The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer info:
Hardcover, 452 pages
Published September 27th 2011
by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
The Evolution of Mara Dyer info:
Hardcover, 544 pages
Published October 23rd 2012
by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Good Reads Synapsis:
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:
Over the past couple of weeks I've been immersed in a YA paranormal romance series by Michelle Hodkin known as The Mara Dyer Trilogy. The first book in the series is The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and the second is The Evolution of Mara Dyer. I feel like it would be a little redundant to write a review for each book so I've decided to review the series as a whole and here it goes:
Both books were real page-turners. I thoroughly enjoyed main characters Mara and Noah and their heated romance, though some might find their slight resemblance to Twilight's Edward and Bella a little irritating. But come on, what is YA fiction without a little bit of forbidden romance? That, along with parts of the storyline and some of the supporting characters, are where the similarities end. Instead of a selfless, clumsy, vampire wannabe, Mara Dyer has true grit, and a body count. She has her share of clumsy accidents, but that's only due to the fact that she suffers from some major Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is haunted by the three friends she accidentally killed. Mara is a cold blood murderer, and doesn't even know it. I found her sharp wit and unsettling honesty a refreshing change from some of the other YA characters out there.
Noah, on the other hand, was your cliché bad boy who's actually a saint once you get to know him. Described as tall and thin, disheveled in appearance, and completely full of himself, I didn't find myself pining over his character. If I had to compare him to other leading men, I would say he's a combination of Edward (Twilight) and Jace (Infernal Devices Series) but with a British accent. And he smokes. Though it would seem like a winning personality combination, Noah's character seemed like he was trying too hard to be a stud. His relationship with Mara, however, became very interesting as it unfolded and I was completely absorbed in trying to figure out their strange connection.
What I really loved about this series was how it encompassed so many attributes of my favorite YA Paranormal books, yet the storyline and premise of the characters' struggles were completely unique at the same time. The plot was intriguing and moved along nicely so there was never a dull moment. There were some seriously creepy things going on within Mara and around her. New mysteries about her condition were constantly unfurling throughout both books. Sometimes you figure it out before she does and other times you are left completely in the dark with her. Though some of the mysteries were solved by the end of the second book, my mind was left reeling and wanting more. So much is still unanswered! I almost wish I would have waited to read the books until the third was released. I may just have to revisit them next fall when the third book, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, is due out.
If you are a fan of heart-pounding, mind-boggling, YA paranormal fiction then you should consider reading this series! On a page-turner scale of 1-10, I give both books a 9.
