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curlyfries27's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
brandidean's review against another edition
3.0
Heh. Feeling a little juvenile admitting it, but I actually really liked this. It was a book club pick, and I'd never heard of it before, so I went in with no idea what it was about. Since things really change in the last few chapters and it morphs into a different type of book altogether, wondering if I'll like the next one, but am def going to try it.
(Though I will say she does that thing you see a lot in these sorts of books where the characters make really ridiculously bad choices that you're supposed to see as noble or something, but actually just end up having to hand wave.)
(Though I will say she does that thing you see a lot in these sorts of books where the characters make really ridiculously bad choices that you're supposed to see as noble or something, but actually just end up having to hand wave.)
emgg's review against another edition
1.0
*warning: one slightly graphic sentence and a few swear words.*
I didn't stick around to know how Mara Dyer's magic works, because god this book was so boring. I finished [b:Hush, Hush|6339664|Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)|Becca Fitzpatrick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358261334s/6339664.jpg|6525609], and I didn't finish this. Yuup. Speaks volumes, doesn't it? Because in Hush, Hush, at least I made sense of what was going on at that precise moment and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was really just a clusterfuck that was just as confused with itself as I was with it.
One minute, it's brain matter splattered on the floor; the next, Mara is pretending not to hate Noah Shaw *wink wink nudge nudge*. Y'know, just pick one and stick with it. Really.
As for the romance, er, if Jace Herondale/Will Herondale (they're the same bloke, right? 3: ) is your sort of hot dude, then I'd say yes, go for it. I can't differentiate between Will Herondale and Noah Shaw. Needless to say, I dislike both.
Shaw is the most stereotypical of bad boys, you know, looks like Adonis, mannerless, sleeps around, has an English accent (since I can't hear it, I cannot, I'm sorry to say, fall under its charm), is disgustingly rich, has A DARK PAST -- stop, people, just spare the dark pasts! I get it, sob stories beguile readers to sympathize with the characters but it annoys the shit out of me!
Mara Dyer so didn't fall for that - Oh wait she did. This joke is getting as old as the cliches here.
As for Mara Dyer I don't even know how to describe her because she was so flat and uninteresting. Just your typical hormonal high schooler I guess.
Don't get me talking about Anna. I hate, absolutely hate how girls like Anna are slut-shamed when really all they are doing is trying to score the hottest boy in the school as their boyfriend. Maybe they flirt too much with the hot dude. But lookie here now, the hot dude sleeps around! Isn't that much sluttier than those "bitchy girls"? That's one thing I can never get used to. So much slut-shaming for girls, almost none going on for boys.
Jamie. Nuh-uh. Funny black bisexual. Excuuuse me but please could you be more subtle with the "I'm pro-diversity! WOOT" message here? Because it's hitting me in the face and not cheering me up at all. I don't mind not having any lgbt characters around, but what I mind is stuffing one there and putting zero effort into establishing their personality.
I'm done writing this review. I don't want to relive the whole painful experience again. Nawp.
(I really, really love the font on the cover though. That cover. If there weren't that spooky faceless awkward vaguely disturbing underwater hugging thing going on I might actually shelf this as amazing-covers.
Now [b:The Becoming of Noah Shaw|25548744|The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1)|Michelle Hodkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494267312s/25548744.jpg|45342171] has a super gorgeous cover!)
I didn't stick around to know how Mara Dyer's magic works, because god this book was so boring. I finished [b:Hush, Hush|6339664|Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)|Becca Fitzpatrick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358261334s/6339664.jpg|6525609], and I didn't finish this. Yuup. Speaks volumes, doesn't it? Because in Hush, Hush, at least I made sense of what was going on at that precise moment and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was really just a clusterfuck that was just as confused with itself as I was with it.
One minute, it's brain matter splattered on the floor; the next, Mara is pretending not to hate Noah Shaw *wink wink nudge nudge*. Y'know, just pick one and stick with it. Really.
As for the romance, er, if Jace Herondale/Will Herondale (they're the same bloke, right? 3: ) is your sort of hot dude, then I'd say yes, go for it. I can't differentiate between Will Herondale and Noah Shaw. Needless to say, I dislike both.
Shaw is the most stereotypical of bad boys, you know, looks like Adonis, mannerless, sleeps around, has an English accent (since I can't hear it, I cannot, I'm sorry to say, fall under its charm), is disgustingly rich, has A DARK PAST -- stop, people, just spare the dark pasts! I get it, sob stories beguile readers to sympathize with the characters but it annoys the shit out of me!
Mara Dyer so didn't fall for that - Oh wait she did. This joke is getting as old as the cliches here.
As for Mara Dyer I don't even know how to describe her because she was so flat and uninteresting. Just your typical hormonal high schooler I guess.
Don't get me talking about Anna. I hate, absolutely hate how girls like Anna are slut-shamed when really all they are doing is trying to score the hottest boy in the school as their boyfriend. Maybe they flirt too much with the hot dude. But lookie here now, the hot dude sleeps around! Isn't that much sluttier than those "bitchy girls"? That's one thing I can never get used to. So much slut-shaming for girls, almost none going on for boys.
