Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Series: Mara Dyer Trilogy #2
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Published: 23rd October 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
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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?
Michelle Hodkin, if your goal was to creep my shit out, well done you. I finished reading at 2am, and then could get to sleep until 4. Every time I closed my eyes, it felt like someone was in my room. Watching me.
17 Year old Mara Dyer wakes up in a psychiatric unit with everyone telling her that her PTSD has gone into full scale delusion. She couldn’t possibly have seen her ex-boyfriend; he’s dead. They recovered enough parts of him that the person she saw, if she saw anyone at all, couldn’t possibly be Jude.
The only person who believes her and doesn’t think her crazy is her new boyfriend, the beautiful, messy haired, and British, Noah Shaw. He’s no stranger to keeping secrets and with more money than he knows what to do with, and his own abilities to boot, he believes he can keep her safe.
But things turn for the worse for Mara, not only does she have to convince everyone not to look her up for good, but her symptoms are spiraling out of control. She’s seeing things, having nightmares, blackouts and memory lapses. As if struggling with her own ability to keep control isn’t bad enough, one of the other kids in her treatment group seems out to get here. She knows she didn’t hallucinate Jude, that he wants revenge, but she can’t seem to find any proof that he’s still around.
The more Mara learns about her past, the less she actually knows what’s going on.
To me it felt like the story dragged a little in the middle, when it became romance and relationship drama heavy. Which is not to say that the romance was badly handled (it’s not!) or that I don’t like Noah (I do!).
I just wanted them to stop kissing and get to the creepy parts quicker.
The story really came alive around Chapter 50. The “holy shit” factor went through the roof, and then right out into orbit. And. It. Did. Not. Come. Down. And I loved every violent minute of it.
It feel weird to say this, but Jude really made this book for me. The concept of him, this guy who could come into your house in the middle of the night with no one the wiser. No one believing you. He could touch your things. Leave messages. Watch you sleep. Do absolutely anything to you without you knowing. The violation of this is right up there on mu top 10 list of scariest things ever.
I love that Mara is an unreliable narrator. I was never really sure how much of what she experienced was real and what was just her being crazy. It makes you sit up and analyse every little part for clues, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, somewhere someone is laughing at you.
Another brilliant thing about this book was Daniel. What an amazing brother! His theories on Mara’s fictionalization of her problems was brilliant. Like he was trying just as hard as me to figure out where all this was going. And then he attended family therapy and shared the things he admired about Mara. Man, that got me right in the feels. Where do I sign up for a brother like this?
What I didn’t like was the ending. The cliffhanger evil. The cruel cliffhanger ending that was even worse than the one in the first book. Michelle Hodkin, this is me giving you the side eye.
Will I read the next book in the series, The Retribution of Mara Dyer (expected publication: fall 2013)? Abso-fricken-lutely!
(4/5)
Michelle Hodkin grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan before writing the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer Trilogy. Her first novel, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, was published in 2011 and was a YALSA Reader’s Choice selection. The sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, was published in October 2012, and the third book, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, is due out in 2013. Rights to the series have sold in fifteen countries, and the books are being translated into several languages, including Portuguese, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Turkish, Russian, Czech, and Chinese. When Michelle isn’t writing, she can usually be found prying strange objects from the jaws of one of her three rescued pets.
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I'm still on the fence about reading this book. I liked the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer well enough, but I can only handle so much creepy, and I think this might be more than I'm ready for. I always liked Daniel in the first book, so I'm glad you mentioned him in your review. Sounds like one I'd definitely have to read in the day time.
You should give it a shot, what makes my skin crawl might not hit your creep buttons. Privacy invasion gives me the heebies, but hey, thousands of Twilight fans thought it was romantic. That’s kind of what I love about books, everyone gets to have their own interpretation.
Good review Lindie! We share the same name but mine is spelled Lindy! You should check out my posts. I did a review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and a cover reveal of The Redemption of Mara Dyer.
Lindy@ A Bookish Escape