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Mara Dyer is one
of those novels that sucker-punches you right in the side of the head, beginning
as one genre and then seamlessly blending into something entirely else. The
transition, however, is done so artfully that it doesn't feel foreign or even
unexpected; everything slots together. Indeed, there was always a feeling of
doubt that followed me when I was reading this but due to the satisfyingly prevalent problem
with unreliable narrators rather than any doubt in the writing. Mara's PTSD causes hallucinations and imaginings,
aggrandising and exaggerating. Suddenly, nothing can be trusted in every facet
of this novel, making for some really gripping and tense literature. Like the
strange presence of para-normality made clearer towards the end of the narrative, everything lingers as a kind of untruth; confusing at times, and others unbelievable.
Related to this is the deceivingly ordinary set-up in the first
half of the book. Of course, there is the
overhanging premise of Mara's tragedy, her struggle with reality and
every so often, a shiver-inducing moment of true creepiness. However, a large portion of the beginning doesn't shy away from your average YA format: girl in a new school, girl meets boy, boy is exceedingly attractive and conveniently British. This has been one of the clearest criticisms that I've seen in reviews so far; that Mara Dyer indulges a little too heavily in these clichéd YA tropes. Although this is definitely true (the entire presence surrounding Noah Shaw is enough of a case study) surprisingly, I don't have a problem with it.
Now I'm definitely one for rejecting the eye-rolling, impossibly perfect nature of YA love interests and the overdone, tired and lack-lustre formats of nasty popular girl and irresistable mystery-boy. They are tired, there's no doubt about that. However, what Hodkin is able to do is turn these on their head, use them to her advantage and create something of a little parody. For me, I found the clichés less irritating and more amusing, for Hodkin's protagonist had hilarious wit which made me interpret the tropes as more of a satire rather than a recycling of ideas. Noah and Mara's bantering dialogue alone was comedy gold, making the high-school environment highly entertaining to read about rather than eye-roll inducing. There was something palpably credible about having the ordinariness of the high-school problems be the backdrop to Mara's serious psychological uncertainty. Not only did this emphasise everything out of the ordinary that happened, but allowed the clichés and over-exaggerations to make a little bit more sense as the narration is happening entirely in Mara's mind: a person who exaggerates many other facets of her life.
I also really appreciated the presentation of Mara's family in this book. The family is an intricate, familiar and lived-in one that feels incredibly realistic. It becomes the norm these days with many YA novels to have either single parents, divorced parents or dysfunctional ones. This family unit was solid and a great support system to Mara. Her brothers breathed character and life and were fun to read.
The ending of the novel however was what bumped my overall rating up past anything I would have given it at the start. The plot twists are fresh and unexpected in a deceiving way itself, through a kind of double-dipping method. The ending of the penultimate chapter ends with a shocker which I was certain would be the ending. Another chapter followed, however, levelling the plot back out to some semblance of normalcy until Hodkin strikes again, out of nowhere. This surprising ending was highly satisfying whilst also retaining a high level of tension and intrigue that makes me truly excited to read the next book.
Although The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is by no means utter perfection, there is a raggedness and rawness to it that makes it one of those books that you cannot stop thinking about between picking it up or after you put it down.
Similar to: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson and Variant by Robison Wells.
Now I'm definitely one for rejecting the eye-rolling, impossibly perfect nature of YA love interests and the overdone, tired and lack-lustre formats of nasty popular girl and irresistable mystery-boy. They are tired, there's no doubt about that. However, what Hodkin is able to do is turn these on their head, use them to her advantage and create something of a little parody. For me, I found the clichés less irritating and more amusing, for Hodkin's protagonist had hilarious wit which made me interpret the tropes as more of a satire rather than a recycling of ideas. Noah and Mara's bantering dialogue alone was comedy gold, making the high-school environment highly entertaining to read about rather than eye-roll inducing. There was something palpably credible about having the ordinariness of the high-school problems be the backdrop to Mara's serious psychological uncertainty. Not only did this emphasise everything out of the ordinary that happened, but allowed the clichés and over-exaggerations to make a little bit more sense as the narration is happening entirely in Mara's mind: a person who exaggerates many other facets of her life.
I also really appreciated the presentation of Mara's family in this book. The family is an intricate, familiar and lived-in one that feels incredibly realistic. It becomes the norm these days with many YA novels to have either single parents, divorced parents or dysfunctional ones. This family unit was solid and a great support system to Mara. Her brothers breathed character and life and were fun to read.
The ending of the novel however was what bumped my overall rating up past anything I would have given it at the start. The plot twists are fresh and unexpected in a deceiving way itself, through a kind of double-dipping method. The ending of the penultimate chapter ends with a shocker which I was certain would be the ending. Another chapter followed, however, levelling the plot back out to some semblance of normalcy until Hodkin strikes again, out of nowhere. This surprising ending was highly satisfying whilst also retaining a high level of tension and intrigue that makes me truly excited to read the next book.
Although The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is by no means utter perfection, there is a raggedness and rawness to it that makes it one of those books that you cannot stop thinking about between picking it up or after you put it down.
Similar to: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson and Variant by Robison Wells.
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