Jamie. Nuh-uh. Funny black bisexual. Excuuuse me but please could you be more subtle with the "I'm pro-diversity! WOOT" message here? Because it's hitting me in the face and not cheering me up at all. I don't mind not having any lgbt characters around, but what I mind is stuffing one there and putting zero effort into establishing their personality.
I'm done writing this review. I don't want to relive the whole painful experience again. Nawp.
(I really, really love the font on the cover though. That cover. If there weren't that spooky faceless awkward vaguely disturbing underwater hugging thing going on I might actually shelf this as amazing-covers.
Now [b:The Becoming of Noah Shaw|25548744|The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1)|Michelle Hodkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494267312s/25548744.jpg|45342171] has a super gorgeous cover!)
vanybunny's review against another edition
4.0
Mara Dyer ist, zusammen mit drei ihrer Freunde, in einen Unfall verwickelt gewesen. Sie hat als einzige überlebt und versucht sich zusammen zu reimen, was da damals geschehen ist, da sie sich an nichts erinnert. Nur eines weiß sie, etwas stimmt nicht mit ihr.
Auf der neuen Schule begegnet sie Noah, der als Mädchenschwarm der Schule und Playboy bekannt ist. Deshalb will sie sich von ihm fernhalten und sich nicht einlullen lassen, zu blöd, dass Noah jedoch ihre Nähe sucht. Sie muss feststellen, dass Noah seinem schlechten Ruf nicht gerecht wird und lässt seine Nähe zu. Doch wie lange wird er bei ihr bleiben, wenn er erfährt, dass ihr Kopf nicht ganz richtig ist? Dass sie kaputt ist? Hinzu kommt, dass Dinge geschehen, die nicht passieren dürften, die Mara nicht kontrollieren kann. Sie hat das Gefühl, alles um sie herum bricht zusammen und sie ist mittendrin, gefangen in ihrer Vergangenheit.
Ich bin tatsächlich mal so ganz ohne Erwartungen an das Buch rangegangen und denke, das war auch ganz gut so. Denn egal womit ich gerechnet hätte, das wäre nicht eingetroffen.
Es ist teilweise sehr verwirrend und man weiß nicht mehr wo vorne und hinten ist, was real ist und was nicht.
Aber die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Noah gefällt mir sehr gut. Noah ist für sie da und bleibt an ihrer Seite, komme was wolle. Wie sich die Ereignisse wie Puzzleteile nach und nach zusammenfügen, hält die Spannung der Story aufrecht und bringt einem dazu, am Ball zu bleiben.
Auf der neuen Schule begegnet sie Noah, der als Mädchenschwarm der Schule und Playboy bekannt ist. Deshalb will sie sich von ihm fernhalten und sich nicht einlullen lassen, zu blöd, dass Noah jedoch ihre Nähe sucht. Sie muss feststellen, dass Noah seinem schlechten Ruf nicht gerecht wird und lässt seine Nähe zu. Doch wie lange wird er bei ihr bleiben, wenn er erfährt, dass ihr Kopf nicht ganz richtig ist? Dass sie kaputt ist? Hinzu kommt, dass Dinge geschehen, die nicht passieren dürften, die Mara nicht kontrollieren kann. Sie hat das Gefühl, alles um sie herum bricht zusammen und sie ist mittendrin, gefangen in ihrer Vergangenheit.
Ich bin tatsächlich mal so ganz ohne Erwartungen an das Buch rangegangen und denke, das war auch ganz gut so. Denn egal womit ich gerechnet hätte, das wäre nicht eingetroffen.
Es ist teilweise sehr verwirrend und man weiß nicht mehr wo vorne und hinten ist, was real ist und was nicht.
Aber die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Noah gefällt mir sehr gut. Noah ist für sie da und bleibt an ihrer Seite, komme was wolle. Wie sich die Ereignisse wie Puzzleteile nach und nach zusammenfügen, hält die Spannung der Story aufrecht und bringt einem dazu, am Ball zu bleiben.
alexia136's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
nishiotwo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I reread this because I remember loving it when I was younger. Definitely felt like a YA book, so it was hard for me to stick with it. I know it’s a trilogy, but I felt it went really slow regarding her powers. Left with a good end so I might read the second one.
mary_jane99's review against another edition
4.0
My rating:
- First time reading: 5/5 stars
- Second time reading: 3.5/5 stars
"Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.”
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a fascinatingly interesting, yet simple book. The plot and the characters are so intriguing, yet the book also appears as most other YA novels do (romance, angsty teens, sarcasm, "mean girls" of high school, and troubling/overbearing family situations). I personally like the main characters. I love books that deal with unreliable narrators, like Mara Dyer, and how it can be confusing for the reader to completely understand what the true situation is.
