Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Series: Mara Dyer Trilogy, #1

Published: September 27, 2011

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Number of Pages: 452

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.

Michelle Hodkin is a brilliant author who know’s how to be a brilliant author.

Yeah, I went there.

Let me explain. 

Now a days, a simple way to assure that your book garners some attention is to appeal to the blogging community. Yet, it’s amazing how many authors do not understand that we don’t kiss and tell. 

You see, just because you befriend a blogger, does not mean they will read your book. Nor does it mean that they will like it. Neither do free giveaways, or exclusive teasers. There are, however, two, maybe three, things that will guaranteed our attention and interest.

1. The Cover/Title

It’s pathetic, but true. The only reason I picked up Clockwork Angel however many years ago, was because the cover caught my eye. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer made me jump up and down when I first looked at it because it’s just that pretty. And then I saw the title. And I start thinking, how does someone “Unbecome?” What is this book about that someone “Unbecomes?” And while the author may have very little control over the cover aspect, and I can’t blame them if it’s not eye catching, they do fully control what happens after we pick up/see that beautiful cover.

     2.  The Description

There’s a reason I included the synopsis at the beginning of this. If I think it helps describe the book, and is well written, put it at the beginning of the review. If it’s rotten, full of spoilers, and turns readers away from what is actually a good book, do not put it at the beginning of the review. Quite simple. And this is the best synopsis in the history of synopsis’s. It just gives me chills, even after I’ve read the book and know what happens. My favorite part about it? It does not give away, let alone hint at, any spoilers. That is a rare and beautiful thing, readers. Treasure it. After you’ve read the description, some people may or may not do this, depending if they are online or in the store, but it’s an important factor anyway.

     3.  The First Sentence/Chapter

Go to the bookstore and read the rest of this intro yourself, but the first sentence is this:

My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something.

Okay, I lied, this book is super special, so there are FOUR things.

    4.  The Trailer

Yeah, yeah, again, what can author do about this, but I will say, if Hodkin in anyway recommended the music for this trailer, then she did her job. Because it is awesome. And I NEVER say that about a book trailer. I generally despise most of them. This is the only one that made me want to actually read the book. So here ya go:

Now, I want you to be completely honest with me. Have I written anything like a review yet? No. Do you still want to read this book? If you are honest with yourself, and like YA, then I think we both know the answer to that question.

Don’t we know it, Michael.

Now, this is a very hard book to talk about without spoiling anything. But I will try.

Mara is an unreliable narrator. I repeat: Mara is an unreliable narrator. I won’t say why, and this isn’t a spoiler because it’s one of the first things thrown out. Her being an unreliable narrator is what serves to progress the plot.

There is a boy, and you will love him.

There are siblings, and you will want to cuddle/hit them.

There is a friend, and you will want to steal him.

Finally, Hodkin’s does not screw with us:

Benedict and his screwy rainbow *sigh*

She’ll say no more than needs to be said. She’ll make you question everything. She’ll write the most quotable quote for which I found the most perfect matching GIF.

“Asscrown,” I muttered under my breath as I headed to my next class. I wasn’t proud of swearing at a complete stranger, no. but he started it.

Noah matched my pace. “Don’t you mean ‘assclown’?” He looked amused.

“No,” I said, louder this time. “I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses.”

And on that note, run off and enjoy reading this book.

NOTE: I read this book originally a year ago, and recently reread before reading the second book. This review was written after the second reading *it never gets old*