Michelle HodkinThe Evolution of Mara Dyer (2) (The Mara Dyer Trilogy)

There's not many books out there that are perfection. That are so spot on perfect in every single way. Even most 5 star books have minor imperfections to me. But Mara Dyer... Mara Dyer is perfection. Book one and book two. But I told you about the perfection of book one last year, so this year I'm telling you about the perfection that is #2. The thing is, I'm not so sure there are words to adequately describe the perfection within the pages of this book.Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw are characters I love so much I don't think I could point out a single flaw. Yeah, they aren't actually perfect people, but they are perfect characters. Their flaws (minor though they may be) are what makes me like them even more. Mara has a strong voice and although she's an unreliable narrator in that she doesn't even know what the heck is going on, she knows she's unreliable, she knows what she perceives may not be accurate. Except for when she does know. When she's absolutely certain about something and there's no one who can tell her otherwise. And I loved that about her. Yes, she knows things are completely messed up and she doesn't know what's going on and may feel a bit insane at times, but yet she knows something is going on, that it's not her and she's not actually insane. She has such a strong voice and she's so strong herself. If I was her I think I would have curled up in a ball and just given up. Because she's not given any breaks. At all. She has things thrown at her right and left and she just takes the hits and struggles onward.Noah is... well, how do you describe Noah? He's such a great person. He stands by Mara and always believes her. He does everything to be this perfect boyfriend and he is, he listens and helps her in every way he possibly can. He has his own crap going on and this helps with him believing Mara is telling the truth, but it adds in his own struggles. But since it's Mara's story we see very little of Noah's own troubles, except what Mara sees. And I think Mara sees a lot, she realizes he's going through stuff, but mostly everything that Mara is going through he takes on his own shoulders. I can't possibly adequately describe Noah and his awesomeness, so let's move on...The relationship between Mara and Noah is a relationship I would love to see more in YA. They have some troubles, but for the most part these two communicate (yes, communication! Who knew?) and work through things together. While sometimes they may keep a small secret from the other it always seems to come out quite quickly and they discuss it before it becomes some full blown issue that drives a wedge between them. Even when I thought that maybe things weren't okay between Noah and Mara, there was an explanation. And it was quick. We didn't have pages and pages of wondering whether Noah was angry or hurt, or what. And we could always count on Noah to be there for Mara. No. matter. what. He always believed her and stood by her and what she believed. I love their relationship. Love.I love that this is not at all a predictable kind of story. No one knows what is going on. All these crazy things are happening. There are twists and turns and all these different threads tie together, then fall apart. There's no way to possibly figure the mystery out. And I loved that. And I thought it was brilliant how this book went. Sometimes second books in a series are just a lot of nothing, but not this one. We get a lot more mysteries thrown out, but we get a lot of threads that come together. There's a huge discovery at the end, but we're no where near a conclusion to it all. So there's a cliffhanger, but it was kind of a perfect one. Even though it kills you, it's not one that makes you angry. Well, at least that's how I feel about it.I love, love, LOVE this series! And all I can say is, read it!

Mara Dyer's life has been filled with trauma and terror, but nothing tops the fact that people don't believe her. In Michelle Hodkin's The Evolution of Mara Dyer, Mara's life continues on the downward spiral, but at least one thing has change: someone believes her.Where does a girl go after being present for yet another horrific murder? She gets committed, that's where. Mara has been put in an institution "for her own well being", but the truth is people are scared of what happens around her and what she insists is happening. When her father was shot and people around her died, it became clear the death of her ex-boyfriend and two friends last year was not an isolated incident. But no one believes Mara that her psycho, almost-rapist, dead ex-boyfriend is the one stalking her. But then again, no one believes she can move things with her mind or that Noah, her new friend, can heal himself.When Mara is finally sent home, she is still required to go for outpatient treatments at a psychiatric facility. There she is surrounded by "more crazy teens", but over and over, Jude makes attempts to scare her. He slips photos of her sleeping into her bag, he leaves her a dead cat on the porch, and she begins to see him around, especially when he tries to run her and her father off the road. But everyone already assumes Mara is teetering on the border of crazy town, so no one is going to believe Jude, who is supposed to be dead, is really alive and stalking her. Even Mara begins to wonder if she is really just crazy. Luckily, she has Noah, the one unwavering person who believes in Mara more, sometimes, than even she does herself. But what is happening to them all? Why can she move things? How does Noah heal himself? And how did Jude rise from a building collapse that should have killed him?At the end of the first Mara Dyer book, I found myself confused and I had no idea what was supposed to be the cause of the strange happenings, but I actually didn't care about my confusion because the book was so good! Usually there is a big reveal at the end of these books where you find out the supernaturalness was vampires, fallen angels, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. At the end of Mara Dyer #1? Not a clue. I knew there was something supernatural involved, but there were no answers! So I assumed there would be some answers in this book... but there aren't. And you know what? It didn't bother me (again)! The book was so good and so enthralling, I didn't mind waiting for another 500 pg book to finally get the answers I was looking for to questions such as: Why can they heal/move things? Why are they connected? What is happening?? This ambiguity usually drives me nuts in other books, but I actually loved it in this series!So the big reveal must be the purpose of the whole series- and if Hodkin leaves me hanging at the end of the last book, that is when you are going to see me angry! But since the books are so well-written and still exciting, I am willing to hang on until then to find out the big secrets! I don't think this series would be good for kids who can't hang on through a long, ambiguous series to get answers. I think there are better stories for those kinds of kids, but if you have a strong reader who can hang in there, this is a great series! And I can NOT wait to find out what on earth is going ON!

