Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Purchased
Pages: 452
Series: Mara Dyer #1
Release Date: September 27, 2011
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!
