Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:


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.


This is a book that I have been eagerly watching the library shelves for, hoping it would appear.  When it did, all other reading was suspended.  As it turns out, pretty much all other activities were suspended, including sleeping.  I thought this book was that exciting.


To begin, I thought Mara was a fantastic narrator.  Hodkin does a brilliant job of keeping the readers entranced in the mystery of Mara's past, while also giving her a humorous voice.  To me, the humor helped temper the darkness of the plot, as did the high school drama.  The love interest, Noah, is equally exciting and interesting.  While he is rumored to have a dark past too, I couldn't help but smile over his sarcasm and kind-heartedness (though these two traits seem to be disparate, Hodkin made them work for Noah!).  My only complaint would be the way Mara treats Noah for a good portion of the novel.  She is surly and somewhat cold, which got a bit tiring after a while.  But then again, perhaps it was just because I was cheering so intensely for him.


The plot in this novel was much more driven by character development than anything else.  I personally prefer this kind of novel, especially when I know that it is going to be the first in a series.  The slow pace allowed me to try and look for clues to unravel the mystery myself, rather than just having it revealed to me quickly.  I'm not even sure I still fully understand what's happening to Mara, but that only serves to heighten my anticipation for the sequel.  However, this is not the book for the impatient.  Mara's secrets are not revealed until the end, and she spends much of the book in denial.


One strength of this book is the fantastic cover art, which is hard to ignore.  Though it seems shallow, I will openly admit the cover art was largely what drew me to the novel in the first place.  I am hopeful it does the same for potential readers!  Content-wise, there is a lot of discussion about sex, but nothing graphic, and nothing overtly "happens."  Typical of a high school setting, there's also a bit of swearing, but nothing over-the-top.  Certainly nothing that would keep me from passing the book along.


I am so thrilled I found a book I couldn't put down - it was perfect to enjoy along with the unseasonably warm weather.  I can't wait for the sequel, and to share this book with others!


Anyone else excited for the sequel??

Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:


Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it? 

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening? 

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.


Typically, contemporary fiction is not one of my go-tos, especially in YA novels.  However, this debut had just the right mix of magical realism and romance to make it completely irresistible.


The main character, Delaney, was extremely well developed.  We get a sense almost immediately of her motivations and desires, and her inner conflict over her new power.  Truthfully, I found myself relating to her on a very personal level, as many of her obsessions and insecurities were my own in high school.  I feel that if I could relate to her that well, then surely other readers could too.  Similarly, Miranda did a noteworthy job of creating Decker and Delaney's parents.  I particularly enjoyed the depth with which she explored the Maxwell family dynamic.  


The plot of the novel was also exciting, and a perfect balance between Delaney's discovery of her power and her navigation of relationships in the aftermath of tragedy.  There were enough exciting and suspenseful parts to keep readers wondering, but not so many that the plot felt overly choppy or contrived.  Likewise, there was plenty of romance and inner monologue to involve the reader in Delaney's personal conflict without seeming slow or angst-ridden.  


Truthfully, the only downside the the novel was that I was left wanting more - it ended so quickly and suddenly!  I would have loved to have seen more detail about Delaney's "power" (as it didn't even seem terribly supernatural to me), as well as her interactions with the mysterious Troy.


In regards to content, this is a book that I would feel comfortable recommending to any high school age reader.  Nothing terribly inappropriate happens, save a few "f-bombs," and some mentions of hooking up and underage drinking.  I have certainly read far edgier novels than this one!  However, I think the cover could sell itself too.  It's absolutely beautiful!


Overall, I was extremely pleased with this book.  I plan on recommending it to my ladies, especially the ones who cannot get enough Sarah Dessen books (and that's quite the crew in my classroom!).  I can't wait to see what other novels Megan Miranda writes!

My First Review: Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King

Image courtesy of http://www.geneva.lib.il.us/teen/node/196

Imagine being stuck in multiple worlds, but not quite feeling right in any of them. For Lucky Linderman, a soon-to-be sophomore in Pennsylvania, that is his reality. Bullied at school, lonely at home with absent parents, and unable to rescue his Grandpa, a POW in Laos whom he visits in his dreams, Lucky tries the best he can to cope with reality while simultaneously wishing he could escape it. But when a bully takes it too far, and he is forced to leave town, Lucky takes a trip that changes his life.

What I liked about the plot in this novel is that it artfully toggled between three stories - the frame story, in which Lucky is on his "coming of age" trip to Arizona, the flashback stories, in which he explains the unfortunate events of his freshman year that led up to his needing to leave, and the fantasies/dreams, in which Lucky gets to be his "macho" self and battle the jungle to rescue his Grandpa. Though the story moved between these three ideas, it was so well done that I didn't feel confused or lose track of which event happened when. That being said, perhaps my only critique would be that the ending is a bit predictable (though in a "coming of age," boy vs. bully story, what ending isn't?). The story was well paced, and an appropriate length for many readers.

What really made this story fun was the engaging voice of the narrator, Lucky. He has a dry sense of humor that many readers can relate to, and his inner pain and self-loathing are believable without being overwrought. Teachers be warned, though: he is a teenage boy. So, his narration is peppered with what one might imagine goes through a teenage boy's mind, namely swear words (several "f bombs") and thoughts of girls' breasts.

However, for a more mature reader (or one with parents who take a relaxed attitude about their child's reading material), I would highly suggest this book. I am always on the hunt for the elusive male narrator, as so many YA books right now are marketed towards females. This book would absolutely appeal to boys, though the complicated plot structure might intimidate some struggling readers. However, as a female I also loved it, so I wouldn't hesitate to suggest it to the (right) girls.

The cover on this book might lead to kiddos not necessarily picking it up right away. However, my biggest worry about this would just be that that title is a bit cryptic - what are the "ants," after all? But, rest assured, the title comes full circle in a very touching way that would reach even the hardest of teenage hearts.

Overall, I would give this one a recommendation for mature readers. There are many swear words, as I said, some sexual discourse, and a few very disturbing war and bullying scenes. While much of the graphic depiction happens off-stage, one is left to infer some really difficult ideas, which could upset more sensitive readers. However, for the right reader, this book is truly magic.

Also recommended: Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.