(Spoilers)
(also….see what I did there with the title?)
I know that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is an older release (published in 2011), but I figured the series is popular enough that I’d give it a try. There seems to be mixed feelings on this book coming from a lot of people so I really tried not to look at other reviews of it and go into it blindly. When I started reading it I was like….
“WHOA! Starting it off with a bang! Playing with the Ouija Board! Kinda scared already!”
After I was a couple of chapters in I read a review of the book on Goodreads that discussed how alike Mara Dyer is to other books that I love. As I kept reading the book I started noticing the similarities the review pointed out. I realized the plot was kind of turning into something completely different from what I expected it would be and not in a good way. The scariness that kicked the book off however didn’t continue and eventually confusion just set in. I mean, I enjoyed about the first ¾’s of the book enough to keep me motivated to finish the entire thing, but the last 4th of the book just sucked. The whole concept of the book started unfolding and didn’t make any sense whatsoever. And what did make sense was a whole load of BS. I couldn’t believe where the author drove off with the story.
Character: I didn’t have anything against Mara, most of the time I liked her and understood where she came from, but she didn’t strike me as a character I will remember or love forever. As I neared the end of the book and all different things were being revealed about her she really started losing the little appeal she had. It was struggling trying to follow the book from her perspective and she became an obsessive, needy, weak, female lead who didn’t really have any morals or point to her character. Noah, who seems dark, sexy, and mysteries, ended up being too alike to other more likeable love interests. Particularly one of my favorites: Patch from Hush Hush. Then we start seeing Noah more and getting to know his character and he’s kind of half assed. I have problems with him just because he isn’t a troubled mysterious guy who is kind of a cocky jerk sometimes with a lot of charm so you like him. He wasn’t the nice guy who has a dark past but prospers because of it and you love him for being so kind and strong. No, he was just kind of troubled with had no charm and the only likeable things about him were that he was nice and wanted to help Mara. That’s it. Mara’s family is super sweet but I’m not sure where the author is taking Mara at this point, so I’m not sure about what to think about the family. Yeah, that’s about all the characters.
Plot: The plot, like I said, started with great potential and ended somewhere between the land that makes no sense and kill me now so I don’t rip the book to shreds. It was like the author was going for one thing but didn’t know how to continue it so she thought “PLOT TWIST” but it didn’t quite come out right. Like a whole bunch of different books that have already been written threw up all over the pages of this book. I still have no idea what the point of this series is supposed to be, and I’m halfway through the second book (that btw has taken on yet ANOTHER new plot of its own, completely veering from where the reader originally starts in the beginning). I was also really disappointed when the book stopped being a thriller and just becoming confusing.
Now, here’s what I really have a problem with: At first we think Mara is just going crazy after the accident where her friends die. But then we start getting into this thing where Mara will be mad at someone, then wish for them to be dead, and then wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am they’re dead just how she envisioned it! Here the problem with this, Mara doesn’t realize she’s the one killing the people. But it’s pretty dang obvious. Like really? Was Michelle Hodkins trying to write it to where we shouldn’t know it’s her?? Or are we really supposed to know? And then what really bothered me was the fact that Mara was at all the crime scenes and admitted to having reasons to be mad at the person whom she killed YET THE POLICE AND DETECTIVES NEVER SUSPECTED HER! NEVER BROUGHT HER IN FOR QUESTIONING! Especially if they could do research on her and find that something horrific had happened to her and there could definitely be a chance she had turned into a sociopath because of the accident; and yet the police never once thought “OH like maybe we should check this girl out?” I had a serious problem with that. I also had problems with the fact that Mara didn’t really know she was doing it and once she figures it out and tells Noah and then Noah admits to what’s going on with him they both kind of assume that means they were gifted with “powers” and could figure a way to fight for good. Umm….yeah she’s a psycho killer and he can feel what other people are feeling and “fix them,” I don’t think those count as “powers” that you can “fight evil” with. I think both of them should be locked up until further notice…..
Another issue I had was when Mara presumed then that Noah could “fix her” but that couldn’t happen because then we wouldn’t have another book coming so instead Noah breaks it to her that she isn’t technically “broken” so he can’t “fix her.” ……She seems pretty broken in the head to me. But she takes that as a, let me be depressed and show you you’re wrong but then later I’ll love you for it because you think I’m perfect the way I am. Which brings up another questioning aspect….. Noah and Mara jump to the conclusion that because they were both gifted with “powers” that counteract each other they were made for one another. I’m sorry but when is it ok for ANYONE no less a guy who can “heal” people encourage a murderous teenage girl because he thinks they were made for each other? I’m confused where the morals are here…..
Despite all these reasons to not read the second book, I am anyways just because I’m curious what’s going to happen in the end. And I totally understand what’s going to happen will probably make no sense and have no point and will be completely lost from where we started……but oh well. My curiosity is just getting the better of me this time. But if it gets any worse I’ll probably end up asking a friend what happened.
