Nov 30, 2011

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin


Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 9.27.2011
Pages: 452
Genre: Contemporary, Amnesia
Series: Yes (Mara Dyer #1)
Source: Finished copy I won

Rating: B

Summary (from Goodreads):
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.

Review:

I vacillated for the last month over writing this because I just did not love and adore this book the way 90% of the other bloggers did. Please don’t get me wrong—the idea was solid, the writing is stunning, and I can see why people love this book. Maybe it was because of all the hype that surrounded this book.

I felt like you couldn’t visit a blog without seeing the haunting, alluring question: Who is Mara Dyer? It was everywhere. People came home from BEA raving about this book, and I was so anxious to get my hands on it. I was elated when I won a copy because I need to know who Mara Dyer is! When I started reading it, however, I started to care less and less about who Mara Dyer is/was.

While Michelle Hodkin has a beautiful way of piecing words together, I really felt that the story just moved too slowly in several places, and then threw a ton of information at me the next. It’s never a good thing when you check the clock to see how long you’ve been reading. I love to be so in the story that my clock exists on another time plane far, far away. I never got that with this book, which was a shame because I think Hodkin is a gifted writer. The end really picked up, in my opinion, and things started to clear up as I was able to make sense of the beginning. However, by that point I was so frustrated that I wasn’t able to really enjoy it.

I honestly feel like I need to call Mara Dyer and say, “It’s not you, it’s me.” This book had all the makings of perfection, but the way they were put together just didn’t do it for me. I’m hoping this was a case of just general confusion from book #1 in a series and I’ll pick up book #2 and fall in love.

Buy: Amazon

14 comments:

  1. I know how you feel about looking at the clock. The first half of this book was so boring I almost didn't want to finish it. I did end up enjoying the last half, though. Here's my review: http://geobobspinelli.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-unbecoming-of-mara-dyer-by.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was curious about this Mara Dyer. I really wanted to read the book, but after reading the negative reviews, I think it'll take longer before I finally pick this up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cool yu liked it/read a couple of chapters on impulse.teen of shusters/ not a fan

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is why I've been hesitant about getting this book. I know everyone seems to love it, but what you described, is how I imagined this book to go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i would love to try this one..heard mixed reviews on it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'll have to put this on my to be read pile!!

    sweepingtheusa at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I understand how you feel. I won this book and was thrilled but I hesitate to read it because I don't want to be disappointed! Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for a good honest review. I have a whole bunch of books that are hard to get into and end up half read. There are so many books I can't waste time finishing books not worth it :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I understand exactly what you were writing about, there is a disconnect that occurs and no matter how bad you try to get over it -- you cant

    Carla C

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting review. I'm planning to reading this one soon, mainly because of all the hype, so it's nice to hear a non-raving review.

    ReplyDelete
  11. this is a good review im dying to read this soo i hope its good :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've been wanting to read this for a while, mostly because Of all the hype, and amazing things I've heard. Hopefully it is a book a enjoy. Thanks for the honest review!

    ReplyDelete
  13. *Sniffles* This book is sooo good. I'm so confused on many things after the book finished, but I feel like readers are supposed to be a little confused, and that things will be cleared up in the next books. I can't believe it's a trilogy! I know Michelle Hodkin knows what she is doing, but I don't really see how this is going to go on for two more books. NOT that it's a bad idea/series, but the first book and the addition of a second book might've been enough? I don't know. All I DO know is that my copy of The Evolution of Mara Dyer is on its way! Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh! What a surprise. I own this book, but haven't yet had a chance to read it. It's good to be able to read reviews from both sides of the spectrum. Thanks for your input. I certainly hope I care about who Mara Dyer is! :D

    ReplyDelete

I hope you know that every time you comment, an angel gets its wings.

OK, not really, but thanks for popping by!