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ansleymg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer follows the main character who gives us the pseudonym of Mara Dyer at the beginning of the book through the tragic events of her junior year of high school. Within the first chapters of the book we see the tragedy begin to unfold as Mara wakes up in a hospital bed after a three day long coma. Mara’s family moves to Florida to help her escape her trauma, but Mara quickly discovers that the accident that she experienced was beyond escaping. This book takes you through twists and turns, depicting the struggles of a teenage girl with PTSD and a dark secret that her mind will not allow her to access.
I truly enjoyed this story. Realistic fiction is not my usual genre, but The Unbecoming is done so well. Mara Dyer as a character is difficult to follow. She rarely knows what is real and what is not. The book is written in such a way that the reader also does not always know what is “reality.” The blurring of reality and Mara’s psychoses is very artfully done. The dialogue is quick and witty, the book moves very quickly, and the final cliffhanger was thoroughly unexpected. Beyond just the main character, I developed so much love for Mara’s older brother, Daniel, and the way that their relationship is portrayed. Often authors write siblings in a way that is too loving or too hateful when the reality of siblings is typically somewhere in the middle. Hodkin walks this line perfectly. The only reason that this book did not receive a total of five stars is because for a solid chunk in the middle it becomes a romance book. While this portion was certainly included to create a sense that everything is going well in Mara’s life in order to make the climax that much more difficult, I found that section to be the hardest to get through. The plot seemed to just pause, which left me confused and reading to find out why nothing was happening anymore.
Overall, I could not put this book down. I read it in a total of six hours in a single day and I can’t wait to pick up the next book from my library to continue reading about Mara.
I truly enjoyed this story. Realistic fiction is not my usual genre, but The Unbecoming is done so well. Mara Dyer as a character is difficult to follow. She rarely knows what is real and what is not. The book is written in such a way that the reader also does not always know what is “reality.” The blurring of reality and Mara’s psychoses is very artfully done. The dialogue is quick and witty, the book moves very quickly, and the final cliffhanger was thoroughly unexpected. Beyond just the main character, I developed so much love for Mara’s older brother, Daniel, and the way that their relationship is portrayed. Often authors write siblings in a way that is too loving or too hateful when the reality of siblings is typically somewhere in the middle. Hodkin walks this line perfectly. The only reason that this book did not receive a total of five stars is because for a solid chunk in the middle it becomes a romance book. While this portion was certainly included to create a sense that everything is going well in Mara’s life in order to make the climax that much more difficult, I found that section to be the hardest to get through. The plot seemed to just pause, which left me confused and reading to find out why nothing was happening anymore.
Overall, I could not put this book down. I read it in a total of six hours in a single day and I can’t wait to pick up the next book from my library to continue reading about Mara.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence
izypup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Classism
lecta's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
it started really good then got bad i am really disapointed honestly also you can tell that this book was written in 2011 there are some problematic things and it has the usual ya fantasy tropes (tbh if it wasn't for the that cliffhanger in the end i wouldn't read the rest of the series and have given this book 2 stars i think)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
ivydemiee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and Stalking
laurenevlyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Best book I’ve read so far this year! The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is incredible. I felt like I was in Mara’s shoes, unable to tell what was real and what was in her head. And Noah is my new Book Boyfriend so quadruple points for setting my expectations even higher with this one! I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Minor: Toxic friendship
lozzo_bozo's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Murder
status_meh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I only picked up this boon for two reasons, 1.) the cover looked cool, and 2.) my husband’s (and now my) last name is Dyer.
I went in not knowing anything about the book, and I really enjoyed it. I think it was a fun book to read and I like that Mara is a sort of unreliable narrator. I liked it and will definitely read the rest of the series.
