as stereotypical as it can get. *lol*

”Noah drove girls crazy, and I was already crazy. I needed to let it go. Let him go. As Jamie had so astutely said, I had enough problems.�

As for Mara: She’s one hell of an unreliable narrator and I really loved that! Mara has no idea what happened and why her friends died in an accident. She was the sole survivor of that night and the asylum they visited turned into dust while it took the lives of her friends. At first it seems like Mara lost her best friend, boyfriend and his sister, but the more she remembers and the more memories come to the surface, the more we realize that things weren’t as amicable and easy between them as we might have thought. So Mara Dyer isn’t only suffering from a severe memory loss and PTSD but also has flashbacks and sees her dead friends and things that aren’t real. Add a lot of strange happenings and sudden deaths into the mix and you get the basic idea of the plot. XD

”Dark thoughts swirled in my mind and time slowed to a crawl. I stood up from the chair, knocking it over, but my hands trembled too much to pick it up. This was � this whole thing was beyond unfair. And I was becoming unhinged.�

The mystery element in “Mara Dyer� is strong and I’m very curious what is going to happen next. The ending of the book kind of left me in shocked surprise because I certainly didn’t expect it to end like that. I have no idea how Noah fits into all of this and what is happening exactly but I’m definitely ready to find out by reading the next book.

”If you do this,� he said slowly, “you’ll become someone else.�
I looked up at Noah. “I already am someone else.�


All told “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer� was an interesting start to a new series and I’m intrigued enough to continue with it. There might be a lot of stereotypes and inconsistencies at the moment but I hope that as the series proceeds some of them will be addressed and challenged. Plus I want to know how Mara’s character arc is going to play out. The same goes for Noah of course! I have so many questions, let’s hope book two will be able to answer them. ;-)

_________________________

I really enjoyed this and even though it was very tropey it also kinda made fun of the tropes? *lol*
But seriously: Noah Shaw is quite something and definitely book bf material.
Mara is super intriguing too. I can’t wait to read the next book because ... THE ENDING!

Full RTC soon! Stay tuned! ;-)
_________________________

I already spoke about it in my and I’m going for it now: “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer�!

This book has been on my TBR ever since I joined goodreads so it’s finally time to tackle it! The plot sounds super mysterious so I’m very curious where this is going.
Did any of you already read this and if yes, did you enjoy it?
It sounds very thriller-like to me so I hope I’ll survive reading it. *lol*
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Reading Progress

August 23, 2021 – Started Reading
August 23, 2021 – Shelved
September 2, 2021 –
page 43
9.43% ""He was beautiful. And he was smiling at me."

Why is this giving me "Twilight" vibes? *lol* Don't tell me Noah Shaw is a vampire. XD"
September 5, 2021 –
page 90
19.74% "There was an edge to his voice that I didn't like. "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."


Okay, but I can't help but dig a character who knows his quotes and books. *lol* Like seriously, Noah is hot! <33"
September 6, 2021 –
page 151
33.11% ""Seriously, you must have better things to do with your life than waste it on the hopeless?"
"I've already learned Parseltongue. What else is there?"
"Elvish."
"You're like, a gen-u-wine nerd. Love it."


Haha! Why do I love the conversations in this so much? Jamie is a pretty cool friend. I really like him. XD"
September 9, 2021 –
page 207
45.39% ""Why?" he asked.
"Why what?" What could I say? Noah, despite you being an asshole, or maybe because of it, I'd like to rip off your clothes and have your babies. Don't tell.


Why did this make me laugh so much? *LOL* I love how this book plays with the YA tropes and stereotypes and is kinda poking fun at them. Yet at the same time the mental health rep is very serious."
September 15, 2021 –
page 259
56.8% "I narrowed my eyes at him. "I was warned about you, you know."
And with that half-smile that wrecked me, Noah said, "But you're here anyway."


Ahh Noah has that bad boy vibe down to a T. If I'd be Mara I wouldn't be able to resist him too. *lol*"
September 18, 2021 –
page 310
67.98% "You know, I wish I could say teachers like Ms. Morales don't exist but that would be a lie. She reminds me of a lot of the teachers I had at school. I was forced to deal with them even though they were unfair and misused their power. I can only hope the school system changed over those last couple of years. >_<"
September 21, 2021 –
page 382
83.77% ""We'll pay," he said, digging into his pocket. He had no idea what was going on, but he was going along with it. With me. Reckless Noah, game for anything. I loved him."

Me too, girl! Me too! <33 Noah is so precious!!!"
September 25, 2021 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)

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message 1: by Lisa (new) - added it

Lisa I've had this on my shelf for years, I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts as it remains unread for me, still.


Erica The whole series is definitely interesting with a unique plot. I recommend all of the books.


Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ Lisa wrote: "I've had this on my shelf for years, I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts as it remains unread for me, still."

Me too! I'm very curious which kind of topics it will tackle and if it's horror or a thriller. Or well maybe something entirely different. XD Kind of going into this almost blind.


Teetas(on semi-hiatus) I think I'm gonna tackle this after Michelle Hodkin releases The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer And Noah Shaw in 2023


Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ Erica wrote: "The whole series is definitely interesting with a unique plot. I recommend all of the books."

Thank you! That's really good to hear. 😊 I'm looking forward to reading it.


Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ Teetas wrote: "I think I'm gonna tackle this after Michelle Hodkin releases The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer And Noah Shaw in 2023"

Sounds like a good plan! It probably will take me that long to read through the entire series since I want to borrow it from my library. *lol*


message 7: by Angie (new)

Angie I read this years ago. I never read the books about Noah. The first trilogy is different and I greatly enjoyed them. Have been wanting to reread them for a while.


Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ Angie wrote: "I read this years ago. I never read the books about Noah. The first trilogy is different and I greatly enjoyed them. Have been wanting to reread them for a while."

It's good to hear you enjoyed it back then! =) I probably will read the books about Noah too. Depends on if I like Mara Dyer. *lol*


Sophie I promise, your going to loveeeee this!


Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ Sophie wrote: "I promise, your going to loveeeee this!"

Haha! I'm about 30% in now and it's great so far! Can't wait to find out what is going to happen. XD


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