The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a psychological thrill ride that will keep you guessing from start to finish. Mix in a lot of dark, mind bending horror, intrigue and mystery, a little twisted paranormal flavouring, one wallop of a spicy yet irresistible romance and then blend it all together and wrap it in a beautiful cover and you have Michelle Hodkin's debut novel. Wow!17-year-old Mara Dyer wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. She also can't remember the accident that killed her friend, her best friend and her boyfriend and yet mysteriously left her unharmed.
Mara leaves the hospital diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome. Her family decides to pack up and move from Rhode Island to Miami in order to help Mara heal. Also her father is a lawyer and moving to Miami allows him to take on a high-profile criminal case. Once the family is moved into their new house Mara and her older brother Daniel are enrolled in an exclusive private school called Croyden Academy. It is here, at her new school, that Mara meets up with the very popular bad boy Noah. Mara just wants to make it through the day without seeing one of her dead friends. She definitely is not looking for a new boyfriend. But the harder she pushes Noah away, the harder he tries to get close to her.
The first person narrative is told from Mara's point of view and for once this works very well. Mara is having hallucinations because of her PTSD and finds it hard to know what is real and what is not. Having the story unfold from Mara's point of view also keeps the reader guessing as to what is real and what is not. Michelle Hodkin is a wizard with words keeping the reader puzzling pieces together right down to the last page. The plot twists and turns at a dizzying pace and constantly zigs right when you think it will zag. This book will have you reading late into the night and will keep you thinking long after you've closed the book.
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