REVIEW : The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

REVIEW : The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

   4:15 PM       Elisa

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Author     : Michelle Hodkin
Publisher  : Simon & Schuster
Source     : Bought
Pages       : 452

Summary :

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.

I wasn't sure in which genre this awesome book is, like 'Slice of Life' with 'Supernatural' taste maybe. Don't mean to give any spoiler, but for those who confuse with vague summary, the storyline idea might slightly like a simplier version of Japanese manga, 'Death Note' if you ever heard or read it (me personally just watched the movie, the manga just spin my head @_@). Note it, slightly, the idea. Not the whole story. Just guess yourself how it is =)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was one of the most anticipated title and bloggers keep talking about how amazing it was. Now I knew why and very glad I had an opportunity to read this. I really have no idea how to describe the amazing-ness this book for me. But of course, I try ;D

First, the cover.
Dark-ly unique, gorgeous, beautiful, definitely my favorite (I even collect the rest picture series, very breathtaking and awesome photograph skill =D). The picture and typograph looks perfect and matched the story's mysteriousness very well, it did tightly captivate me at the first sight and made me dying want to own this book although it seemed impossible. But woooooow it now sitting prettily on my shelf! 8D
Second, the story.
I have never read any book with like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer before (and don't really have any chance either since a place where I live) so wow.... for me it's really unique. It is suspenseful, mysterious, eerie, haunting, un-answered, but also funny, heartwarming and romantic. Yes it's so complicated like that. At one moment you feel so delightful, then at the next page you'll startled and terrified. I admire Michelle Hodkin for her writing skill at creating such intriguing story with romance and supernatural twist. I love how her describing with each word that so real and adsorbing. And how she used some uncommon words (verbs, nouns or adjectives) which I never know before they even exist at English (sorry, my mother languange isn't English though =p I admit I kept opening my translator engine at my phone and surprised when it showed the result xD), it add more mysterious and smart feeling in this story ;)

Mara Dyer is not your usual heroine.
She suffers PTSD because of a horibble accident that killing her boyfriend and her friends. It brings her hallucinations that consume her sanity, and I really feel sorry for her because as I put myself in her shoes, her hallucinations are very-very terrifiying! How you'll live in peace if you're haunted by your death friends? *shivers*. But I found Mara is very interesting. With endless support from her family, especially her brother Daniel *I wish I have a brother like him /daydreaming/*, she battles her PTSD and try to live normally and move forward from her past. She's very strong at dealing her problems, but secretly she has her own dark side which I thought it's so realistic, so human and imperfect who sometimes do and decide wrong, until I thought "Wow, actually I do sometimes think that way too towards other". She's so different from others that make her stand out and unforgettable. She might be unstable and flaws, but I love her for being and thinking as herself.
Of course, this story wouldn't be perfect without male main character, Noah Shaw.
Ah Noah, with his usual disarray appearance and myterious-ness, is very mesmerizing. It's really hard to not falling in love with a guy like him. I even didn't admit him as a jerk at first like some people did. He has bad boy appearance but sounds aristocratic (well, he's rich and British anyway, SQUEEEEEEE!), sometimes quirky and mysterious, witty and sweet. He's totally swoon worthy and a perfect match for Mara. I really enjoy their witty chit-chat toward others and how cute he is when he acts demanding on her.

With the cliffhanger ending (which made my eyes widely opened, couldn't believe Hodkin cut the story at such critical situation! AAARGH!!!) I can't help but wanting more of this series. After I finished this book, I kept guessing who "Mara" is, and Noah also tickled my curiousity. Waiting until Fall for the sequel is such a pain!
Read it if you have a chance, or for Indo publisher, you should consider this book as your next translation project.
Highly recommended!