Nous retrouvons Mara qui a été internée. Dans le premier tome, Mara avait cru voir Jude, son petit ami décédé, à la station de police. Suite à ça, elle a piqué une crise et ne pouvant plus être gérée, elle a été internée. Petit à petit elle explique son cas aux médecins qui l''entourent. Elle leur a avoué voir des personnes mortes, comme Jude. Bien sûr, personne ne la croit. C''est impossible de voir et d''entendre des personnes qui sont mortes. Les médecins décrivent cela comme des hallucinations et la mettent sous médicaments pour qu''elle aille mieux.Mara va demander à ce q'u'elle puisse rentrer chez elle, qu''elle puisse passer du temps avec sa famille. C''est ce qu'elle va réussir mais elle devra aller cinq fois par semaine dans un groupe de soutien.Nous allons aussi retrouver Noah Shaw. Youpi !!! Mara lui expliquera ce qu''elle a vu, ce qu''elle a traversé. Noah sera le seul à la croire et voudra faire tout de son possible pour que Mara aille mieux. Au fil des jours, Mara va trouver des choses dans ses affaires qui ne lui appartiennent pas, des mots du plus au moins étranges, des photos perturbantes. Elle remarquera que même des objets de sa chambre bougent tous seuls. Mara n'est pas folle. Elle sait très bien que ce n'est pas elle qui fait tout ça. Mais qui est cette personne???J'avais tellement aimé The Unbecoming de Mara Dyer, que quelques après avoir fini ce livre, j'ai acheté le deuxième et troisième tome. D'ailleurs, si vous voulez lire ma chronique du premier tome, c'est par là !!! Ce deuxième opus était vraiment à la hauteur de mes espérances. Wwwwhhhhooouaaaahhh !!! Un deuxième tome aussi bon que le premier !!!L’histoire qui se développe entre Mara et Shaw n’est pas comme dans les autres. Dans ce second opus, les deux restent ensemble, sont plus soudés que jamais. Noah ne laissera tomber Mara pour rien au monde, il veut l’aider à découvrir la vérité sur ce qui lui arrive. Un vrai prince charmant quoi !!! La relation qui les lie est très touchante. Elle vous fera peut-être pleurer, qui sait !Comment vous convaincre de lire ce livre ?!?! Je peux juste dire, lisez-le, vous ne le regretterez pas. Ce livre est un mélange d’action et d’histoires qui font peur, mélangé à de l’humour. Ce livre vous fera éprouver plusieurs émotions en même temps, comme la joie, la peur et la tristesse.L’humour… C’est la façon de penser de Mara qui est drôle. Dans le premier tome je trouvais qu’il n’y en avait pas, mais dans ce second opus, l’auteure a réussi à mettre juste assez d’humour sans en faire trop. L’humour ironique de Mara est vraiment très drôle, cependant, vers la fin du livre, les évènements font que nous perdons cet humour. vers le fin on a plus peur qu'autre chose!!! Et plus d'être juste génial, je ne trouve pas de points négatifs à ce livre.Comme pour le premier, le second tome nous laisse sur notre faim. Nous avons envie de découvrir ce qui va se passer avec Mara et Noah. Il est donc impossible de ne pas lire la suite, The Retribution Of Mara Dyer.

Mara was so baddass in this and the plot was so good!!!

