The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Mara Dyer, Book 1

By: Michelle Hodkin

Narrated by: Christy Romano

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Mara Dyer believes life can't 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 strangely unharmed. There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

©2011 Michelle Hodkin (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Christy Romano captures the youthful voice of the 17-year- old main character. Mara's sass, worries, and romantic longing all come alive, thanks to Romano's performance." ( AudioFile)

Very interesting at first but painfully slow

The series begins with a million questions that pull you in right away. But after a while become painfully drawn out. I think this trilogy could have been written in 2 books. A lot of things that were didnt make sense at times somethings were too obvious. I did enjoy the main character and her relationship. It just seemed like some of the geeky references were pushed. I started out liking this series but at the end of book 3 I was ready for it to end. All together not a terrible read but nothing shocked me or put me on the edge of my seat.

Great read A+

This is a wonderful story to follow and the narrator really brings the characters to life.

Good story

The reader speaks a little bit fast for my taste. However, it feels quite appropriate for the millennial generation that it depicts.

Felt like a Twilight copy

She killed a teacher over a grade? Hard to justify. Also no real ending or conclusion unless you read the next, which I am not doing

Absolutely addictive

Sometimes, a book you least expect to like takes you completely by surprise. Sometimes, even though you respect their opinion, you disagree with some of your most trusted friends. For me, this is one of those times.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer wasn’t at all what I expected. I was warned about the romance, about the heroine, about the plot and about the romance. I was told that the story makes little sense, that the romance is forced and unbelievable, that the love interest is just another version of Edward Cullen and that the heroine is simply too unmemorable, and occasionally even too stupid to live.

I must say that I respectfully disagree.

The fact of the matter is that I found the plot to be compelling and absolutely addictive; well planned, well written and incredibly suspenseful. Mara is a completely unreliable narrator, a detached, slightly unhinged, completely broken girl who hallucinates more often than not. We can’t be sure what we’re seeing, not when we’re seeing it through her eyes, and like her, we must question everything, from her friends and family to her sanity.

In addition, it must be said that I actually like Edward Cullen, and strangely enough, I rather like Noah Shaw as well. His previous romantic entanglements made me uncomfortable at first (as they were meant to, I’m sure), but as I learned more about him and witnessed his devotion to Mara, I started genuinely liking the boy.

It was actually Mara, not Noah, who gave me pause more than once. She came perilously close to the very definition of anti-heroine on several occasions, in a way that truly put me on edge. However, despite my discomfort (or possibly because of it), I appreciated Hodkin’s excellent characterization, her insightfulness and her willingness to take her characters to pretty uncomfortable places, well beyond the limit of morally and socially acceptable behavior. Mara wasn’t the only one who questioned her sanity. I questioned it constantly and there were moments when I thought she really should be put away, for her own safety and the safety of others. This is Michelle Hodkin’s true strength – she makes us love and fear a single character, be understanding and understandably wary at the same time. Mara is not a heroine in the traditional sense, but it’s quite easy to care for her nevertheless.

This story’s only true flaw, in my opinion, is that it doesn’t offer any sort of explanation for Mara’s apparent hallucinations. I’ve developed a very thick skin when it comes to cliffhangers, but at least some answers would have been most welcome. As is, I was left with hundreds of questions, very few answers, and a deep sense of dread that will likely stay with me for days to come.

Christy Romano narrated the book beautifully and added so much to the experience. Her pacing is a bit faster than normal, but it suits this story perfectly, and her voice only amplifies the overwhelming tension of the story. Mara’s emotions, as well as her strange detachment throughout the story, were clearly reflected in Romano’s voice. In addition, she did a fairly good job with Noah’s accent – she didn’t sound native, not quite, but even in that she was more than good enough.

After the crushing cliffhanger we were left with, I have no choice but to continue the story right away. Please excuse me while I go hide in the darkest, quietest corner of my house with Freya (my phone) and headphones for company.

Playing God

Just months ago, Mara Dyer’s life was normal. She had a best friend and had finally caught the eye of the boy she’d been drooling over. But all it took was one night to bring all the pieces of her life crashing down around her.

Now she wakes in a hospital, unable to remember the horrific accident that took the lives of both her boyfriend and her lifelong best friend. Unable to contemplate a life without her best friend, Mara convinces her family to start anew.

The Dyer family moves to a new city and Mara and her brothers start a new school, but Mara soon realizes that the troubles of the past are not so easy to leave behind. Not to mention the new troubles that come with this new life. Not only does she have a heap of school work to catch up on, but she finds it’s not so easy to make friends in this new school with its deeply entrenched social hierarchy.

Then Mara meets Noah. He’s at the top of the food chain and has both the good looks and the not so good reputation to match. No matter how much Mara keeps pushing him away, he won’t leave her alone. Then strange things start to happen to Mara and the only person she can turn to becomes the one she’d been trying to avoid. Can Noah save her from herself? Can he help her distinguish between what’s real and what’s not? Or will his own secrets be both their undoing?

This novel was a suggestion of one of my Goodreads bookclubs. It’s the kind of novel I love to read with a touch of paranormal in a normal young adult life. The character of Mara Dyer was highly refreshing. From the start, she’s not your average good girl. She’s crazy - in very real terms and she’s been through the wars. What a wonderful change from the perfect life of most teen heroines. Noah’s character was suitably mysterious and book-boyfriend-worthy. There were a few parts, like the Everglades scene, where I felt Mara’s reactions to him were not completely believable and there were too many unanswered questions surrounding him for me to feel completely satisfied.

The plot was well-paced and the overall story quite entertaining although I will say that the storyline with the legal case and Everglades felt a lot like it had been inserted as a last minute theme to setup the end scene’s moral dilemma. In terms of themes and messages, there are a few. Questions are raised about the power of the mind, about trying to start over without facing the demons of the past, and about the moral right to ‘play God’ with the lives of others, regardless of circumstances.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel - and I’m dying to know the outcome of that cliffhanger!

On a side note: I purchased an Audible copy of this book and was quite disappointed with the narration. It reminded me of Kindle text to speech. The cover, on the other hand, is one of my favorite ever!

Becoming a Fan of Mara Dyer

Surprisingly, I liked this book and really I shouldn't have liked it at all. I loathe the YA books that have teenagers with a seemingly endless supply of money, no job, do what they want at school with no repercussions, and with parents that are either completely oblivious or don't care that their children stay out (or sneak out) until the early morning light. This book had all of that in spades and yet I still liked it. This book is the first in a series and the author ensures that I will read the next book by ending this with one whopper of a cliffhanger (which is another thing I don't usually care for - I like for things to be wrapped up at the end). Nonetheless, I've been suckered in, and truthfully, I'm not too upset.

Charity Romano talks to fast.

Narrator sometimes puts the inflection on the wrong words in a sentence changing the way it should be heard.

The Performance

If you could sum up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer in three words, what would they be?

A thrilling tale, I was hooked the whole time.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer?

The ending for sure, I won't give away any spoilers.

What about Christy Romano’s performance did you like?

She did alright with the voice changes in between characters but it could have been better.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed quite a bit throughout the book.

Any additional comments?

An over all great book and would totally recommend to anyone who is looking to get out of their reading slump.

Loved it

Sometimes the narrator sounded like 1.25 speed😳 could have spoken just a tad slower. Looking forward to book 2. Thanks!