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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
3.5
I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn't re-read the Mara Dyer trilogy first. A lot of loose ends were wrapped up/touched on but there wasn't a lot of plot. This was definitely mostly build up for the next book but I'm interested in seeing where this story goes!
I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn't re-read the Mara Dyer trilogy first. A lot of loose ends were wrapped up/touched on but there wasn't a lot of plot. This was definitely mostly build up for the next book but I'm interested in seeing where this story goes!
I would give this a 3.5. I loved the Mara Dyer Trilogy and was so excited to jump back into Mara and Noah's world. The book wasn't what I thought it would be, I think I was expecting to jump right back into action. However I can't say I was completely disappointed, we get to see things from Noah's point of view, learn more about the Shaw's, and see the true side of Mara herself. This book wasn't as fast paced as Mara Dyer, but it certainly hooks you. A slower read, but only because this is setting up the rest of the series. I'm excited to read the rest of the series.
DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A HAPPY BOOK TO YOU? BECAUSE IT'S NOT! IT'S AWFUL AND DEPRESSING. BUT YOU CAN'T HELP IT, BUT HOPE FOR THE BEST.
So if you've been following the Mara Dyer trilogy, you know these books are not all sunshine and rainbow, they're awful, awful as in why are you are putting yourself through this? But you can't help it anyways. And believe it or not,
The Becoming of Noah Shaw is much more darker and intense than the Mara Dyer trilogy. Prepare your dark and souless heart.
***Reader beware of many trigger warnings, especially suicidal ideation and self harm and I really, really mean it. Do not read this if you're struggling with your own mental health at the moment.***
Okay, so if you have read the Mara Dyer Trilogy before, which you should have before even picking up this book, there have been mentions of Noah hurting himself, and yes, this book gets more into it. Noah talks more about his self harm, they're not pretty, and sorry to burst your bubble, but Mara and Noah relationship was never always sunshine in the beginning, so don't even expect this to be the book full of rainbows and hearts of their relationship, I mean there's just MADNESS to everything.
An example of Noah's thoughts:
"That's what they call suicides. Cowardly. Selfish. But looking around at the little clumps of people on the train, part of me truly doesn't understand - how do they do it? How do they fill the minutes and hours and days and years of their lives? What's missing in me that I don't know how to fill mine? That I don't want to?"
So the main plot of this book is that there's something going on with a lot of the teenagers that have the "gifts" or whatever you want to call it are killing themselves. We don't know why they're doing, we don't know who's causing it, but we do know is that Noah experiences whoever is hurting themselves at that moment the same experience they are, Noah can feel that these people do not actually want to hurt themselves, but as in someone is forcing them to do it. *Play a scary song* So who is forcing them to do it? Is it that creep Abraham or whatever his real name is? Is it someone Noah knows? There's so many trust issues going on, for example, it could be someone we all know, but how could it be? We don't want to believe that it may be whoever that is forcing them to hurt themselves is actually someone we know, for example Mara's power is wishing for someone to die or Jamie who has the power to force someone to do as he said. They make the most sense for being possible suspects, but I refuse to believe it. And you know what the thing is? Noah also refuse to suspect them as well, because how could it be after everything they experienced? He wants to believe in the best of others, especially those who cares about. Honestly, it could be anyone though. I mean with the whole mess that happened in the last book, who knows. They're all traumatize, they all have changed to completely different people, they have experienced things that one can't even imagine, your life being at risks, having to hurt others just to survive, I mean we saw that Mara could be a little scary. This book is messy.
We do get to meet some new characters who are gifted as well and get to see many old characters as well. I mean some of them are suspicious also. I feel like with what happened in the Mara Dyer trilogy, Mara is still traumatize over everything that happened. With this book being based on Noah's point of view, it's hard to know what is really going on with Mara, and honestly, I am scare for her. We know that Mara have a lot of struggles in the past and with us not being in her head, I am worry.
Being in Noah's head is completely different from being in Mara's. This book kills me because honestly, we don't know what is going on with everyone right now and everyone is suspicious except for Noah. I mean Jamie and Mara... I don't know what the hell is going on in their head and I don't know if I should trust them or not. You only get to see the interaction between Noah and Mara, and with everything going on... I honestly don't know what the hell to do. Mara and Noah's relationship honestly felt very distance in this book, they're there physically with each other, but mentally? They're not talking.
"You can’t keep a secret from the person you love and expect it not to change him, too. She doesn’t trust me with something, which makes me distrust her, and that makes our hands miss each other when we pass something over the table. It makes my mouth just miss hers when I lean to kiss her lips and end up with cheek instead."
