The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The unbecoming of Mara Dyer was delightfully grim and fascinating. I loved the psychological aspects. The characters often took me off guard in so many unexpected ways, and I loved that about them. I was especially fond of Mara's family and friends. Very well written! I can't wait to read the next installment.

Spoilers:
Can't believe how much I hated Noah at first.
And how wrong I was.
Oops! He ended up rocking!

(Review originally posted at Fictionally Inclined.)

I fully intended to review at least one the books I read earlier in the month that are due back at the library. Instead, I am reviewing this book. Because I just...need to. I got The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer from the library on January 26 (this past Thursday). I was in the middle of another book right then, but I knew that I was going to want to discuss Mara with someone when I was finished. So I gave it to my friend Lynne. She flew threw it, and the next thing I knew, she was at my door later that afternoon, telling me I needed to read it ASAP. I was going to read it over this weekend, but I heeded her and picked it up that night. And finished it a little after 2 in the morning, much do my dismay. I was right. I DID need someone to discuss it with, but everyone was asleep. So, after sending a lamenting text to Twitter, I switched off my reading lamp and went to bed. Only problem was that this book? Isn't exactly conducive to sleep. I tossed and turned, mind wide awake and still spinning with possibilities, until giving up and sticking my well-used DVD of Two Weeks Notice into my laptop, plugging in headphones, and watching my tied-for-absolute-favorite movie until I fell asleep. Thankfully, the next morning, Lynne and I were able to debrief and exchange theories and just talk about everything pertaining to Mara. It was a great (and much needed) talk. I just love talking about books, particularly with people who love them as much as I do. ♥

Lots and lots of spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

The first word that comes to mind when I start to describe this book is somewhat less than appropriate. So, we'll just call it a mind...warp. Yes. Mindwarp.

I don't do thrillers. I might watch an action/adventure or mystery movie with just a hint of thriller and suspense mixed in, but I don't do thriller/horror stuff. I don't enjoy scaring myself; I simply don't see the point of it. So this book pushed my boundaries a little. But it was so fascinating because you didn't know what was simply Mara's PTSD and what was...something else. The scene where she comes back to the empty house and the water turns itself off and her earrings were at the bottom of the tub? Holy crap, I am pretty sure I barely breathed. It was just so thrillingly creepy. I'm glad that was as creepy as it got, though, because I am not sure I would have finished it otherwise. But! I will say that Hodkin masterfully crafted this book, because I would be tingling from nerves one second and laughing out loud the next. It was a great balance of suspense, intrigue, humor, and romance. This book also induced a lot of gasps. I'm not entirely sure why that happened, because I'm not a gasping person. I was just so on-edge for the entire book that every little thing set me off.

I find it interesting that all the names of the main characters are Biblical. Mara, Daniel, Jude, Noah, Joseph. It's interesting, and I wonder if that will be at all relevant later.

Speaking of Mara, Daniel (whom I loved and would love to see featured in a spin-off), and Joseph, I loved their sibling relationship. I was touched by the affection and protection between them, and their exchanges cracked me up. They were just so realistic and made the siblings believable.

❝Your level of neuroses will only find love in a made-for-TV movie.❞

❝It's too early to be such an asshat.❞

not

Lolita

4.5/5 stars.

I think my brain is broken.

Full review:

I'm a total sucker for unreliable narrators and Unbecoming absolutely takes full advantage of Mara's extremely unreliable narration (and I'm not spoiling anything to say so). I was quoting Mockingjay's “real or not real?” throughout the book, there are twists galore, and the paranormal/supernatural aspect was so perfectly creepy. And I was totally impressed with all of that, and then I reached the end, and now I seriously need the sequels, which I will be buying together. And as an added bonus, I appreciated the incidental diversity integrated into the cast.

My one peeve was more of a writing quirk than anything else: there are a ton of filter phrases, which honestly is something I see all over the place, but I noticed it more than usual for some reason while reading Unbecoming. That said, it in no way ruined the reading experience for me, and it's a super minor flaw that most people probably won't even notice. So.

Unbecoming is twisty, eerie, unintentionally takes advantage of my fear of swamps, and I absolutely enjoyed it. Definitely recommended for those of you who like creepy book with trippy plots that leave you wondering what the hell just happened.