Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Mara Dyer #2

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publication Date: October 23, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Paranormal

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Synopsis:

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.
In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

My Thoughts: Okay, so my fellow blogger and friend, Jenn, has been trying to get me to read this series for what seems like forever.  For whatever reason, I kept putting it off.  I even bought the first book while it was on sale a while back but it has been sitting on my bookshelf ever since, just collecting dust.  Then, my daughter ran off with my e-reader and I turned to my bookshelf and there it sat.  So, I picked up the first book and I am glad I did.  I was so impressed with the first that I continued on to this novel right after and now I am waiting in stunned anticipation for the third, set to be released in October 2013 last I checked.

This book series is definitely different.  The main character, Mara Dyer, is pretty much certifiable - even when you are in her head since it is first person. She is going through a lot of paranormal stuff, that is true, but she is also pretty insane if you ask me.  There are moments of clarity and I think, "Wow, maybe Mara isn't as crazy as I thought she was after all."  Then she sees or does something else to make me question her sanity all over again.  I know some people may argue this fact (since, really, there is a lot of weird things going on around her as well as this), but sometimes you have to face the facts.  Mara Dyer is, in fact, at least a little nutty.  Despite this (and her hallucinations that are sometimes real, sometimes not) Mara had grown on me.

Noah Shaw is delectable and a trooper, I have to say.  He sticks with Mara through it all.  He believes in her even when she starts to doubt herself.  The fact that he has a supernatural ability like hers (-ish) certainly doesn't hurt him believing in her either.  He is willing to do so much for her it is just incredible.  He is so good and sweet to her and sometimes I think (she does as well) he is the only thing keeping her from going off of the deep end.

This series was strange, but good strange.  Following a first-person narrative when the narrator doesn't always know what is real and what is not and is constantly seeing things to make you question it is something that I am not entirely used to.  Of course, Mara is a little more sane than what I seem to be portraying in this review (although, not much more).

I am really looking forward to the third book in this series (The Retribution of Mara Dyer, due out in October 2013) and I am glad I finally picked it up.  I enjoyed The Evolution of Mara Dyer a little more than The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer so I can only imagine what number three has in store for me.  Loved this book and love this series!