I went in not knowing anything about the book, and I really enjoyed it. I think it was a fun book to read and I like that Mara is a sort of unreliable narrator. I liked it and will definitely read the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
violetvulptex's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
nancatto's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing of this book is incredibly addictive. It made me want to read without stopping and it's been a while since i stayed up very late because i wanted to read on. I love how the author creates suspense around small details. I don't know what exactly to think about the romance. Noah is clearly somewhat of a red flag. Actually saying somewhat is just me being nice he is definitely a red flag. A guy who has a major alpha male complex and is an arrogant playboy and breaks all the hearts has a "reputation", until one day a girl changes everything blah blah. I don't particularly like that trope. There are some more problematic elements like stereotyping, slut shaming, girl on girl hate, the don't need makeup, you're different not like the other girls trope as well. I don't like it when he starts fights on her behalf and thinks its a cool thing to do. Its not. Anna and Aiden are as crappy as they sound and I hate their spoilt rich entitled guts. Specially when they did what they did to Jamie. Jamie might be one of my favourite characters. I LOVE Daniel. He is such a nice older brother i could cry he is always there for Mara I am not okay i need them to be happy. I didn't know before starting the book that Mara's mom's side is Indian so that was a nice surprise. The book did creep me out a little ngl. Specially anything with bathrooms and mirrors freaks the shit out of me. There's a lot of that in these books :) The story plot is pretty interesting and im eager enough to jump right into the next book. That ending though????? did not see that coming at all somehow i- i am scared to read on. *does it anyway*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Cursing
half_bloodreader's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh, I hate the blurbs for this series. They tell us nothing!
So bad, but it's entertaining if you've been warned about all the questionable elements. Especially the love interest, Noah. He smells of douche, he's such an ahole. The epitome of it. I believe he was supposed to be suave, yet he's just cringe.
No, seriously. It felt like I was reading satire and that's why everyone was a jerk or a stereotype. It did crack me up a lot 🤣
Needed more paranormal, less romance and HS flat mean characters.
The paranormal was what drew me in. Girl wakes up the sole survivor of a bizarre accident that killed her friends. Her memory of that night has holes. She's hallucinating. She may have a power? Or is nothing real?
How it derails:
- Cartoonish unpleasant characters like teachers and bullies
- Sl*t shaming from different directions
-Mc gets pathetically obsessed & melty over Noah "other girls are sl*ts for sleeping with me" Shaw, an arrogant, controlling, pushy rich "bad boy". It is hard however to ascertain who is telling the truth about the casual sex, since he denies some 🤷♀️
- Her new token bff Jamie representing 3 minorities is also a douche, participating in the sl*t shaming and ridicule of the girls Noah has toyed with, used and dumped. So classy. If he felt empathy towards them, he wouldn't call them used condoms. Especially after what Noah did to his sister! That deliberate malevolent action makes me believe the rumors about Noah are true.
The only good things in this book are Mara's siblings: Daniel and Joseph 💜
The sibling bound is adorable
TW: attempted rape
So bad, but it's entertaining if you've been warned about all the questionable elements. Especially the love interest, Noah. He smells of douche, he's such an ahole. The epitome of it. I believe he was supposed to be suave, yet he's just cringe.
No, seriously. It felt like I was reading satire and that's why everyone was a jerk or a stereotype. It did crack me up a lot 🤣
Needed more paranormal, less romance and HS flat mean characters.
The paranormal was what drew me in. Girl wakes up the sole survivor of a bizarre accident that killed her friends. Her memory of that night has holes. She's hallucinating. She may have a power? Or is nothing real?
How it derails:
- Cartoonish unpleasant characters like teachers and bullies
- Sl*t shaming from different directions
-Mc gets pathetically obsessed & melty over Noah "other girls are sl*ts for sleeping with me" Shaw, an arrogant, controlling, pushy rich "bad boy". It is hard however to ascertain who is telling the truth about the casual sex, since he denies some 🤷♀️
- Her new token bff Jamie representing 3 minorities is also a douche, participating in the sl*t shaming and ridicule of the girls Noah has toyed with, used and dumped. So classy. If he felt empathy towards them, he wouldn't call them used condoms. Especially after what Noah did to his sister! That deliberate malevolent action makes me believe the rumors about Noah are true.
The only good things in this book are Mara's siblings: Daniel and Joseph 💜
The sibling bound is adorable
TW: attempted rape
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Animal cruelty