Okay, enough rambling before I spoil everything for you. But let's just said the ending will kill you... maybe literally or not. Because there's so many things that's going on that can be possible, but we love our characters and rather not believe in it, but hope for the best out of these characters. Honestly, you will just be left with a big "WTF!" at the end of this book, because wtf is really going on. There's so many trust issues, we as the reader doesn't know who to trust.
So if you've been following the Mara Dyer trilogy, you know these books are not all sunshine and rainbow, they're awful, awful as in why are you are putting yourself through this? But you can't help it anyways. And believe it or not,
The Becoming of Noah Shaw is much more darker and intense than the Mara Dyer trilogy. Prepare your dark and souless heart.
***Reader beware of many trigger warnings, especially suicidal ideation and self harm and I really, really mean it. Do not read this if you're struggling with your own mental health at the moment.***
Okay, so if you have read the Mara Dyer Trilogy before, which you should have before even picking up this book, there have been mentions of Noah hurting himself, and yes, this book gets more into it. Noah talks more about his self harm, they're not pretty, and sorry to burst your bubble, but Mara and Noah relationship was never always sunshine in the beginning, so don't even expect this to be the book full of rainbows and hearts of their relationship, I mean there's just MADNESS to everything.
An example of Noah's thoughts:
"That's what they call suicides. Cowardly. Selfish. But looking around at the little clumps of people on the train, part of me truly doesn't understand - how do they do it? How do they fill the minutes and hours and days and years of their lives? What's missing in me that I don't know how to fill mine? That I don't want to?"
So the main plot of this book is that there's something going on with a lot of the teenagers that have the "gifts" or whatever you want to call it are killing themselves. We don't know why they're doing, we don't know who's causing it, but we do know is that Noah experiences whoever is hurting themselves at that moment the same experience they are, Noah can feel that these people do not actually want to hurt themselves, but as in someone is forcing them to do it. *Play a scary song* So who is forcing them to do it? Is it that creep Abraham or whatever his real name is? Is it someone Noah knows? There's so many trust issues going on, for example, it could be someone we all know, but how could it be? We don't want to believe that it may be whoever that is forcing them to hurt themselves is actually someone we know, for example Mara's power is wishing for someone to die or Jamie who has the power to force someone to do as he said. They make the most sense for being possible suspects, but I refuse to believe it. And you know what the thing is? Noah also refuse to suspect them as well, because how could it be after everything they experienced? He wants to believe in the best of others, especially those who cares about. Honestly, it could be anyone though. I mean with the whole mess that happened in the last book, who knows. They're all traumatize, they all have changed to completely different people, they have experienced things that one can't even imagine, your life being at risks, having to hurt others just to survive, I mean we saw that Mara could be a little scary. This book is messy.
We do get to meet some new characters who are gifted as well and get to see many old characters as well. I mean some of them are suspicious also. I feel like with what happened in the Mara Dyer trilogy, Mara is still traumatize over everything that happened. With this book being based on Noah's point of view, it's hard to know what is really going on with Mara, and honestly, I am scare for her. We know that Mara have a lot of struggles in the past and with us not being in her head, I am worry.
Being in Noah's head is completely different from being in Mara's. This book kills me because honestly, we don't know what is going on with everyone right now and everyone is suspicious except for Noah. I mean Jamie and Mara... I don't know what the hell is going on in their head and I don't know if I should trust them or not. You only get to see the interaction between Noah and Mara, and with everything going on... I honestly don't know what the hell to do. Mara and Noah's relationship honestly felt very distance in this book, they're there physically with each other, but mentally? They're not talking.
"You can’t keep a secret from the person you love and expect it not to change him, too. She doesn’t trust me with something, which makes me distrust her, and that makes our hands miss each other when we pass something over the table. It makes my mouth just miss hers when I lean to kiss her lips and end up with cheek instead."
Okay, enough rambling before I spoil everything for you. But let's just said the ending will kill you... maybe literally or not. Because there's so many things that's going on that can be possible, but we love our characters and rather not believe in it, but hope for the best out of these characters. Honestly, you will just be left with a big "WTF!" at the end of this book, because wtf is really going on. There's so many trust issues, we as the reader doesn't know who to trust.
"I wagered my heart on her and lost, again and again, but still I would do it. I could never bet on anyone else. I know how you love endings, Mara. But this isn't ours."
