Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can 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 mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

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

She’s wrong. - Goodreads
Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Finished Reading: June 12th, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 452
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Sub-Genre(s): Suspense, Romance
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Where to Buy: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, is an ever twisting road of acid-tripping moments that keep you on the edge of your seat. From the insane hallucinations to the mystery surrounding all the deaths, it leaves a hangover for the reader, but in a good way (I know contradiction since hangovers a a beast! lol)

This is just one of those books that I do believe lived up to the hype. Not everyone would agree, but for myself it did. Not many books can impress nor leave me thinking the way this novel did. I can see this not only being a movie series, but more importantly would rather see this be made into a television series if the rights were ever bought for the book.

Anyway... Noah and Mara have this bizarre chemistry together. From the moment they lock eyes across the quad till the last chapter, you know they belong together; even if you think other wise throughout reading it. I don't know why but there seems to be a trend lately in the books I'm reading of the boys are all broody. And as it was said on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "he's all Mr. Billowy-coat, king of pain," something of which Noah easily brings to the table when it comes to his past. The one thing Mara keeps on trying to figure out. Luckily but the end she understand a lot about him and why they are drawn together. It's also very dangerous for them to be together. Something of which I won't reveal, but it's an important aspect in the story.

Now for the insanity that swept the book: Jude. That character really has a pivotal role throughout Mara's journey. Everywhere she goes, when her mind starts to slip, he will almost likely be there. The strange part? He's dead! But at the end something is revealed, BIG spoiler that I won't spill, but it changes everything about Jude, in a creepy way. Something that is sure to be explained in the sequel.

Now there were passages in the book that caught my attention. Not sure if Hodkin was trying to make certain references, but I felt that on page 17, the black crows were foreshadowing the many deaths in Mara's future. This reference has been used in other pop culture situations (i.e. - One Tree Hill's pilot episode. Lucas tells Haley that it's a murder of crows.)

Overall, TUMD (aka - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer), left me feeling baffled by the cliffhanger and desperate for the next installment of Mara's world. This isn't for everyone, but it's worth a go at least once, especially with Halloween just around the corner.