Friday, 1 February 2013
The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Published October 23, 2012 by Simon & Schuster UK
Source: Simon & Schuster AU
Rating: 1 paw
From the blurb: Mara Dyer knows she isn't crazy. She knows she can kill with her mind, and that her boyfriend, Noah, can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, her ex, Jude, is not a hallucination. He is alive.
Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not crazy isn't easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast! Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out how Jude survived the asylum collapse, and how he knows so much about her strange ability... before anyone else ends up dead.
The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is set a few
days after the events of book one, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Mara wakes to
find herself in a psychiatric hospital, to which her parents had her
involuntarily committed. She wants to get out, see Noah, and start figuring out
what happened, so she plays along with her mum and her doctors and she’s
allowed to go home as long as she attends an outpatient program. But things at
home are getting worse, she’s having weird flashbacks, she’s sure Jude is out
to get her, and she and Noah have to struggle to work out what is going on.
If you've read my review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer,
then you’re probably not surprised by my rating of the sequel. I requested this
in the hopes that I’d get some answers to the questions I had after finishing
the first book, and that it would be an improvement on the previous book. And, while
I didn't find certain elements to be as annoying, I still felt there was a lot
going on in terms of plot, but not a lot of resolution.
My feelings about Mara herself are quite conflicted.
Obviously she’s feeling a bit confused, she’s discovered that she can kill
people with her mind, her ex-boyfriend, presumed dead, is walking around town
and leaving her sinister messages, but her family doesn't believe her –what’s a
girl to do? She tricks them into letting her out of the hospital and has to
fake being fine. I still don’t really like her, and that definitely holds me
back from liking this series.
I didn't find Noah to be as annoying this time. We've gone
through the business of getting to know him, and in this book he’s very
concerned about Mara. He spends time at her house, with her and her family
(even though Mara seems to be annoyed by the fact that he likes her family),
hiring private security for her house, and whisking her away to a secluded
beach. And, his smile is only mentioned 44 times – result!
There were lots of different plot lines again, this time
there was Mara’s outpatient program, Jude stalking her house, flashbacks to
what I assume is her grandmother’s life in India, Jamie showing up at the
program, the other kids at the program, particularly Phoebe, Noah’s secret
past, how his mother and Mara’s grandmother met and also Mara and Noah’s
relationship. A few of these things were obvious, particularly what was up with
one of the doctors and what was going on with Phoebe and Jude. Despite all of
these things, the book still felt slow, I really had to force myself to keep
reading through all the day-to-day descriptions and the back and forth between
her house, the program, and Noah’s house. The flashbacks were also a surprise
to me, and are never fully explained, because Mara has no idea why they are
happening.
The ending felt like a slap in the face. Despite not really
connecting with the characters, I’d been there with Mara and Noah as they
struggled to think of reasons for their powers and the link between their
families. Then the ending came along and basically laughed in our faces. I had
thought something like it might be
coming, but it still made me feel like everything the characters had been
through was for nothing and was a complete waste of time. Also, I don’t think
many readers will be fooled by the supposed death of a certain character.
Do I want to read the third book? Not really. I don’t want
to sit through another 500+ pages if that’s the sort of ending I'm left with.
And I already have a fair idea of who, or which company, is behind it all.
The Evolution of Mara Dyer will be appreciated by fans of
the series, but I’d hesitate to recommend this series to anyone other than
serious fans of paranormal YA.
Thank you to the fantastic people at Simon & Schuster AU
for my review copy.
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18 comments:
Oh, dear. It's a shame this was even more of a disappointment than the first novel, especially since the cover is just more beautiful. I feel like this is one of those trilogies that really could be condensed to a stand-alone novel and would be so much better because I know a lot of readers (myself included) who have been warned away be the loose plot threads. I'm so sorry this was such a unenjoyable read, Mandee! I hope you're able to pick up something better next (preferably Aussie - you can't go wrong with those)! :)
I really liked the first book, but I lost a lot of interest for the series while waiting for the sequel. I have a copy somewhere, but I haven't made any immediate plans to read it... and now I'm not sure if I will. I have to admit that I'm a little curious about this ending now. I might just flick to the end to see what it is! Sorry this didn't work for you any better than the first, Mandee, but great review. :)
uh oh, sounds like the ending wasn't great. i've been hearing a lot of mixed reviews of this series lately. thanks for the great review!
