Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Purchased

Pages: 452

Series: Mara Dyer #1

Release Date: September 27, 2011

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Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

I have had this book on my shelf for a little while now. I was a little hesitant to pick it up. I kept seeing more and more people reading it and posting such great things about it on Goodreads. I finally decided that it was time that I pick this book up. And let me tell you, I am SO glad that I did. This book was far beyond what I expected it to be. 

Before I go on my rave about Noah Shaw, I'll talk a little about the other characters and the plot first. 

First, I think that the concept of this book is really neat. I enjoyed the fact that Mara had no idea what had happened to her. I loved being in her head trying to figure out what had happened to her along with her. I think that that made the book even better. I'm gonna be honest and say that when I first started reading the book, I was a little confused by the hallucinations. Not that I didn't like them or anything, but at first I was really confused as to what was happening. As I kept reading though, I was able to tell that she was having another hallucination instead of wondering why the story changed all of a sudden! Once I was able to get used to that, I actually really liked being able to know about her hallucinations. I think that it helped me really connect with Mara as a character. 

I loved how we got to discover what was going on with Mara step by step. I thought that it was written so wonderfully. I think that helped with making the story more mysterious and exciting! This is a book that will have your heart racing and make you feel like you can't turn the pages fast enough at some points! I'm usually not into the whole paranormal thing because I get nightmares pretty easy (yes, even from books), but this book's paranormal aspect wasn't too overwhelming at all. I think that it had just the right amount to make it seem real, but not enough to really "scare" anyone. It was just enough to leave you saying "what the heck?!" This book will make you want more. It will make you sweat, it will make you feel, and it will make you think. 

Mara Dyer..oh how I felt so bad for this girl. She has to deal with the loss of her friends, relocating to a new state and a new school, and these awful hallucinations and dreams. There were so many times throughout the book where I just wanted to grab her and hug her. I thought that the way she handled everything that she was having to deal with was amazing. I know that I would not be able to handle things like she does throughout the book. I really disliked how her mother treated her. Babying her and treating her like she is "sick" isn't going to help her. I think that her mother needed to be a little more supportive of her and try to allow her to make her own decisions. Mara is really the only one that knows how she is feeling. Her mom may be a psychologist, but she doesn't know what all Mara is feeling and dealing with. This kind of really annoyed me in the book, if you couldn't tell.

Now on to Noah. NOAH. Noah freakin' Shaw. I could just picture what he looked like in my head and man, he is such a stud! What girl wouldn't swoon over a guy who was British, mysterious, and a total sweetheart (even though he does have a reputation of a heart-breaker.) I think he may be my number one book boyfriend now. Sorry Four! Not only is he this hot and mysterious guy, but he's just al overall wonderful character full of wittiness, mysteriousness, and gentleness. He's just so amazing. Gosh, Noah! I can't wait to read the next book in the series just so I can get more Noah Shaw!!

I don't think that words can really describe how incredible these characters are. All I can tell you is that you definitely need to give this book a shot. It is such an amazing read and I can't wait to read the rest in the series!

Review: 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Source: Purchased

Pages: 368

Series: Standalone

Release Date: September 17th, 2013

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Josie Byrne’s life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she’s betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can’t get worse.

Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Jo’s life is everything Josie wants: she’s popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they’re just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.

Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo’s perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo’s boyfriend, he hates her. Jo’s mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.

This is the first time I have read a book by Gretchen McNeil. I had NO idea what to expect. I saw a few booktubers talk about this book and they made it seem like it was a really good book. I picked up a copy as soon as I could and man oh man and I glad that I did. Even though there was a lot of science related things in this book that I didn’t understand, this book is still absolutely amazing and is easily my new favorite book! This book was written so well. From page one, it had me wanting to read more and more! I even got annoyed that I had to leave my house and do things. It literally aggravated me that life was getting in the way of finding out what would happen next!

This book has two doppelgangers, Josie and Jo. At first I was kind of worried that it would bound back and forth between both girls point of views in the book. I am really glad that this book wasn’t written like that! I think that the fact that it was only Josie’s POV, it made the book a lot more interesting. It was really neat being able to read about Josie being able to figure things out on her own throughout the story. I think it made the book even better.

The way that McNeil has Josie’s personality in this book is so great. Her personality and her actions is realistic. She’s like your average teenager. She makes choices for the wrong reasons, she has selfish moments, and she doesn’t always have the best judgment about people. But she also is SUPER smart, she’s really caring, and nuanced as a character. I think the fact that she saw that her newly ex-boyfriend is happier and in all ways better in the other world, that of course she wanted to go and be with that guy. I think that is something someone in real life would want to do too!

Throughout the whole book, it had you on the edge of your seat. Just when you thought things were going to work out, a new twist was brought about! Just when I thought I could predict something, the total opposite thing happened!

The way that Gretchen McNeil described the Nox was super creepy! She made them sound like something that would be in an awful nightmare! They are something that I would NEVER want to come face to face with!

Then, of course, there is the romance. NON-JERKFACE NICK WAS SO FREAKIN WONDERFUL! For real though, I loved him with Josie. Ahh, just so so cute.

If you are a fan of sci-fi/thrillers then you should definitely check it out! Even if you aren’t or you want to try something new, PICK THIS BOOK!