I have heard both really good reviews and really bad reviews, however I think that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer deals with mental illness and paranormal in a really refreshing and intriguing way. Since it is written as though it were Mara Dyer's memoir, I like how it is written as the thoughts that Mara has during certain events. Obviously, after reading the book things become slightly more clear, but I love the complexity of separating mental illness and paranormal events that Mara and Noah deal with throughout the novel, which continues in the next two books. There is never really a clear answer for whether Mara really is mentally unstable or if she truly does have weird and slightly terrifying supernatural powers that can cause death by just a thought.
I also love the thought of whether or not Mara is really a villain or a hero. Is everything really as black and white as people make it seem or is there more of a grey area? I like to think that within the Mara Dyer trilogy, we explore this grey toned concept of bad and good. Where can we really draw the line at murder? Yes, Jude was a terrible person who tried to sexually assault Mara, but does that automatically qualify him for death? Or Ms. Morales, the (devil) Spanish teacher, who had it out for Mara for no real reason? Noah makes a point to tell Mara that she didn't know what she was doing, but she still did it. And once she does realize what power she has, she doesn't seem to necessarily regret most of the murders nor does she try to stop her power. With great power comes great responsibility, but where exactly do you learn that responsibility. I feel like it sounds like I think Mara did terrible things, but I do like Mara and she definitely did not know exactly what was happening to her.
Going further into the characters themselves, I do like Mara a lot. I like her personality and I love the banter between her and Noah. She means well, but she also has some very dark thoughts. I love that Hodkins wrote her that way. I feel like often times in YA novels, authors will try to make the main characters, especially the girls, seemingly "perfect" or docile, but Mara has the potential to be a badass character.
As for Noah Shaw, I actually love him so much. While there are definite aspects that I feel like are unrealistic (such as the YA trope where all of the girls at their high school are crazy/possessive over him and hating any female who talks to him or even sneezes near him) but I do like his sarcastic nature. He comes across as cold sometimes, but he is also extremely vulnerable when it comes to Mara, and I personally love that about him. I think that they have the potential to either ruin each other or make the other infinitely stronger. "And just like that, I was completely, utterly, and entirely, His."
- First time reading: 5/5 stars
- Second time reading: 3.5/5 stars
"Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.”
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a fascinatingly interesting, yet simple book. The plot and the characters are so intriguing, yet the book also appears as most other YA novels do (romance, angsty teens, sarcasm, "mean girls" of high school, and troubling/overbearing family situations). I personally like the main characters. I love books that deal with unreliable narrators, like Mara Dyer, and how it can be confusing for the reader to completely understand what the true situation is.
I have heard both really good reviews and really bad reviews, however I think that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer deals with mental illness and paranormal in a really refreshing and intriguing way. Since it is written as though it were Mara Dyer's memoir, I like how it is written as the thoughts that Mara has during certain events. Obviously, after reading the book things become slightly more clear, but I love the complexity of separating mental illness and paranormal events that Mara and Noah deal with throughout the novel, which continues in the next two books. There is never really a clear answer for whether Mara really is mentally unstable or if she truly does have weird and slightly terrifying supernatural powers that can cause death by just a thought.
I also love the thought of whether or not Mara is really a villain or a hero. Is everything really as black and white as people make it seem or is there more of a grey area? I like to think that within the Mara Dyer trilogy, we explore this grey toned concept of bad and good. Where can we really draw the line at murder? Yes, Jude was a terrible person who tried to sexually assault Mara, but does that automatically qualify him for death? Or Ms. Morales, the (devil) Spanish teacher, who had it out for Mara for no real reason? Noah makes a point to tell Mara that she didn't know what she was doing, but she still did it. And once she does realize what power she has, she doesn't seem to necessarily regret most of the murders nor does she try to stop her power. With great power comes great responsibility, but where exactly do you learn that responsibility. I feel like it sounds like I think Mara did terrible things, but I do like Mara and she definitely did not know exactly what was happening to her.
Going further into the characters themselves, I do like Mara a lot. I like her personality and I love the banter between her and Noah. She means well, but she also has some very dark thoughts. I love that Hodkins wrote her that way. I feel like often times in YA novels, authors will try to make the main characters, especially the girls, seemingly "perfect" or docile, but Mara has the potential to be a badass character.
As for Noah Shaw, I actually love him so much. While there are definite aspects that I feel like are unrealistic (such as the YA trope where all of the girls at their high school are crazy/possessive over him and hating any female who talks to him or even sneezes near him) but I do like his sarcastic nature. He comes across as cold sometimes, but he is also extremely vulnerable when it comes to Mara, and I personally love that about him. I think that they have the potential to either ruin each other or make the other infinitely stronger. "And just like that, I was completely, utterly, and entirely, His."
jobird's review against another edition
2.0
Hmmm, I am not sure what to say about this one. I didn't really connect with the characters and it took a really long time for the story to really start to unfold. And when it did all come together I still feel a bit lost and unsure of what is happening?
The very ending intrigued me. But I am not sure it is enough for me to read the next one tho??
The very ending intrigued me. But I am not sure it is enough for me to read the next one tho??