I don't even know what to say after that ending. I really loved this book. After the ending of Mara's trilogy, there was no way that she and Noah would actually be getting a happy ending, and this book certainly proved it. Noah's POV was so different from Mara's. Dark and witty and heartbreaking. I just want him to be surrounded by support and love. These characters are so real and flawed and complicated. The banter, especially between Jamie and Mara, was amazing. I love their friendship so much. The Noah and Mara scenes were all so good and I love their messed up love. I appreciate that they’re relationship isn’t perfect and they fight and also love and THEY WILL BE OKAY AGAIN. IT WILL HAPPEN. And then there’s Goose!!! He was a great new character. As soon as it was mentioned that he's been with guys and girls I immediately was shipping him with Jamie, and I love the way they interacted. Daniel was amazing as always and I felt so bad for his heartbreak over Sophie. And I'm forever loving Mara and her terrifying powers and her nerdy references. I love her so much. I guessed that the whole thing about David Shaw and the police officers were because of her saving Noah, but I never believed that she would be killing everyone else. This book certainly had its confusing moments, but I'd say that's just part of the reading experience since the characters were just as confused.
I'm so looking forward to seeing where the rest of this series goes. The freaking ending!!!!!! Mara!!!!! I have so many questions about that!!!!!
I don't even know what to say after that ending. I really loved this book. After the ending of Mara's trilogy, there was no way that she and Noah would actually be getting a happy ending, and this book certainly proved it. Noah's POV was so different from Mara's. Dark and witty and heartbreaking. I just want him to be surrounded by support and love. These characters are so real and flawed and complicated. The banter, especially between Jamie and Mara, was amazing. I love their friendship so much. The Noah and Mara scenes were all so good and I love their messed up love. I appreciate that they’re relationship isn’t perfect and they fight and also love and THEY WILL BE OKAY AGAIN. IT WILL HAPPEN. And then there’s Goose!!! He was a great new character. As soon as it was mentioned that he's been with guys and girls I immediately was shipping him with Jamie, and I love the way they interacted. Daniel was amazing as always and I felt so bad for his heartbreak over Sophie. And I'm forever loving Mara and her terrifying powers and her nerdy references. I love her so much. I guessed that the whole thing about David Shaw and the police officers were because of her saving Noah, but I never believed that she would be killing everyone else. This book certainly had its confusing moments, but I'd say that's just part of the reading experience since the characters were just as confused.
I'm so looking forward to seeing where the rest of this series goes. The freaking ending!!!!!! Mara!!!!! I have so many questions about that!!!!!
I started this book with hopes that it was for more mature readers and filled with a mystery (no I have not read the Mara Dyer books). Once I started to have questions about this book and began being truly unsatisfied with the plot and writing I turned to the GoodReads reviews to see if it would turn out any better... and it doesn’t. Definitely not going to waste my time on this novel anymore.
Um...holy shit. I don't know if I've ever read a book quite as mean-spirited as this one. I'm just really glad I'm not the biggest fan of the Mara Dyer books, otherwise I'd be upset about the complete and total slap in the face this book manages to deliver.
I really loved the first Mara Dyer book back when it came out, but that love faded by the time The Retribution of Mara Dyer was all said and done, because that book was, well...Not Very Good. That said, I didn't mind how things wrapped up and I felt like I didn't need anything more from these characters or this universe.
So I think I was rightfully skeptical when Michelle Hodkin announced that, not only was she writing a whole damn trilogy from Noah's point of view, but that it would also be a sequel to the original trilogy. I get this rotten feeling that Michelle Hodkin got really butthurt about the generally negative or lukewarm fan reactions to Retribution and decided to make us all really sorry this time.
I was so convinced at one point this book could not possibly be suggesting that I was convinced the characters were being absolutely blind and idiotic, because it was clear to me that the unfortunately named character, Goose, was responsible for the deaths, that he knew more than he was letting on, but I was wrong because Michelle Hodkin might actually hate her readers. I can't say that for certain, but I do know that's how I feel now.
The second biggest offense(s?) this book is guilty of is being boring and confusing. I wasn't tired when I got to work this afternoon, but a few hours into my shift (and, by proxy, a few hours into the book) I was practically falling asleep, I barely had a grasp of what the characters' motivations were, and I was so uninterested in this incredibly brittle skeleton of a "mystery" that I was dozing off in the middle of my shift. This book is so short. It doesn't take a whole lot to fill up 8 hours and 15 minutes of literature. How did Hodkin fuck that up so bad?
Honestly, though, I'm more interested in this series than I have been since I first read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer back in Fall 2011. It's not the same kind of interest, seeing as I still feel like Michelle Hodkin just kicked me in the shin, chucked a hardcover copy of this book at my face, and ran away to start planning her return to dole out a second shin kick with a second book to the face, but I'm just so baffled by how laughably mean this book is to hardcore fans of the books that precede it. This is so confusing, so weird, such a poor decision on Hodkin's part that I can't help but keep watching. It's a train wreck I don't think I could possibly look away from, even if I truly wanted to look away.
