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A review by abbievillehorror
The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin
4.0
I know the point of the Mara Dyer series, and presumably also Noah Shaw, was having an unreliable narrator. And I know that Mara is an antihero. Still, there were many times where I felt her and Noah’s relationship in this book stepped a little too closely to a romanticization of abusive behavior, and Noah’s thoughts stepped a little too closely to a glamorization of suicide. Honestly, I just kind of hated being in Noah’s head and seeing the patronizing, objectifying way he viewed Mara—almost as a manic pixie dream girl. I did appreciate that it was called out on the page how Noah is a cliche book boyfriend type, but it was still a bit much for me.
Still, I can’t help but love these books because of how much I loved Mara Dyer—and still love her as a character. I trust that Michelle needs to be in Noah’s head to tell the rest of this story, but I so miss being in Mara’s. And the ending of the book, when things started tying together in terrifying ways and we finally got to experience tension and drama outside of Noah’s experience, it turned into a real page turner.
Still, I can’t help but love these books because of how much I loved Mara Dyer—and still love her as a character. I trust that Michelle needs to be in Noah’s head to tell the rest of this story, but I so miss being in Mara’s. And the ending of the book, when things started tying together in terrifying ways and we finally got to experience tension and drama outside of Noah’s experience, it turned into a real page turner.