Shoot, I was hoping that you would like the second book. I LOVED both books but I have been discovering that not everyone does. Sorry it was disappointing for you.
I AGREE W/ALL OF THIS ESP THE SLAP IN THE FACE PART! Noah definitely improved for me too and I was enjoying this book more than its predecessor until it quickly reminded me WHY I didn't like the book in the first place. So disappointing. I think I will still pick up the conclusion though to see how it ends. Bah. Who do you think is behind it all? lol I don't even think I think that hard about the book, oops...
I'm sorry to hear this book didn't win you over but considering I LOVED the first book I'm sure I'll love this one as well. Can't wait to read it! Nice review!
What a same the second book was a disappointment for you Mandee. I liked the first book in the series and didn't even know this one was out.
Can't believe it was more than 500 pages!
Hmmmm... I'm not sure whether I'll be going to read this series if it heads downhill. I like paranormal stuff, but it has to be good.
It's definitely a shame that it has left you without answers in the first book and then has a slap in the face ending.
Great review! :)
Sorry it was disappointing! I have been thinking about reading this series, but not sure.
Happy reading,
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Yes to all of this! I had both books and while I didn't enjoy the first one I was sure the 2nd would give me SOME answers. Instead even more is piled upon an already overloaded plot.
I did like the second book more but not enough. I feel like I'm reading in circles. Every chapter brings some horrific event and then poof...on to the next thing.
lol about Noah's smile. I would add that he stretches his legs languidly a lot :-)
I thought I was alone so it was nice to read your review.
YES! I agree with all of this. I liked it a bit more than you liked it - three stars, but I definitely agree with you. I just had fun with it in the first half and got sick of it in the second. I also agree that Noah was more likable in this book than he was in the first, but I still just don't like him. I still think he's a douche, to be blunt. And once again, I completely agree with you about the ending. I loved the first book's ending (and I actually talk about this cliffhanger in a discussion post on Thursday, so great timing, reading this review, considering I literally finished writing the post 30 minutes ago), but this one was so gimmicky. Everything could have easily been resolved in this book is Hodkin hadn't gone overboard with the plot threads - seriously, how many plots were there in this books? And it's so obvious that the cliffhanger didn't actually happen. I'm not going to read the third book, unless I somehow manage to get an ARC, and even then, I might give it away. I don't care about the characters, the plot, anything in this world. If anything I'll just ask a friend what happens. Great review, Mandee!
Yikes! 2 paws? I've seen so many good reviews so it's nice to see a side who wasn't to into the book to see why you didn't really like it. I'm not so sure if I will ever read this series or not. Great review Mandee! Sorry you didn't really like this book. :)
Oh no Mandee, I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this book, I quite like this series but understand the points you made, I'm quite keen to read the last book just to see the outcome :-)
Aaaw, Mandee! :( I'm SO sad to hear this sequel didn't make up for Unbecoming. I actually really liked it, but each to their own. I totally do understand where you're coming from, though. For fans of hardcore YA Para, this wouldn't quite live up. But, glad to hear you found Noah less annoying! :)
Thanks for your honest review, Mandee. I may try out the first in series, but at least I don't feel in a rush any longer and can concentrate on the unread books already on my shelf :)
I love this series, but I also love reading your reviews because I totally get everything that annoys you about the series. Doesn't annoy me, but I still get it. Oh, and Noah's smile - it never gets old. And Noah Shaw in a Tux - beach scene. It's imprinted on my memory forever. I thought the ending was a bit blah actually. I saw it coming - thought it could have been stronger. Dying to find out how it all ends, of course! ;)
I kind of loved feeling like I was in a spinning ball having no clue what the heck was going on in the first book. But I have to say I have put off this one because I am kind of ready for some answers. Also very worried about the ending now. I hate when I feel like the plot was a waste of time.
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