Students
at school have heard me say many times, I’m sold by great
cover art. You may not be able to judge a book by the cover, but it sure can
convince me to read it. The Unbecoming of
Mara Dyer sold me through cover art alone. The story didn’t
disappoint.
When
they asked the ouija board how Rachel would die, the board spelled out M-A-R-A.
Sixth months later Mara is the only survivor of a building collapse, her best
friend Rachel, their friend Jude and his sister Claire dead in the rubble.
Mara wakes form a coma but remembers nothing of that night. What was the Tamerlane? Why had they gone
there? But that is only the beginning. Mara begins to hallucinate. She sees her
dead friends in mirrors. After changing schools to avoid the stressful memories
of her dead friends, Mara’s hallucinations follow her. The first
day of classes at her new school, she experiences the collapse of the classroom
including falling face first and bloodying her nose in front of a room full of
strangers. She then discovers it is a fresh round of horror produced by her own
mind. Mara is willing to accept the diagnosis of these images as Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder until they start meshing with physical reality. After imagining
a choking accident for a brutally cruel teacher, the teacher dies of anaphylactic
shock – just as she has imagined. Mara begins to
question herself. She begins to accept the possibility that she killed her best
friend. Somehow she must be causing the violence. As Mara struggles with her
personal demons, real or imagined, Noah enters her life. Secretive and bound to
break her heart, Mara just can’t resist his
charms.
The Unbecoming of
Mara Dyer is
a thriller with a touch of romance. It will have you looking over your shoulder in the dark and holding your breath. The romantic element is hot and sultry enough to catch the
attention of plenty of romantic hearts but tame enough to happily live in any
high school library. Additionally, the romantic element buoys the story. In the
hands of a different author, the story of a girl’s hallucinations
about her dead best friend and questions of her own guilt could be brutal and tragic. But here it is thrilling, surprising and compelling. Since Mara narrates her own story, realities are revealed as she learns them keeping the reader guessing and wondering along with her.
If
you enjoy stories that are unpredictable, read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. One of the most compelling parts of Mara
Dyer’s
story is its capacity to keep the reader off balance. Every time it appears the
story will slide into familiar predictable patterns, it shifts just enough to
turn the pages a little faster. If you prefer stories that contain both mystery
and romance, read this. If you like your romance with a touch of heart racing
intensity but without the R rating, read about Mara
Dyer. Whatever your preference, read it. You won’t be
disappointed.
