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rebelbooks101's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I originally read this book back when I was fourteen and I was absolutely obsessed with it. However, as an adult I was led to believe that maybe this book wasn’t as good as I’d remembered it being (given I barely remembered anything at all. Like I didn’t even remember Noah and Mara kissing in this book). Hesitantly, I picked this book back up again after seven years and it was just as amazing as it was the first time.
This story follows Mara who after being involved in an accident that killed all her friends, she moves to a new city to get away from it all, however she starts to see her dead friends along with other strange events that start to happen and you start to wonder if it’s just the hallucinations from her PTSD messing with her or is this stuff really happening?
It’s so fun revisiting a book you barely remember because it feels like reading it for the first time again. All I remembered was the plot was interesting and I loved MaraShaw but I wouldn’t be able to tell you why. When I was younger I just loved things without reason but now that I’m older and I’ve read a lot, it’s cool being able to see and understand what I love about a book.
First off the characters, I loved them. They’re all great and all compliment the story well. Mara and Noah are definitely the standouts, but the side characters were also amazing. Jamie was such a fun friend for Mara to have and if my memory serves me correctly I’m excited to see him again in future books. I definitely want to see more of his friendship with Mara because he kind of just disappeared from this book. Mara’s brothers were also amazing. I really loved the relationship she had with both of them. I really love loving sibling dynamics in books and how all of them were really supportive of one another.
I would say my only complaint to this would maybe be the female characters. Mara is the main one we see but aside from that, the female characters were either means girls or just didn’t have a lot of page time. I’d definitely like to see more of the likeable ones.
The plot is gripping. Mara is fun to follow but she’s also unreliable because she’s can’t tell the difference between a hallucination and reality. It keeps you guessing as you try to put the pieces together. I like that not everything is revealed in this book. We definitely do get some reveals to make this book in particular satisfying while also leaving you with enough questions to make you continue on in the series.
The romance is swoon-worthy and I understand why my younger self loved these two so much. They have a lot of great banter but that’s not the only thing the romance is built upon. They have great chemistry and an emotional pull to one another. They share a lot of soft scenes together that only serve to remind me that I’m single but the fluffy scenes just warm your heart and make you smile. When they get together you really get to see the softness of their relationship. Honestly I don’t even care that this relationship takes over the entire book because I love them so much and I love every scene they have together.
An unexpected layer I was not expecting on reread was the humour. This book was genuinely funny and this is coming from someone who has read a lot of books that claim to be funny but evidently fall flat. Mara can be quite the comedic protagonist at times. Her internal dialogue could sometimes make me laugh. Along with that, Mara and Noah also had some silky moments together which humour is always the way to my heart.
Overall I’m glad I picked this back up again, for if nothing else, to at least remind myself that younger me had good taste (maybe not always but this is an exception). It was so fun to revisit this story after seven years and I definitely want to get around to reading the rest of the books because I only ever read the first two. If you still haven’t picked this book up, I can’t recommend it more.
This story follows Mara who after being involved in an accident that killed all her friends, she moves to a new city to get away from it all, however she starts to see her dead friends along with other strange events that start to happen and you start to wonder if it’s just the hallucinations from her PTSD messing with her or is this stuff really happening?
It’s so fun revisiting a book you barely remember because it feels like reading it for the first time again. All I remembered was the plot was interesting and I loved MaraShaw but I wouldn’t be able to tell you why. When I was younger I just loved things without reason but now that I’m older and I’ve read a lot, it’s cool being able to see and understand what I love about a book.
First off the characters, I loved them. They’re all great and all compliment the story well. Mara and Noah are definitely the standouts, but the side characters were also amazing. Jamie was such a fun friend for Mara to have and if my memory serves me correctly I’m excited to see him again in future books. I definitely want to see more of his friendship with Mara because he kind of just disappeared from this book. Mara’s brothers were also amazing. I really loved the relationship she had with both of them. I really love loving sibling dynamics in books and how all of them were really supportive of one another.
I would say my only complaint to this would maybe be the female characters. Mara is the main one we see but aside from that, the female characters were either means girls or just didn’t have a lot of page time. I’d definitely like to see more of the likeable ones.
The plot is gripping. Mara is fun to follow but she’s also unreliable because she’s can’t tell the difference between a hallucination and reality. It keeps you guessing as you try to put the pieces together. I like that not everything is revealed in this book. We definitely do get some reveals to make this book in particular satisfying while also leaving you with enough questions to make you continue on in the series.
The romance is swoon-worthy and I understand why my younger self loved these two so much. They have a lot of great banter but that’s not the only thing the romance is built upon. They have great chemistry and an emotional pull to one another. They share a lot of soft scenes together that only serve to remind me that I’m single but the fluffy scenes just warm your heart and make you smile. When they get together you really get to see the softness of their relationship. Honestly I don’t even care that this relationship takes over the entire book because I love them so much and I love every scene they have together.
An unexpected layer I was not expecting on reread was the humour. This book was genuinely funny and this is coming from someone who has read a lot of books that claim to be funny but evidently fall flat. Mara can be quite the comedic protagonist at times. Her internal dialogue could sometimes make me laugh. Along with that, Mara and Noah also had some silky moments together which humour is always the way to my heart.
Overall I’m glad I picked this back up again, for if nothing else, to at least remind myself that younger me had good taste (maybe not always but this is an exception). It was so fun to revisit this story after seven years and I definitely want to get around to reading the rest of the books because I only ever read the first two. If you still haven’t picked this book up, I can’t recommend it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
imnotvelinda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Grief
s3lin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Bullying
bananapie123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
quillify_'s review against another edition
The mystery aspect was intriguing, Noah Shaw was cute but annoying most of the time. But I absolutely lost it when the author decided that Mara's mother would be from India and then decided to name her Indi. *slow claps* how original. JFC, just use a baby name website for naming your South Asian characters.
God, this is why I hate 2010 era books. Comfort reads? More like subtly racist reads that are comfortable because they cater to a white audience.
God, this is why I hate 2010 era books. Comfort reads? More like subtly racist reads that are comfortable because they cater to a white audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
aliyahreads00000's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
bookobsessed305's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This BOOK! I loved the plot, the mystery behind the MC’s accident and backstory and the development of that. I also LOVED the romance, noah freaking shaw <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Sexual violence
oliverreeds's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i enjoyed this book. it wasn’t what i expected. the plot was a loose hanging thread and the characters have severe cases of latent misogyny but it was a fun read. i think it barely passes the Bechdel test tho. also the main love interest is possessive and weird in a way that only Harry Styles wattpad fan fiction readers can enjoy but hey, it was written in 2011. also the whole portrayal of mental health was kinda sucky. but the symptoms for the most part were kind of accurate!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
mara_q's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Grief, and Car accident
carod's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Rape and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury