Sadie Hawkins Sunday Review #32: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Mara Dyer, Book 1

Author: Michelle Hodkin
Pages: 452
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Read: August 28-September 2, 2013
Source: Won ARC and yeah oops
Recommended by: Aly of My Heart Hearts Books

Description from Goodreads:
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.

First Sentence: "The ornate script on the board twisted in the candlelight, making the letters and numbers dance in my head."

Review:
Going into The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I had some expectations but also no real idea what the book was actually about. It's an odd thing, diving into a book that pretty much everyone you know has already read. Though readers at large loved Hodkin's debut, the bulk of my friends, as evidenced by ratings on Goodreads, did not like this book at all. For much of the book, I could definitely see myself going the same way, but then the twist happened and I've got to say that I'm curious and really eager to read the next book.

Before you get mad at me, do not even try to tell me that saying there's a twist in this book is a spoiler. It's about a girl who waked up in a hospital with no memory of her friends dying and herself being trapped when a building collapsed. Obviously, that is a book that is all about surprising you with spoilers. You should expect this.

As is the case with many books that use this basic framework, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a bit slow and awkward at the beginning. Much of the book, you're really just waiting for answers and a reason to care. Thankfully, I found one, with the seriously creepy twist about which I want to know so much more. I wish I could say more about that, but then it would be a spoiler.

Many readers were upset by the relationship dynamics between Mara and Noah, but it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Noah does run to the English, fantastically wealthy and overprotective stereotype, true, but I don't feel like he forces Mara into anything that truly matters. He does initially seem too interested in her, but there are reasons for that explained later. In a lot of ways, Mara's the more powerful person in the relationship and Noah's the nice one once he opens up a bit. I wouldn't say that I ship them, really, but I don't want to strangle Noah either.

The characterization in Mara Dyer is rocky. Obviously, Mara's not in a healthy mental place at any point in the novel, as she suffers from PTSD after her friends' deaths. Plus, she's hallucinating and generally not sure of anything. It's not a good place from which to get to know her true character. Pretty much the only thing I know and really like about her is that she likes to protect animals, but even that seems somewhat inconsistent. Noah, too, doesn't ever really jump off the page. He's interesting, but seems somewhat contradictory at various points throughout the book. I also, because I'm me, really loathe the fact that he smokes, which seems like an incredibly unnecessary thing to add and only romanticizes a filthy habit. Oh, also, he needs to stop attacking every guy who says anything flirty to Mara. While it can be attractive for a guy to have the strength to defend you, it's certainly not hot to assume you require that protection and starting shit over minor incidents will really only endanger the girl than protect her in the long run.

My favorite character doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, but I hope he comes back in the next two books. Jamie Roth is hilarious and one of the only people in the school not to subscribe to the social hierarchy accepted at their pretentious private school. Plus, he's bisexual AND a POC (as I believe Mara is as well, actually). He's by far the most interesting character in the book and I only wish it was more about him.

Like the characterization, I think the writing is a bit clunky. The transitions, especially, were off somehow, with inconsistent switches between memories, dreams and the present. Much of the dialog felt stilted. The writing as whole was pretty decent, but Hodkin has quite a bit of room to develop her prose. This being her debut, I don't think it's a bad showing.

I'm really all over the place with this book, but what it comes down to is that I'm captivated by the plot and have to know where it's going. I'm not sure why it worked more for me than others, except perhaps a certain weakness for particular plots.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Quote:

"'Your level of neuroses would only find love in a made-for-TV movie.'"

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Up Next:

The next Sadie Hawkins Sunday book will be Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund! I've enjoyed all of Peterfreund's books that I've read so far, so hopefully this one will go well too!

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