Just Finished Reading .... The Evolution of Mara Dyer

The Evolution of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin
Published by Simon and Schuster BFYR
on October 23, 2012

Source: book swap with a friend





Possible minor spoilers for book one. But since in this series, you never know what's real and who's reliable, you may not even notice!

Mara Dyer has been through a lot. In book one, she's moved to Florida in the aftermath of the death of her ex-boyfriend and his sister in an accident -- for which Mara holds herself responsible. She thinks she has special powers. Or maybe she's just crazy. She's also trying to figure out her relationship with the insufferably rich, insufferably handsome, insufferably confident Noah.

As book two opens, Mara's getting help. Psychiatric help. Let's just say she and a shrink should have a boatload to talk about. Problem is, talk therapy doesn't seem to be working. Mara's convinced that her dead ex-boyfriend Jude is actually alive. She's getting creepy notes and bloody gifts, having strange dreams, and basically making everyone think she's gone off the deep end.

I loved The Evolution of Mara Dyer. In fact, I put it on my Favorite Paranormal Reads of 2012 post yesterday. And there's a giveaway!  Go enter and then hurry back, because there's lots to discuss...

To me, The Evolution of Mara Dyer was like a big, larger-than-life, overflowing bucket of crazy. I like books with unreliable narrators. In The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I wasn't sure if Mara was reliable or not. In this book, she seems like the sane one, while most of the secondary characters seem to have wandered off to the land of the what-the-hey.

Take Phoebe. She's a fellow patient in Mara's therapy group. She seems all innocent but she's actually super-creepy, and Mara doesn't trust her for a second. She's totally gaslighting Mara. Phoebe's good at playing the victim so that Mara is the one who looks guilty.

Then there's Jude. Is he real, or isn't he? Mara is convinced that he's alive and out to get her. If he is real, let's just say he should also check himself in for some intensive therapy.

And of course, Noah. He now seems to be suffering from multiple personality disorder. The old I'm-All-That Noah has been replaced by a strange smotheringly overprotective Noah. He and Mara have developed this unbalanced relationship in which she's the demented damsel in distress and he constantly swoops in to her rescue. He's the only one who believes Mara. He's the fragile thread that connects her with her sanity. If that thread snaps ... watch out!

The ending. Okay, I've complained about cliffhanger fatigue. But for this book, the ending was perfect. I mean, I should have seen it coming. On the one hand, I wasn't that worried. But on the other, I can totally see Michelle Hodkin ending this trilogy with a mindblowing final twist, M. Night Shayamalan style.

I mean, in my experience, stories like this are not usually happily ever after. Just saying. Or maybe, like Phoebe, I'm just trying to mess with you. *evil laugh* I guess we'll have to wait to find out!

Try this series if you loved:

Have you read this one? Tell me what you think!  If you want to talk spoilers, email me!