Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

TITLE: The Evolution of Mara Dyer SERIES: Mara Dyer #2 AUTHOR: Michelle Hodkin PUB: Simon & Schuster PUB DATE: 10/23/12 FORMAT: hardcover SOURCE: from pub for review

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..

**There are slight spoilers for book one in my review. Also, I use the "f-word"**

THREEish WORDS: Need. Book. Three...NOW

MY REVIEW: With its deliciously creepy atmosphere, irresistible humor, and enticing romance, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer quickly became one of my favorite reads last year, and I've been eagerly and anxiously awaiting its sequel...and thankfully the wait as been well worth it! While I'll admit that I loved book one a wee bit more than book two, The Evolution of Mara Dyer is a superb sequel and fantastic literary feat all on its own.

This book picks up a few days after the climactic and cliffhangery events at the end of book one, and Mara is in a fragile emotional and psychological state as she struggles with what's real and what may just be in her head. Mara finds herself placed in a program for teens with “issues”, watched like a hawk by her parents; brother; and therapist, and the target of a creepy and deadly stalker. She and Noah search for any answers regarding their apparent abilities but what they find is something they never saw coming.

Once again, Michelle Hodkin has weaved a gripping and oh so addicting psychological thriller with the perfect blend of mystery, chills, humor, and romance. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is, in my opinion, a phenomenal story that is almost impossible to beat, so while this second volume may not have matched book one in its supreme awesome epicness, it most definitely delivers.

Hodkin is a masterful storyteller and her lovely, almost lyrical, and always impressive writing talent is undeniable. The Evolution of Mara Dyer paces a bit slower than book one, but it has an enjoyable and seamless flow. Like its predecessor, book one is told from Mara's first person perspective, creating a captivating and intimate atmosphere, but dispersed among the book are chapters that take place in India sometime in the past and are narrated by an unknown (but easy to assume) person. These Before chapters add even more layers to an already complex story and bring readers and Mara that much closer to real answers.

Hodkin definitely doesn't scrimp on the chills and creepiness in The Evolution of Mara Dyer. Toss a seriously deranged stalker, a group of misfit, possibly cray-cray teenagers, dead birds just falling from the sky, and a freaky doll that just won't go away into a storyline that is already deliciously dark and awesomely spine-tingly, mix it all together, and you've got a wicked cool story that grabs you and doesn't let go (and you won't want it to!). I love that the psychological aspects are actually explored in this book and aren't just simply explained away by any supernatural abilities. The psychological, emotional, and mental issues/disorders are very real for many of the characters, whether or not they're the cause of or an effect of any supernatural ability, and these issues are given the attention, respect, and exploration they deserve.

In book one Mara and Noah's abilities weren't really explained, which I didn't mind so much but some readers did, and those readers will be happy to know that book two answers a lot of questions that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer created. Some of these answers I didn't see coming (I had plenty of “WTF” and “Oh no she didn't?!” moments) and some were easier to decipher. Either way, I enjoyed unraveling the twisted mysteries with Mara and Noah. And I enjoyed just being back in this world again with Mara, Noah, Jamie (love him!), Daniel, and some intriguing new characters. I didn't realize just how much I missed Jamie's humor or Mara's snark or Noah's cheekiness.

Of course, among all the chilling, creepy, craziness, we have the steamy, eyebrow waggle inducing, makes you wanna sing “Let's Get It On”, yet somehow also incredibly sweet, honest, and palpable romance between Mara and Noah...hot? Check. frustrating? Check. completely alluring, enticing, and believable? Check Check Check...good times y'all...good, sexy times ;)

And the story wouldn't be complete without a helluva ending to give us ALL THE FEELS...*whispers* So. Many. Feels...Hodkin has definitely set the scene for an electrifying and explosive conclusion, and I for one, cannot wait to be electrified and e'sploded by book three.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Michelle Hodkin is the queen of masterful and beautiful mind-fuckery, and The Evolution of Mara Dyer mind-fucked me in the most awesomest of ways. Lovers of book one will be pleased by this second volume and I think those who weren't wow'ed by The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer will be pleasantly surprised by volume two. So, if you loved book one then you MUST read The Evolution of Mara Dyer and if you didn't love book one then you MUST also read The Evolution of Mara Dyer...basically, I'm saying READ THE BOOK!!!

MY RATING

Read my review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Connect with the author: Website / Blog / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

At the age of sixteen, Michelle Hodkin lost the rights to her soul in a poker game with pirates just south of Natchez. Shortly thereafter, she joined an acting troupe and traveled the world performing feats of wonder and mischief. She has been seen on stages nationwide and earned rave reviews for her one woman performance of Titus Andronicus before writing the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer Trilogy. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer are available now, and the third book in the trilogy, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, hits shelves Fall 2013. Michelle currently lives with her three pets and may or may not be a reliable narrator of her own life. 

Authors Are Rockstars Tour: Michelle Hodkin

I'm SO excited to be a part of the Authors Are Rockstars Tour!