I really loved the first Mara Dyer book back when it came out, but that love faded by the time The Retribution of Mara Dyer was all said and done, because that book was, well...Not Very Good. That said, I didn't mind how things wrapped up and I felt like I didn't need anything more from these characters or this universe.
So I think I was rightfully skeptical when Michelle Hodkin announced that, not only was she writing a whole damn trilogy from Noah's point of view, but that it would also be a sequel to the original trilogy. I get this rotten feeling that Michelle Hodkin got really butthurt about the generally negative or lukewarm fan reactions to Retribution and decided to make us all really sorry this time.
I was so convinced at one point this book could not possibly be suggesting
Spoiler
that Mara was actually behind the staged suicidesThe second biggest offense(s?) this book is guilty of is being boring and confusing. I wasn't tired when I got to work this afternoon, but a few hours into my shift (and, by proxy, a few hours into the book) I was practically falling asleep, I barely had a grasp of what the characters' motivations were, and I was so uninterested in this incredibly brittle skeleton of a "mystery" that I was dozing off in the middle of my shift. This book is so short. It doesn't take a whole lot to fill up 8 hours and 15 minutes of literature. How did Hodkin fuck that up so bad?
Honestly, though, I'm more interested in this series than I have been since I first read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer back in Fall 2011. It's not the same kind of interest, seeing as I still feel like Michelle Hodkin just kicked me in the shin, chucked a hardcover copy of this book at my face, and ran away to start planning her return to dole out a second shin kick with a second book to the face, but I'm just so baffled by how laughably mean this book is to hardcore fans of the books that precede it. This is so confusing, so weird, such a poor decision on Hodkin's part that I can't help but keep watching. It's a train wreck I don't think I could possibly look away from, even if I truly wanted to look away.
Durante mucho tiempo tuve miedo de empezar este libro principalmente porque la trilogía principal es una de mis favoritas y segundo porque aún falta mucho para la publicación del último libro y me va a matar la espera, pero no me arrepiento de haberlo leído. Antes de leer este libro esta extremamente recomendado leer la trilogía de Mara Dyer.
“El destino es una mierda. El destino no existe. Si quiero un final feliz, tendré que escribirlo yo mismo.”
Realmente no tengo palabras porque no me decepciono (cosa que estaba esperando), me gustó tanto como los anteriores, no voy a negar que me dejo terriblemente confusa, entre más avanzaba el libro más misterio.
“Las cicatrices que no puedes ver son las que más duelen.”
Es interesante ver cómo piensa Noah, saber exactamente lo que está sintiendo, fue una buena nueva perspectiva para la historia, sabes que necesitas conocer los secretos que oculta la familia de Shaw, los secretos de todos los presentes.
“Somos responsables por todo lo que hacemos. Siempre tenemos una opción.”
“A este punto he visto suficiente de la verdad para saber que las respuestas de las preguntas que nosotros queremos saber no se nos darán dadas por nadie más. Nosotros tenemos que ser la respuesta.”
No hay mucho que pueda decir sin arruinar el misterio que el libro contiene, pero lo termine hace algunas horas y mi corazón aun duele y mi cerebro no puede procesar el final, porque no esperaba eso ni en un millón de años y sé que, aunque no puedo esperar para ver qué es lo que va suceder me daré un poco de tiempo.
“El destino es una mierda. El destino no existe. Si quiero un final feliz, tendré que escribirlo yo mismo.”
Realmente no tengo palabras porque no me decepciono (cosa que estaba esperando), me gustó tanto como los anteriores, no voy a negar que me dejo terriblemente confusa, entre más avanzaba el libro más misterio.
“Las cicatrices que no puedes ver son las que más duelen.”
Es interesante ver cómo piensa Noah, saber exactamente lo que está sintiendo, fue una buena nueva perspectiva para la historia, sabes que necesitas conocer los secretos que oculta la familia de Shaw, los secretos de todos los presentes.
“Somos responsables por todo lo que hacemos. Siempre tenemos una opción.”
Spoiler
No suelo hacer esto, pero esta vez no lo puedo evitar. Para mí como alguien que adora ver a Noah y Mara juntos fue muy desesperante ver como él perdía la confianza en ella poco a poco, me rehusaba a creer que Mara tenía algo que ver con todo lo que pasaba, razón por la cual tal vez quede confusa con el final, solo sé que a pesar de que entiendo a Noah, no puedo evitar querer verlos juntos.“A este punto he visto suficiente de la verdad para saber que las respuestas de las preguntas que nosotros queremos saber no se nos darán dadas por nadie más. Nosotros tenemos que ser la respuesta.”
