Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

Seventeen-year-old Mara cannot remember the accident that took the lives of three of her friends but, after moving from Rhode Island to Florida, finding love with Noah, and more deaths, she realizes uncovering something buried in her memory might save her family and her future.

Summary by Goodreads.

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Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 452 pages in US hard cover edition

Publishing Company: Simon and Schuster Childrens Publishing

Publication Date: September 27 2011

I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book and was psyched to find out that it absolutely lived up to all the hype.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer starts off with our protagonist, Mara Dyer, waking up in a hospital bed and being told her two friends, and her boyfriend, are dead. They were in an abandoned building when it collapsed, subsequently killing her friends and leaving her- for the most part- unscathed. To make matters worse she had absolutely no memory of what actually happened that night.

 In an attempt to get away from the town her friends died in; her family packs up and moves themselves from Rhode Island to Miami, Florida.  This is where our story really begins as Mara meets a boy named Noah Shaw and periodically gets pieces of her memory back from the night that her friends died. And she begins to find out that there may be more to her friend’s deaths than a building collapsing due to old age.

Writing:: I’m not sure why, but I felt something oddly comforting about the writing in this book. I know this comment may get certain people upset, but something about it reminded me of Twilight, but in the best possible way. Don’t get me wrong, I love Twilight, but we all know there is a sort of stigma attached to the book. Anyway, what reminded me of it was that I got a feeling reading this that I haven’t gotten since the first time I read Twilight. The feel of the book and the utmost desire to know what exactly was going on with our male lead. I could contribute this to the plot, but it wasn’t the plot, that was nothing like Twilight, It was the feeling I got while reading it which is something that, try as I might, I can’t explain to a person. So yes, this comparison is a very positive thing coming from me. In fact it’s probably the biggest compliment I can give a book; it’s that feeling man…

Plot:: The plot of this book is another thing I adored about it. I can say without a second thought that I have never read a story like this before, which is more than I can say for a lot of YA books which seem to have a lot of plot points in common. Let’s hope Noah doesn’t leave in the next book so this originality can stick through out the rest of the story. The one negative thing I can say, probably about the whole book, is that I did get confused at times. There were moments when I wasn’t sure if what was happening was real or a dream, and other times when I was just completely lost with what was going on. It affected the way I read it when I was thinking she was dreaming and it turns out she really wasn’t; it tends to take on a much more… trippy... atmosphere in my head when a character is dreaming. This also could have been contributed to the fact that when I’m really into a book I tend to read faster because I want to know what’s going to happen.

Romance:: I LOVE the romance in this book. Through out some of the book I was a little hesitant to like it because it seemed like the typical situation where some guy who hardly dates, or is a huge player, takes a interest in this new girl for absolutely no good reason. In this instance, you find out in the end why he developed such an interest in Mara and it makes sense. This actually leads me into my next topic of discussion…

Characters:: Mara was actually a female protagonist who I didn’t want to kick in the face. *claps for Michelle Hodkins* This led to me understanding for once what this extremely sexy guy saw in her. She was to me the quintessence of what a female protagonist should be; she had the perfect mixture of qualities. She was independent and didn’t need help constantly from Noah- though she took it when he offered; she actually tried to deal with life on her own. She didn’t constantly obsess over her looks, in fact they were hardly discussed, and she kept the number of unnecessary stupid acts to a minimum, and fell once without feeling the need to talk about how clumsy she is for the rest of the book.

Noah…. He was British. That makes Kayla smile so she feels she doesn’t need to say much more on the subject. Okay, well maybe he was suffering from a bit of perfect boy syndrome but that doesn’t bother me like it bothers some people. The unnecessary display of his wealth was a bit annoying, and the speaking multiple languages, but that was made up for by the fact that he was a bad boy with a heart of gold. I loved all the other characters too. Her brothers, her dad, her mother annoyed me a bit sometimes but that probably comes down to the fact that I’m a teenage girl and can’t really the side of a concerned mom. Hated the mean girl character, I honestly can’t remember her name for the life of me, and her little friend- but you weren’t supposed to like them so there you go. Loved Jamie, all the characters were just so amazing and I wanted to hug them all. Oh and I love the name Jude so that was a high point for me.

Ending: What?!? Only word to describe my reaction to the ending of this book, I may have actually yelled it out while reading it. I’m not going to spoil anything, but let’s just say, a whole other can of worms is opened up within the last few pages of this book. And it will have you cursing the world that the sequel isn’t already out.

In conclusion, I think it’s blatantly obvious how I felt about this book. It was freaking amazing. I love that it some how managed to be a paranormalish romance that also brought up some very serious moral issues. Spoiler:: Like for instance, is there a difference between killing someone while not actually knowing your doing it or making a conscience decision to do so? ::End spoiler:: This book was surprisingly very dark, especially for the genre, it definitely had it’s more serious parts. I can’t wait for the second book, and suggest that right after you finish reading this you go out and buy yourself a copy of this book.

I've Been Tagged:)

I was tagged by Jessi at Auntie Spinelli Reads to do this tag, so thank you so much for tagging me! The first tag was done by Debdatta at b00kr3vi3ws and the second by Lauren at Epilogue.

Rules:

1. Answer the questions that the tagger set for in their post.

2. Create 11 questions for the people you tag to answer.

3. Tag 11 people and link them to your post.

4. Let them know you tagged them.

5. Include these rules and the person who tagged you in your post.

Debdatta's questions:
1. What is it about Books that you love the most?I love that when I'm upset about something I'm able to just pick up a book and forget about my problems for a little while. (However when that problem is homework it becomes a bit of an issue... lol)

2. What got you started Blogging & Why?I love more than anything to talk with people about the books I read and try to get them to try them out as well. In life that can be sort of annoying to some people so I started blogging in order to talk to those who actually want to hear about it.

3. What is your favorite Genre & Why?YA by far, though I can't really put my finger on why. It may have to do with the fact that I'm around the typical age of the characters so I can sort of relate. Besides, to be honest, the pretty covers draw me in xD

4. Which is your favorite Series that you keep going back to?
I've honestly never re-read a series to be honest, however I always read the Pretty Little Liars book the second they come out. So I'm going to say that one.
5. Which book would you like to see converted into a movie?
The Gone series by Michael Grant! I love that series so much and think it would do great as a movie.
6. If you could rewrite the ending of any book, which would you choose & why?Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer... I wanted someone to die xP It was just so anti-climatic. We waited four books leading up to someone epic battle; and they talked it out. Imagine my dismay.

7. A book/series you love to hate...I'm going to go with the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. I know it isn't technically good and I could right a thesis about everything I dislike about it, but can't help but enjoy them for some reason.

8. A book that made you cry...
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. One of the House of Night books, I don't remember which though. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Theres probably more but that's what I can remember off the top of my head.
9. Do you donate your books or do you save them all?Nope, for the most part I keep them. If I really don't like a book I will donate it or give them to someone who wants them. But sometimes I like to keep them around to glare at for a little bit first.

10. One thing about Bloggers that is very common & continues to irritate you.I don't think I've been around it long enough to have notice anything yet. So I'm just going to go with nothing I've noticed yet. But I probably will I'm sure.

Lauren's questions:

1. How long have you been blogging? Do you remember why you started?

I started a couple years ago, but wasn't very committed at the time and stopped after only a couple of posts. I recently started again last month actually, and intend to stick around this time.

2. Choose one of your favorite books. Then, give it a new title and explain your choice. 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton:: The Best Book Ever in the Entire World Seriously Read it, it Will Change Your Life by S.E. Hinton. lmao I think it's pretty self explanatory why I'd call it that.

3. What got you interested in books?

That's probably a tie between The Possibility of Firefly's by Dominique Paul and Twilight. I think Twilight's was what got me more into seeking out other YA books.

4. Will you read eBooks? Why or why not.

Never. I believe in what is called the book Apocalypse, a time in the not so distant future when books are no longer being printed. I will not support this travesty.

5. What is the farthest you have traveled to get a book?

I've never really traveled out of my way to get a specific book, not unless I was going somewhere and happened to be by a bookstore. In that case, a couple states over.

6. How would you describe yourself in one word?

bookaddict. Probably two words but I made it one cause I'm a rebel xP

7. If you couldn’t blog about books or writing what would your blog be about?

Movies and maybe music. I'm a huge movie buff and listen to music constantly. Though if I blogged about music all I'd ever talk about is Nirvana or The Beatles so it would be rather pointless actually.

8. What is one thing most people wouldn’t know about you?

I'm deathly afraid of chainsaws, if I hear one I will literally bolt in the opposite direction.

9. What genre do you avoid at all cost?

I'm pretty open minded, I'll try anything, but I'm really not very keen on science fiction.

10. Do you listen to music while you read? What kind?

I don't I really wish I could though. Every time I try I'm to busy singing along to focus on reading. I could read with classical but classical music makes me very angry. lol

11. Is it difficult for you to write a negative review? 

Hahaha. No. lol I'm sort of a very mean person and find it easier to gather my thoughts if there of the negative variety. I feel like I have more to say about a book I hated because its harder to put my finger on why exactly I enjoyed a book.

 

Jessi's questions:
1. Have you read The Fever Series yet? If no, then why I ask, WHY?!?!!!!