My rockstar author is the loverly Michelle Hodkin, author of the fantastic The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (read my review) and the soon to be released The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and she is stopping by today with a fab Top Tens List guest post.

But first, let's meet Michelle...

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Michelle Hodkin is the author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the first book in the Mara Dyer trilogy. She grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found prying strange objects from the jaws of one of her three pets. You can visit her online at michellehodkin.com

and find out why I think she's a total rockstar!

Michelle is a rockstar author because she wrote a book that...

has readers saying

how awesome, you ask readers?

an awesome book with a guy that makes readers

and an ending that leaves readers all

Yep, Michelle rocks my face off and bakes my cupcakes!!!

Now check out this fab Top Tens List guest post from the rockin' and awesome Michelle Hodkin that includes a few teaser sentences from book two...

Top Ten Favorite Quotes from 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer

From The Unbecoming

1. “My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something.” 

This sentence, the first sentence of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, is the backbone of the trilogy. It frames the entire narrative and does so many things with so few words: it cues the reader to ask who Mara Dyer is, why she has a lawyer, and why she needed a pseudonym to begin with. It’s probably my favorite quote from all three books.

2. “Watch your language.  It's unbecoming." 

This is another bit that does so much with so little. Spoken by Daniel at the beginning of The Unbecoming, it references Mara’s potty mouth and gives us a bit of insight into her lovable but seriously pretentious brother. And, clearly, it’s a play on words: not only is Mara’s language “unbecoming,” but the title, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, relates to her transition from what she was into something else (Gregory Maguire, in Wicked, wrote of Elphaba, “It's unbecoming…A perfect word for my new life. Unbecoming. I who have always been unbecoming am becoming un."). But there’s also another element, about the idea that using “foul” language is an “unbecoming” personality trait; in the larger context of what’s actually going on with Mara and the choices she makes, it sort of begs the question: are you really going to get huffy about her  language? Really? 

3. “Have you made any other friends since we've been here?" 

I gave him the death stare. "Yes, actually." 

"Who? I want a name." 

"Jamie Roth." 

"The Ebola kid? I heard he's a little unstable." 

"That was one incident.”

Jamie’s (bizarre) obsession with Ebola is my (bizarre) obsession with Ebola, and the incident Jamie describes on pages 41 and 42? The one that provoked Daniel to say what he says above on Page 244? That was me. I was in 8th grade. Whole thing was blown COMPLETELY out of proportion. 

4. “You're supposed to say, 'All I want is your happiness. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means being without you.'" 

"Sorry," Noah said. "I'm just not that big of a person.”

This exchange captures the Mara/Noah dynamic pretty perfectly. Mara lampshades a romance cliché and then Noah rejects it. But in doing so, he still owns his bad behavior; he’s a teenage boy, after all, and he’s far from perfect (even if Mara doesn’t always see him that way, especially in The Unbecoming). One of my favorite things about writing this series is how the characters continually surprise each other, for better and worse.

5. “I twisted my arm to curl him behind me and he unfolded there, the two of us snuggled like quotation marks in his room full of words.”

This line is thought by Mara as she’s in Noah’s bed, in his bedroom, on her birthday. I don’t think of myself as being a particularly descriptive writer, but this sentence, written during a frenzied writing session, ended up being one of my favorites—it’s an unusually evocative image, for me. 

From The Evolution:

6. “Own yourself.” 

An allusion to a quote attributed to both Friedrich Nietzsche and Rudyard Kipling; “No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” I find that idea exceedingly interesting because it makes you wonder what price could be too high. Would it still worth it to make your own choices, and own them?

7. “I’ll walk forever with stories inside me that the people I love the most can never hear.” 

This speaks so much to the inner and outer conflicts that plague Mara, and to the changing relationship with her family. It’s a powerful thought and has ramifications later, but she doesn’t quite realize how much of an impact this really has on her at the moment she thinks it. 

8. “Get a meadow.” 

My beloved Twilight reference! The self-awareness of the characters in this series is quite possibly my most favorite thing about it. Getting to go meta and to lampshade clichés (See, e.g. Jamie’s line in The Unbecoming, “[Y]ou’re not going to listen to your token black Jewish bi friend, are you?”) is probably the most fun I’ll ever have writing, period. I’m hesitant to say who says this quote, but I will say that it’s directed at Noah and Mara. 

9. Mara: “We’re only seventeen.” 

Noah: “Fuck seventeen.”

This exchange happens at a highly charged moment in what is possibly my favorite scene in the entire book. There’s a stark juxtaposition between the coarseness of the word “fuck” and the content of their conversation—and Noah’s critical words that follow it. I wish I could say what those words are, but I would hate myself if I spoiled this scene for anyone else.

10. “Her sound is a siren’s song, calling me to the rocks.” 

So, In The Evolution, readers will get a glimpse of Noah’s point of view. Surprise! This line is evocative of both Noah’s (really different) voice, and also the changing dynamic between his character and Mara’s. It’s my favorite line of his, I think. 

And there you have it—thank you so much for having me! 

Mara Dyer doesn’t think 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 mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

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?

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository