PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015
Read a Book Set in High School
The Unbecoming of Dara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
What the heck and holy crap on a cracker. I can't believe what I just read. I am completely obsessed with books/movies/TV shows about mental illness but I find that very few do it right. This book absolutely knows how to portray mental illness.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a story about a girl with a body count. Mara's three best friends are dead and she can't remember how it happened. Throughout the book most people think that she is crazy. Simply suffering from a case of PTSD after the trauma she experienced with the death of her friends. That is until the hottest boy in school begins paying her attention. Mara and Noah become unlikely allies, searching for answers to what happened the night of her best friend's death as well as whether or not Mara is truly crazy.
This book is truly amazing for so many reasons and is one of the best books I've read in awhile. The characters are extremely likable and the story is about as realistic as it could possibly be considering the paranormal/mental illness themes. Mara Dyer is a likable and relatable character and OMG Noah Shaw! He is a really sexy character to read about. Honestly his character reminds me of a mix between Christian Grey and Travis Maddox but that is a whole different can of worms.
I love how this book keeps you guessing and you almost never know what it real and what is fake (for the most part). I will admit that I was able to guess from the beginning how Mara's friends died and what exactly her special power was. I will say though that being able to predict that part of the book didn't at all detract from the rest of the book. There is so much happing and so much action crammed into this tome that it is okay to figure out a couple of the plot points.
The only thing about this book that I think may bother some readers is the insta-love. I know that a lot of people don't like it when characters fall in love at the drop of the hat but it honestly doesn't bother me. I think it really worked in this books favor even because since there is so much information and action crammed into it, the author would have been hard pressed to draw the romance out any further without making the book at least another 100 pages longer.
It is hard to decide what to label this book as. It has romance, family issues, paranormal aspects, mystery, and mental illness all wrapped up into one neat package. In my opinion it couldn't have gotten any better and it made me laugh out loud more then a few times. I mean what is more awesome than a book that has it all? The sequel to this book "The Evolution of Mara Dyer" is just sitting on my shelf just begging me to dig into it. I hope I will be able to soon!
“My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something. A pseudonym. A nom de plume, for all of us studying for the SATs. I know that having a fake name is strange, but trust me—it’s the most normal thing about my life right now. Even telling you this much probably isn’t smart. But without my big mouth, no one would know that a seventeen-year-old who likes Death Cab for Cutie was responsible for the murders. No one would know that somewhere out there is a B student with a body count. And it’s important that you know, so you’re not next.”
-Mara Dyer
Have a great day bookworms!
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