Book Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
Release Date: 23rd October 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 
Format: Paperback 
Pages: 527
Rating: 5.0/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2013 OTS, 2013 ODY and 2013 BSR

Summary from Amazon:

"Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong."

Review:
OH. MY GOD. These books. I just. I can't. Words cannot explain how awesome this series is. And, astoundingly, Michelle Hodkin has managed to write a sequel that is better than the first instalment. And for anyone who has read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, you'll know that that is a BIG statement. 

Okay, so if you've read the first book (which you really should if you haven't), you know that it ends with a massive cliffhanger. Book 2 takes this cliffhanger and runs with the idea whole heartedly. Everything in this novel centres around this cliffhanger. All your questions about this won't be answered (some will, but more questions arise), and that just adds to the intensity of this novel.

Along with the intensity (which really, never stops), we get a lot of character development. We learn that Mara, our unreliable narrator, is not as crazy as we might have thought (she's still a bit crazy though, don't make the mistake of assuming that she's completely normal; she isn't), we get a bit of insight into Noah and his history (the story of how he discovered his power is just heartbreaking stuff), and Jamie is back! Honestly, he was one of my favourite characters in the first novel, and I was worried we wouldn't see much more of him. But, oh, I couldn't have been more wrong. Along with this, we get some new and interesting characters who (I assume) are going to play a big role in the 3rd instalment. And Phoebe. One of my favourite characters just because she is so damn creepy. 

And then that ending. If you thought the cliffhanger in the 1st novel was big, wait until you read the final chapters of this novel. Just as you thought it couldn't get any more crazy and twisted, it does. I honestly can't recommend this series enough. 

Mara Dyer: A True Story?

I don't know how I haven't heard about this before. Since I'm currently reading the second instalment in the Mara Dyer series, and it's freaking amazing (no joke), I stopped over at Michelle Hodkin's website (www.michellehodkin.com) to take a look around. And while I was there, I somehow got redirected to this website: http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Unbecoming-of-Mara-Dyer/Michelle-Hodkin/9781442421769/behind_the_book. 

WOAH. WOAH. WOAH. Back it up. Are you telling me that the plot of this trilogy is based on a true story? A TRUE STORY? Mind = blown. 

Now for anyone who's read the novels, you'll know that this is a big, BIG thing. The events in these novels are so strange and downright creepy that they couldn't possibly be based on fact. And yet, Hodkin suggests that it is. What is based on fact she doesn't specify. It could just be that she met a girl who had been in an accident, and then thought up the rest. But, that article suggests that it is much more than that. And that just blows my mind.

So, fans of the series, or anyone really, what is your take on this? Could it be that Mara Dyer is based on fact, or is it all publicity?

Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin
Release Date: 1st February 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 464
Rating: 5.0/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Summary from Amazon:
"Mara Dyer doesn't believe 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 strangely unharmed. There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through she can fall in love. She's wrong"

Review: 
It's been a while since I finished this book, so this review will be very, very short. But let me say this - this was the best book I have read so far this year - and I've read some really good books this year. What I enjoyed the most about this book is that it really surprised me. I didn't know that much about the book before I started reading it, only that a romance was involved. But the supernatural elements are definitely the best part of this book - Michelle Hodkin was very clever with what she did with her characters. I'm super excited for the next instalment in the series!