Review originally posted on A Frolic Through FictionI just… WHAT?!?I can’t quite process what happened.But let’s rewind a bit first.Starting this book, it didn’t take me long to be sucked back in by the addictiveness. It was just as gripping as the first, with the battle between psychological and paranormal fighting its way across the pages. I could instantly remember why I loved the first book so much.But, admittedly, I started seeing problems. Not many, and not the sort that ruined my enjoyment…but problems all the same.I’m pretty sure that in the first book, I fangirled over Noah Shaw big time. But now? Well, I do still like him as a character, but something bothered me. Nearly every single time he’s mentioned, there’s always some little comment about how “perfect” he is. A not-so-subtle remark about how blue his eyes are, or how perfectly messy his hair would be. Every character fawned over him. Which annoyed me greatly, because the “perfect boy” trope has tired me out for a long time now.Especially since now, I think Noah is flawed in many ways. He never shared his own thoughts. Or he’d just vanish. And the amount of times he’d hide behind the cocky/arrogant persona? UGH.Still, he’s not all bad. I liked him. I just wasn’t obsessed with him like I was at first.And my only other problem? It…started to get a little repetitive. For about half the book, the same sort of events would happen, only with a change to the details. But it slowed the book down dramatically for me, and I couldn’t help but hope some plot-based progress would come along soon.But again, it didn’t really take away my enjoyment for the book. Sure, it seemed a bit slower, but it was just as addictive with all its mysteriousness and intrigue.And once the answers started to reveal themselves? WOAH DID IT GET INTENSE.I swear, the last 100-150 pages of this book were just pure adrenalin. I just…everything went from a slow, trudging process to BOOM everything’s going down. I didn’t stop reading the book until I’d actually finished it. I hadn’t realised how quickly I read those last few pages. It went from “ohhh…maybe this is struggling through ‘second book syndrome’…” to “OH MY GOD WHAT? NO! THIS IS INCREDIBLE.”I still can’t get over it.So much action. So many answers. And yet so many more, new questions.I really didn’t expect the story to turn out the way it did. Not sure why, because now I look back, it feels like all the signs were pointing in that direction. But I don’t know? It just didn’t show itself to me until the very last moment, and I’m glad it didn’t because it Blew. Me. Away.Also, CLIFFHANGER ALERT. Wow am I glad I have the next book ready and raring to go. Once my mind has finally wrapped it’s head around those events, I can dive straight in and get my answers.While I had some issues with this book that would throw me out of the story slightly, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was so addictive, and the paranormal vs psychological side to the story would be destined to grip me (sometimes I can’t help but love an unreliable narrator). And with how intense the last hundred-or-so pages were, I’m am SO excited to jump into the final book!RATED 4/5 STARS

It’s taken me almost 24 hours to process my thoughts on this book after finishing it the other night. I love Mara Dyer, I really do. I’ve convinced more than enough friends to pick up the first book in the series, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, so that they too could know how awesome Mara is; but man did I want to chuck my poor e-reader at the wall more times than not during the course of this book.I know that probably sounds a little bit harsh but I mean it in the best way possibly. This book played my emotions like a fiddle and didn’t let up until the very last word. There were highs, lows and points where all I wanted to do was throw down the book and walk away out of pure frustration. Like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, this book leaves you asking more questions than there are answers. I ached for Mara and her seemingly constant case of bad luck but at the same time I wanted to reach through the pages and shake her! My word, does that girl have a bad case of martyrdom! There were so many times I just wanted to shout, “Run, Mara! Save yourself!” but I couldn’t, and she wouldn’t have anyways.This book had twists I didn’t see coming, allies I would have never guessed were working together and it was all wrapped up with a pretty bow in the form of Noah Shaw (let’s be honest ladies, we come for Mara but we stay for Noah!). We are finally given some background on Mara’s “condition” and realize that maybe her and Noah are not the only two with these strange abilities.Definitely not for the faint of heart, Evolution did it’s job of thoroughly creeping me out, even keeping me up one night after I mistakenly decided to do some reading following an equally scary episode of 666 Park Avenue (this mistake will not happen again). The ending tore me to pieces and I refuse to accept that it is the way it is. The final sentence in the book is the only thing keeping me calm and hopeful that all will be rectified in the third and final installment: The Retribution of Mara Dyer, out next year.If you haven’t read this book yet I suggest you run, not walk, to your nearest book store and pick up your copy today! If not for Mara, than for Noah.Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Meine Erwartungen an diesen Teil waren nach dem Vorgänger enorm groß, aber die Autorin hat mich nicht enttäuscht.Von Beginn an herrscht eine Anspannung, die sich durch das komplette Buch zieht und am Ende seinen absoluten Höhepunkt erreicht. An Spannung fehlt es hier überhaupt nicht und auch der Einstieg ging flott.Es bleiben noch viele Fragen offen. Wer also gehofft hat, hier ein paar Antworten zu finden, muss sich leider noch bis zum letzten Teil gedulden.Ich war sehr neugierig, wie sich Noah und Mara entwickeln würden und es ist einfach herzzerreißend. Ihre Beziehung besteht aus so viel Spannung und ist ein Gemisch aus Nähe und Distanz. Ich mag beide Charaktere ziemlich und ich hoffe, dass sie ihr Happy End bekommen werden. "The evolution of mara dyer" wäre fast ein 5-Sterne Buch geworden. Wäre da nicht das Ende gewesen. Die Wendung kam, wie auch schon im ersten Band, sehr unerwartet und traf mich wie ein Schlag. ABER die Geschichte scheint sich jetzt in eine Richtung zu wenden, die für meinen Geschmack etwas zu abgedreht ist. Da bin ich jetzt super gespannt, was mir der dritte und letzte Teil bieten kann.Trotzdem ist es ein super tolles Buch, was mich insgesamt wirklich überzeugen konnte. Wer schon von " The unbecoming of mara dyer" begeistert war, der wird dieses Buch hier ebenfalls mögen, wenn nicht sogar lieben.