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)

it's ok

I like the story line and where is going, but she reads way too fast. Her reading leaves out expression in the book. But I'm probably still going to read the rest because I want to know where this goes.

One of my favorite book series

This has everything. Romance, drama, action, adventure, and more. I loved reading this and I can't wait to see what happens next in the next book.

I love this series but the narration is only OK

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe not the audiobook but the book itself, yes.

Any additional comments?

I don't understand the rush and choppy was Christy Romano does this performance. The books are SOOOO great and the narration is only OK. :( So sad. It's like when they make your favorite book into a movie and the movie isn't what you expected, it changes how you feel about the book. :\ total bummer.

Wow

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

Unpredictable, intense, great read! Couldnt put it down.
Cant Wait for the next one!

What about Christy Romano’s performance did you like?

Christy Romano performance was incredible.

Any additional comments?

Really enjoyed this book!!

did not like the reader

Would you try another book from Michelle Hodkin and/or Christy Romano?

Yes, Michelle Hodkin.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christy Romano?

I don't know. I really like Emma Galvin, but she has done other similar books, so this might be overkill.

Did The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer inspire you to do anything?

Yeah, read the next book!

Any additional comments?

I read this book (not audio version) a couple years ago. This is one I would recommend reading over audio.

Surprising

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

Really, really, good!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. The title caught my attention along with the cover art but the story definitely held my attention.

Interested, disappointed, and pleasantly surprised

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, what this book lacked in unique characters, it made up for with intriguing mystery, excellent scene writing, and fantastic imagery.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I don't know if I have a favorite character. They are all quite flat and stereotypical. I will have to finish the series before I decide. I supposed Mara is the most complex because she is so focused on herself that she is blind to a lot of what is going on around her, which makes the big reveals better because they are completely unexpected.

What does Christy Romano bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Christy Romano brought authenticity to Mara's narration, it sounded like a teenage girl talking about her problems.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once I got to the middle, yes.

Voice is incredible

Chapter 34, at the 30 second mark theres a sentence repetition, must have been missed in editing lol

Also, this voice actress is incredibly emotional and does such a superb job. doesn’t even sound like she’s reading something
. he was also the voice actress for Kim Possible

Over Rated

I have heard a lot of great things about this book, but I found it to be too bland for my taste. Might give it another try but I don’t hold too high of hopes.

It was just a BIG OKAY.

What did you like best about The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? What did you like least?

I can't say that I liked anything best about this book. This was not one that I could not wait to pick it back up and listen to it. When I was looking at how much time I had left on my device, it was not because I was disappointed that it was close to ending, but the complete opposite. If I did not use a credit ($14.99) to purchase it, I would have DNFed it. There have been many audio books in the past that it took me a few chapters to get used to the narrator's voice, but no matter how much I tried, I just could not get into this story or the tone (voices) of the characters.
I was excited to read this YA paranormal. I had been on a YA paranormal high after getting through another great YA paranormal trilogy so when I saw that this was a paranormal trilogy and all the books were on audio, I was excited to start. However, I will not be purchasing book 2 even though I listened to the free sample at the end of book 1. It sounds like the same old story in book 2 "no one will believe me, everyone thinks I am crazy". Not wasting a credit for sounds like the story just being dragged out to get to become a trilogy.

What was most disappointing about Michelle Hodkin’s story?

There was nothing that grabbed me. Obviously something is going on with Mara and there is a revolution about Noah, but there was nothing shocking by the time I found out the truth. I figured it out chapters before so it was not a earth shattering. I don't even think Mara sounded that shocked when Noah revealed his secret to her or maybe it was just the tone of the narrator that it felt like everything was like "okay, great, whatever".

What three words best describe Christy Romano’s voice?

I was excited to see that Kim Possible, one of my daughter's favorite cartoons when was little was the narrator of this audio book. However, I thought she did okay. I really had to think many times while listening to this audio whether it was Christy Romano's voice that was not allowing me to connect to the story or the writing and characters. Noah's "voice" was not right. I preferred when he did not talk. I could not connect with that romance part of the story. I wonder if I would have felt differently if I read instead of listened to this story.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

Not a recommendation from me. I was excited to start, but was extremely disappointed. Great covers.