The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin

Ali Mark
Apr 20, 2016
4 min read

Gut Instinct Rating - 4

Story Line - 4

Writing Style - 5

Characters - 4

Excitement Factor - 4

Believability for type and topics - 4

Similarity to other books - 5

Dust Jacket Art - 4

Title Relevance - 4

Goodreads users gave this book a 4.11. I think it was more deserving of a 4.22.

Published in 2011.

Pages: 452.

Number of books by author: 7 Works (Book 1/3).

Genre: YA Fiction.

After Mara's friends die in a tragic accident and she suffers from PTSD, she convinces her family to move from RI to FL to start fresh. But she more or less discovers more and starts less.

I would recommend this book to a friend (done) and enjoyed it. And I did, enjoy it, that is. I'm not sure what about this book didn't make it a 5 - I think it was a combination of a lot of little things bringing majority of the book's components into a 4-star rating. It was a good book, and I have plans to check out the second in the trilogy. But I won't be rushing to pick it up, by any means. Don't get me wrong when I complain about things, I enjoyed the book. But there wasn't anything that made me love it. The lack of 5-stars is more a lack of things as opposed to a lack of love.

Characters were well done; needed some small adjustments. I felt like the characters were recycled. And I'm not sure why, but none of them felt refreshing. For example, Mara (and can we please back up to the part where that's not her real name... because none of that was ever really touched on after the opening page) likes to run. Well, I read another book recently where the main character always ran (Hysteria). The protective big brother over a little sister is so stereotypical that it wasn't all that surprising or refreshing, especially when we find out that the older brother and Noah are friends. Jamie, your stereotypical bi-male. Every other male is an attractive enemy while every other female is a bitchy counterpart. The troubled teen (whether his troubles are valid or not is another question that felt unnecessary to the book since it felt like a way to just write him off). The younger brother - his role, which I'm sure will become more relevant in book 2, wasn't real clear. How is it that the 12-year old has all these friends right off the bat, in a new state at a new school? It all felt a bit extreme. Every character was like that - the helicopter mom and the absentee dad. I hope that in book 2 we see a bit more specific set of personalities and less extremes.

Pretty realistic give or take a few things. And I won't spoil anything, but the meant-for-you mumbo jumbo... a bit too forced for my liking. But, I'm hoping over books 2 and 3 there's some mixing up that happens with the too-good-to-be-true-moments.

Writing was smooth with no interruptions to the story line. I didn't mind the "before" chapters... although, I could've dealt with them not being labeled "before." The overall writing was easy to read. I was a bit surprised that I read 450 pages in less than 8 hours. I expected this to be a two-day read, but it was really easy to read, the information wasn't over-the-top, nor was the detail too extreme. It kind of felt like an introduction to a YA fantasy series. Again, I would've liked that we heard more about the naming of Mara Dyer since it's a horrible trait to discuss something so monumental then not touch on it again for the remainder of the book.

Was on the edge of my seat because everything was a hard right turn. It seemed kind of slow, but I think if I were to re-read it, I think I would notice a lot more. So maybe I wasn't being observant enough, or maybe that was the purpose.... was to feel that climactic shift in the story line. In general, it was an entertaining book that I was able to put down.

The story line was well thought out with few flaws. Again, the naming of Mara Dyer is still really bothering me. The story line could've been fewer pages and a bit quicker, but overall, it was a good read and there wasn't too much back-and-forth. I didn't feel like we were living in before chapters, nor did I feel like the past was completely ignored. I think there's a better way to bring it into the present, but I'm not sure what that would be, so I won't discredit the author's 4-stars.

The title was fine but something better could've come along. I think the use of the word unbecoming one time at the very beginning of the story wasn't the best phrase choice for the title. I'm not really sure what you could've done with this title since I'm sure there's a million books called Asylum... but something more clever could've been chosen. I'm not sure if this is a publisher decision in this case or an author decision, but I'm secretly hoping it's the publisher, because the author was clever enough to come up with the story line itself... how could she drop the ball on the title.

Artwork was good, but could've been more on point. I didn't really love the scene chosen for the cover art... or in this case, the dust jacket. I half expected this book to be based in/on the water, but there wasn't a lot of time we spent in/on the water, and I don't think the time spent there was so momentous that we needed it as the artwork for the cover. I would've liked to see the catalyst for this story as the cover art... and I think, depending on what you find to be the moment-in-motion, there's quite a few things that could've been chosen. As a side note, I really hated the texture of the dust jacket. I know that may seem strange, and I hate dust jackets anyway, but it feels so greasy and musty and slick, all in one. I'm praying that book 2 isn't the same... (maybe I'll buy it in paperback....)