I actually have yet to read this series, however it's in my pile for this month and it's near the top so I'm going to try my hardest to get to it. You can sleep easy now Jessi xD

2. In the case of a zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice?

Johnny Knoxville. :)

3. Since everyone asks what your favorite books are, my question is: What are your LEAST favorite? Were there any you downright hated (with the fire of a thousand suns)??

This is not going to be a popular answer but I REALLY didn't like If I Stay by Gayle Forman, kind of wanted the main character to choose death actually. I also don't like books where the good girl starts taking drugs and screws up her life, they all sound the same and none of the characters have any life to them.

 

4. What upcoming book would you beat someone up for?

Plague by Michael Grant or Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I'm so bumped for both of them still need to pre-order Insurgent though, because I will read it the second I get my hands on it.

5. Here's a big pet peeve of mine - love triangles! What are your thoughts? Like, dislike, detest? Reasons?I actually might do a whole post on this because I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I'll give the cliff notes version. I like them on theory, however I hate how they've all become so predictable where there's the one guy you know she's going to end up with. It sucks when you like the other guy *cough*Puck from The Iron Fae series*cough* Oh and Bathazar from Evernight, I hate Lucas with my life's passion.

 

6. Vampires or Werewolves?

Vampires. Another thing I could write a thesis on, I feel so strongly about this, werewolf's are boring and unsexy end of story.

7. Are there any blogging secrets you'd like to divulge?

Ha, I don't think I'm qualified yet to give out any blogging secrets. I guess I could say get involved in the community-shrugs-

8. When a book makes you angry, what do you do? Throw it (like me...)? Walk away? Nothing??

I have been known to scream at my books, throw them across the room, and other probably unhealthy reactions to events that take place inside them. I should most likely learn to separate fiction from real life, but I won't.

9. What is your all-time favorite book cover?

Hmm... I don't really know. I'm rather partial to the British Harry Potter covers for some odd reason.

10. Kindle or Nook? Or neither??

Neither.

11. THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL: Toilet paper over or under?

I'm going to go with over because I'm not really sure about the question xD And cause toilet paper is over rated... lol jk... that was gross.

 

I Tag...

For the simple reason that I am completely lazy, instead of tagging eleven people I'm going to break the rules and tag everybody who is currently reading this and hasn't done this tag yet. So consider yourself tagged :)

 

My Questions:

1. Who is your favorite male character from a book and why?

2. Team Edward or Jacob?

3. What is your all time favorite movie; why?

4. Favorite book to movie adaptation? Least favorite?

5. Favorite female protagonist in a YA book? Least Favorite?

6. Favorite Beatle?

7. Do you re-read books or just read them once and never again?

8. Hard cover or paper back?

9. Kill, Kiss, Marry time. Choose one character you would kill one you would kiss and one you would marry out of the books you've read?

10.Favorite subject to read about? (for example; do you love to read books that take place in boarding schools?)

 

In My Mailbox [1] 3-4-12

::From Savers::

::From BJ's::

::From Barnes and Noble::

 If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you thought of them!

Book Review: Lies by Michael Grant

It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

 

It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness--or so they thought.

As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free? (Summary by Goodreads)

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Young Adult

Genre: science fiction

Pages: 447 in the US hard cover addition

Publishing Company: HarperCollins

Publication Date: May 4th 2010

::Review::

For me this book is where the story really drew me in. Up until this book I liked the series, but I definitely wasn't fangirling over it. I don't know exactly what about this one really sucked me in, but I know that it did. I love most of the characters- even though sometimes I feel like their are too many- it really only focus' on a few each book. I hated all the characters your supposed to hate with a passion and loved a majority of the main characters. Though I do really dislike the main characters love interest, she's really annoying and I can't really connect with her. A big part for me is that I like to be able to see what the main character sees in their love interest- don't get me wrong I see that here. She's smart and can be very helpful to him when he needs her, but she also puts pressure on him and overall I just don't care for her much.

Luckily, romance takes a less important part in this book so I am able to enjoy it anyway. The action of Lies is just as good as ever, though at times I felt it was a little predictable. I guessed the twist at the end very early on, but in this case it didn't take much away from the book. The description and story in Grants words is more important than simply what took place. I really like Grants writing style it's easy to read and the children feel like children- granted ones that are having to grow up very fast.

What really intrigued me about this was all the questions which are being brought up all of a sudden. It's issue in the lasts books are still present, they didn't just go away, but new problems are arising and your trying to figure things out along with the characters.

As for the villains in this book, The Human Crew from the last book play a major role, and what a major creep is Zil? I wanted to smack him so much through out this book. The Britney and Drake thing was fascinating and I really liked that idea, though that in it's own brings up some major questions. Caine plays less of a role in this one and you really start to see how tame he is in contrast to Drake, who is without a doubt a sociopath.

