A review by courtneyp
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked this overall, it was fast-paced/exciting and a good change of pace from slower non-fiction I've been reading these last few months. I did find the romance bits pretty clichéd though. I was close to putting it down during the first half of the book as it seemed to be mostly composed of said romance bits (I recognize that I am perhaps almost out of what would be considered the target demographic for YA romance though, and perhaps that's why I found it a little gag-worthy). As other parts of the story unfolded I did find it more engaging, but the plot was hard to follow at points; it semed "off" to me in a way I can't quite put my finger on, like it was jammed together; there were a few points I thought I had missed a page or skipped ahead by accident. 
That being said, to end this review on a positive note: I found the concept intriguing (compared to other fantasy YA I've read) and the cliff hangers at the end were inticing enough that I would not mind reading the second one at some point in the future. 
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