The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Published: September 27, 2011 by Simon & Schuster
Received: gifted by Yani via BEA 2011

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. {taken from goodreads.com}

This is easily one of the most talked about books in YA this year.  So when my good friend Yani picked up an extra advanced copy at BEA this year, I was ECSTATIC to learn she was passing it on to me!  First of all, do you see that cover?! GORGEOUS!  If that doesn't grab your attention, then perhaps the mystery & intrigue of the synopsis does?  Oh yes.  It most certainly did for me.  The hype kept building and so my desire to read this book grew with it.  If I've ever read a book that literally made me say "What the {insert bad word here}" - this is definitely the one!  Some were good wtf moments, while others... I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it.  This book has definitely left an impression on me, I'm just not quite certain what that impression is just yet.  Perhaps that is Michelle Hodkin's intention of this book.  To create question and mystery, to get people talking, asking questions, engaging in conversation about it.  I know for me, I have been doing that with my blogger friends who have read a copy as well.  I mean - how can you not?!

Since it is still early on before this book is to be released, I do not want to spoil anything.  I hope every reader picks up this book with as much excitement as I did.  But I must warn you, if you follow me on twitter then perhaps you've seen my "WTF" tweets.  Once you read this book, then you may understand my outbursts.  I don't want to jade anyone's thoughts prior to reading it either.  Just because I may not understand parts of the book, does not mean it's a bad thing.  The creepiness of this story was seeping off the pages.  Mara Dyer has a near death experience, which causes her to lose control of her mind and start to "hallucinate" - but is her mind really playing tricks on her? or are the ghosts of her dead friends coming back to haunt her? 

The first 300 pages of the book were AMAZING.  So well written.  I was completely tied to the story, wanting to know what happened next.  Wondering what all these unexplainable happenings meant.  Then of course, there was The Boy.  Oh yes.  Noah Shaw.  Insert the most swoony music of all time swoonage!  I almost feel icky for having such a school girl crush on a fictional teenage boy, but oh what the hell! THIS ISN'T REAL! right?! lol  Seriously though, this boy stole the show for me.  From his British accent, to his disheveled hair.  He was amazing in every scene his character was written in to.  The tension between Mara and Noah was perfect.  Every moment they were together, I held my breath.  The beauty of almost touching was just as good as the full on contact.  I LOVED the build up between these two characters.

Then right around page 350ish something happened.  I'm still not sure what that "something" was.  But the mood of the book switched for me.  I almost checked to make sure I was reading the same story.  So many new propositions were presented (a little too much in my opinion) that left me way more confused.  This is when the "WTF" moments definitely came in to play.  I didn't quite understand why the author decided to take the story in this direction.  A lot did not make sense for me.  The story felt rushed, and a few things were looked over.  A few important things that I felt needed more attention.  Perhaps this was the intention?  I am not sure.  The ending just didn't sit well with me.  As I said before, the first 300 pages - GREAT, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, 5 STAR... then the last 100 or so pages, everything just changed for me.  I had a hard time getting back to that feel good place I was in with the beginning. 

It definitely ends with a cliffhanger.  Michelle Hodkin throws a curve ball at us, that I did not see coming.  But then again, I felt pretty blind towards the end anyway.  I am very curious to see where this story leads to next.  I definitely want more Noah Shaw.  I believe this book to be talked about A LOT, once it is published and more people have their hands on it.  The story is definitely unique and it deserves the attention it is getting, I'm just not sure it is a favorite of mine.  I apologize if this review is all over the place, it's sort of how I felt about the book.  One minute I am loving it, then the next I am frustrated with it.  That is the beauty of literature.  It can surprise you, when you are least expecting it to, and make you FEEL all sorts of things.  I can't honestly rate this book.  I feel torn on what it deserves, so I will leave that open.  I hope my review conveys my thoughts well enough to understand why.

Ohh Mara Dyer.  You are one twisted, intriguing character.  And you Mr. Shaw - BEAUTIFUL.