These books are sort of long but at no point do I wish it was shorter, I like the progression of the story and how it unfolds. I have grown to really like the alternating character perspectives and I love the count down of hours till the big action of the book. It constantly keeps you wondering what that big event is going to be.

As soon as I finished this book I started the next one which for me means it was a good read. I definitely recommend this for people who are fans of Lord  of the Flies and/or Lost. It's such a good story and it will have you dying to know what brought about the Fayz and what's on the other side of that barrier.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

February to-be-read

I have a good amount of books picked out for this month so I'm not positive I'll get through all of them. Here they are though, I'd love to know what you thought about them if you read them.

All About You Tag

This is a tag that's been going around on the tubes for a while, so I figured I'd have a go at it.

1. What was your favorite book of 2011 & your least favorite book of 2011?
Looking for Alaska by John Green. It's now my second favorite book, that's how much I loved it.
My least favorite would probably be Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, I don't know why but I think I just don't really like mermaid/siren books.

2. What is your most annoying habit whilst reading?
Sometimes I yell things at the book when I get a little to into it lol. Other than that I don't think I have any really annoying habits that I notice anyway.

3. How quick do you usually get through a book?
It really depends on the size of the book and how much I'm liking it. Generally it takes me about three or four days; but if the books huge or I'm not feeling it it can take me a week to a week and a half. It usually takes me under a week though.

4. How many books do you read a week?
I usually read one or two, however sometimes on a good week I can read three or four. Again it'll all depends on a few different factors.

5. Of all the Youtube book bloggers -- Who would you most like to meet?
This seems a little weird because I'm doing it on my blog lol. But out of book bloggers I would most like to meet Stacey and Jessica from ChapterChicks or Misty from TheBookRat. Then again, I'd be happy to meet any book blogger =)

6. How do you organize your bookshelves?
I have two shelves and currently I have one which has my to-be-read books which is organized into the tentative order I would like to read them in. The other has books I have read in alphabetical order and then my adult books in a mess on the last two shelves. Plus I have a little makeshift shelf with my classics and 90's mass market paper backs and above my computer are a few of my favorites. And finally I have a trunk where I put the ones I didn't really care for but would like to keep anyway, and some boxes of ones I'm getting rid of.

7. Quick reads or big 'n' chunky reads?
It depends on the mood I'm in. Recently I've been more into chunky ones because theres more story and it allows the reader to get more invested in the world the authors created. But smaller books are nice sometimes for a nice light break. My preference though would usually be somewhere in the middle; just I nice averaged size book.
8. Which book related land/place would you like to live in and why?
Hmm... this is a hard one. I'm gonna go with the cop out and say Harry Potter xD.

9. Which Character would you most like to date?
Another toughie, I think if you read all the time it gets hard to choose just one fictional love interest. I'm going to say Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series. but there are so many more.

10. What is your favorite series this year? Which out of the series is your favorite? And why do you like them?
I'm taking it that this year means 2011. I don't think I've read any series all the way through this year. I only read the first two but I'm going to go with the Iron Fey Series and my favorite would be the Iron King because one of Megan's decisions pissed me off in the second one. [insert angry face here]

11. What do you find annoying about some authors?
Probably just when any romance that I want to happen in the book doesn't end up happening, I'm a big baby about that lol.

12. Which is your favourite Classic that you've read?
There are a lot of classics I love but my favorite if I had to pick one is probably Lord of the Flies... or a Separate Peace. If the Outsiders counts as a classic though (I consider it to be one xD) then that is my favorite.

Character Spotlight Mondays

This is a new segment I've been thinking about starting up. I want to get some variety onto this blog, so if you have any ideas please let me know. Anyway, so what this will be is basically a segment I do on Mondays where I talk about a book character (or characters) I'm really liking at the moment or ones that are my favorite characters in general. Feel free to share you opinion on the character(s), I'd love to know what you think of them!

I'm going to start by warning you that I have a very dark taste in characters. Whether it be in books or movies, I always fall for the bad guy. Sometimes I like the good guy as well but I usual obsess over the villains, a fact that disturbs my friends to know end.

Today, keeping that in mind, I would like to talk about the male characters I love in the Gone series by Michael Grant.

Sam Temple: I figured I'd start with the guy your supposed to like. Although I can't condone his choice in women I can't help but love Sam as a character. He's so human and in being so imperfect which is really what I like about him, you don't see that often in a male lead. Plus, who doesn't want to give him the worlds biggest hug sometimes?

Caine Soren: I warned you. Yes, I do like Caine- probably more so than Sam. I can't put my finger on exactly what I find so endearing about him but he might just be my favorite character in the series. He knows he's bad, and he owns it.

There are so many characters in this series that I can't list all my favorites, but those are the two big ones. Though I also have taken a sick liking to Drake, the baddest of the bad, and Edilio because he's such a sweetie.