No hay mucho que pueda decir sin arruinar el misterio que el libro contiene, pero lo termine hace algunas horas y mi corazón aun duele y mi cerebro no puede procesar el final, porque no esperaba eso ni en un millón de años y sé que, aunque no puedo esperar para ver qué es lo que va suceder me daré un poco de tiempo.
**4.5 stars, because it was SO slow but I loved the ending**
The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin was very high up on my list of most anticipated reads for 2017, and I really couldn’t wait to get started on the book. I even binge re-read the Mara Dyer series beforehand, just so the story and characters from the original books would be fresh in my mind once I started this one. (I’m really glad that I decided to reread those books first, there was so much that I had forgotten from the first time I read them!)
The Becoming of Noah Shaw is the first book in The Shaw Confessions series by Michelle Hodkin. This new series is a companion series to the Mara Dyer series, and picks up not long after where The Retribution of Mara Dyer ends. You could definitely read this novel without having read the original series first, as a good bit of things are explained throughout the story, but parts of it could be confusing, so if you haven’t read the original series yet, you may want to do that first. The storyline for the book feels new and fresh, while still having some familiar aspects from the previous books. I’m super curious to get my hands on the next book, especially considering that this book ends with a pretty huge cliffhanger.
The story is narrated by Noah Shaw this time, whereas the previous series was narrated mostly by Mara Dyer. It was interesting to be in his head throughout the story, and to get his viewpoints on what was happening. Most of the characters that we know and love from the previous books are along for the ride in this new book, though in a way they feel almost mysteriously different in a way. (Maybe that’s just me? Who knows what happened to them between the time that the two books took place.) We’re also introduced to a few new characters in the story as well, and I’m definitely curious to know more about them as well!
Overall; The Becoming of Noah Shaw was an interesting read, and I’m super curious to know what’s going to happen over the course of the series. And, after that pretty massive cliffhanger ending, I’ll be pining away to get my hands on the next book in the series, which does not currently have a title or a name. The wait will be excruciating! If you haven’t yet read the Mara Dyer series, do add them, and The Becoming of Noah Shaw, to your TBR today!
Happy Reading!
The Becoming of Noah Shaw is the first book in the Shaw Confessions series, which is described as a companion to the Mara Dyer series. To me, a companion novel or series can be read independently, which is not the case with this book. The story picks up after the end of The Retribution of Mara Dyer and assumes the reader has a considerable amount of knowledge of events that took place in that series. Any of the events that were vital to this story were briefly touched upon to refresh the reader, but I would not recommend reading this book if you haven't already read the Mara Dyer series.
I will be the first to admit that Noah Shaw is one of my all time favorite characters, so I was ecstatic when I heard there was going to be another series from his point of view. He is just as charming as ever, but we get to see first hand how his "gifts" are impacting his life. He can not only heal himself and others, but he is able to see the pain and suffering of other "gifted" individuals as if he were in their bodies at the time of the incidents. There is a sudden increase in the number of apparent suicides of "gifted" teens, so Mara, Noah and their friends begin working with some new gifted characters that are introduced in this book to bring the violence to an end.
Noah and Mara's brother Daniel refuse to believe Mara is involved in the deaths, but another character insists she is behind it. They not only need to stop the deaths, but also clear Mara of these accusations.
Overall, I thought this was a great start to the new series. I had no idea what to expect and I was shocked by many of the revelations. There is a major event that takes place at the end of the book, which completely changes the game for the gifted. Their lives have been irrevocably changed and I can't wait to see how things will unfold in the sequel.
I will be the first to admit that Noah Shaw is one of my all time favorite characters, so I was ecstatic when I heard there was going to be another series from his point of view. He is just as charming as ever, but we get to see first hand how his "gifts" are impacting his life. He can not only heal himself and others, but he is able to see the pain and suffering of other "gifted" individuals as if he were in their bodies at the time of the incidents. There is a sudden increase in the number of apparent suicides of "gifted" teens, so Mara, Noah and their friends begin working with some new gifted characters that are introduced in this book to bring the violence to an end.
Noah and Mara's brother Daniel refuse to believe Mara is involved in the deaths, but another character insists she is behind it. They not only need to stop the deaths, but also clear Mara of these accusations.
Overall, I thought this was a great start to the new series. I had no idea what to expect and I was shocked by many of the revelations. There is a major event that takes place at the end of the book, which completely changes the game for the gifted. Their lives have been irrevocably changed and I can't wait to see how things will unfold in the sequel.