The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

August 1, 2011
When 17-year-old Mara wakes from a coma, she learns she was in an accident; her best friend, boyfriend, and his sister were all killed when an abandoned asylum collapsed on them. But Mara has no memory of why she was there. Hoping to escape her hallucinations and nightmares, she moves with her family from Rhode Island to Florida, and on the first day of school meets a handsome boy "miling at me like he knew me." Even as Mara's romance with Noah starts to simmer, her stress boils over, especially when her fantasies about bad people dying start coming true and she starts remembering the fateful night. There are plenty of haunting, cinematic images to capture readers' attention, but first-time author Hodkin has packed too much into this mystery, including a murder trial in the background and Noah's own secrets. Readers may enjoy drawing their own conclusions about what is real, but they will have a hard time tracking all the possibilities. And after so much windup, they will certainly feel let down by the scripted conclusion. Ages 14âup.

November 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-Mara Dyer, 16, and three of her friends were in an abandoned building that collapsed; the friends died, and Mara escaped with no memory of the accident and, other than a bad case of PTSD, no real injuries. Her family moves from Rhode Island to Florida to help her heal, but that doesn't go very well. Mara is having nightmares and increasingly frequent horrifying hallucinations. Or are they? Her private school is populated with mostly snotty rich kids, with the exception of her one friend, Jamie Roth, and Noah Shaw, a gorgeous guy with a British accent who has both a dangerous attitude and reputation. As Mara tries to figure out whether or not she is crazy or if there is something more to her strange connections to people who have died, she and Noah become closer, causing other students to assume that he is using her like he supposedly used other girls. There is no graphic sex in this book, only some language, and anyone who thinks old-fashioned romantic scenes can't move teens today will be proven wrong here. This boy will make readers swoon. As her love life heats up, Mara remembers more about the night of the accident and learns more about her abilities. The characters are real and wonderful, and the supernatural story is riveting. While the ending seems a little forced to make the various pieces fit, the final pages leave some mysteries unsolved and hint at a sequel. Expect this book to fly off the shelves.-Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011

A girl tries to cope with her own survival after the deaths of her friends in this psychological—or is it paranormal?—debut suspense tale.

Mara understands that she's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after having survived the collapse of a building that killed her best friend, her boyfriend and his sister. To escape constant memories, the family moves from Rhode Island to Miami, and Mara enrolls in a pricey private school populated by spoiled rich kids. She falls for Noah, ultra-wealthy, British, handsome and perhaps untrustworthy girl-magnet. Her relationship with Noah comprises much of the story, even as Mara keeps seeing her dead friends in the mirror. Meanwhile, Mara tries to cope with a nasty student couple bent on destroying her and with a teacher who hates her for no discernible reason. Add to that her defense-lawyer father, who's taken on the high-profile trial of the day and the book has one too many subplots, which, along with a bit too much description, leads to its excessive length. Hodkin writes strong prose that engages readers and creates some unusual, attractive characters. She designs an absorbing story that appears to be heading toward an interesting sequel. By the end, readers may be wondering if this is a psychological, paranormal or crime story, adding to the intrigue.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 15, 2011
Grades 9-12 Mara Dyer is a lucky girl. She has survived the collapse of an old asylum that killed three of her friends, and her parents have moved the entire family to Miami to help her escape her memories. But Mara continues to experience hallucinations, and she struggles with terrifying suspicions that she may be a murderer. First-time author Hodkin has paired a steamy romance with a paranormal mystery that will cause teen readers whiplash as they jerk from one plot twist to another, from cat-and-mouse repartee to obvious, yet clever, innuendo. Populated with Mara's interesting if exaggerated friends, well-intentioned parents and brothers, and villainous teachers, the novel will easily draw in readers, who will forgive the puzzling, frustrating conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
Mara can't remember the night a building collapsed on top of her and three friends, killing everyone but her--and not remembering is literally driving her insane. Her life is spiraling downward when handsome, mysterious Noah takes an interest in her. Mara's fears for her sanity and her intense guilt are beautifully balanced against a romance with Noah, creating a complex and twisting story.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)