Review | 'The Evolution of Mara Dyer'

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

God, what is it about the Mara Dyer series that is so, so fantastic?

I suppose there will be spoilers afoot.

The book understandably picks up where Unbecoming left off; Mara has just witnessed her "dead" ex-boyfriend, Jude, at a police station after extremely traumatic events. Mara is placed in a hospital as a result of a "mental breakdown," and soon is put into Horizons, a social group organized to help people with psychological issues, as Mara is believed to have. The story follows Mara as she attempts to uncover more information on the powers that she and her boyfriend Noah possess. And information she discovers. The events of the book unravel into multiple climaxes, and Michelle Hodkin expresses her ability to weave all of these climaxes together without becoming redundant.

The writing of the Mara Dyer series is so intricate without feeling heavy and brooding, and, as previously stated, Hodkin is able to uphold this fantastic writing style and never loosen her grip on the reader's attention. But, of course, this grip is not to go unnoticed without acknowledgment to the fantastic plot. Mara gets into even more frightening antics in Evolution, and I can't quite tell which book in the series (so far) is my favorite. While Unbecoming follows the slow mental downfall of a not-so-normal teenage girl, Evolution revolves around her slow rise to understanding of what's going on. I suppose the titles suggest what the books are about, as titles are wont to do.

The characters drive the reader to feel horrified by the ending of the story. Spoilers come into play now. At the end of the story, we find out that certain people Mara has urged to listen to her about her cries that Jude has returned actually knew the whole time that he was back, and were in communications with him. We also get a little look at Mara's ability and where it comes from, noting that it is, in fact, a genetic mutation, and that her best friend Jamie and a girl named Stella have it as well. We also are stunned at the end to find out that Jude has "killed" Noah, and this was where I--as well as every lover of the series--had my heart punctured. The book is so shocking that you don't expect one of the lead protagonists to die. So that poses the question: Did Noah really die? Mara seems to think not, so I am beyond excited to read the series finale, The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

Playlist:

The entirety of Lana Del Rey's debut album, "Born to Die," but some highlights would be:

Dark Paradise -- "No one compares to you, I'm scared that you won't be waiting on the other side."

Born To Die -- "Choose your last words, this is the last time, 'cause you and I, we were born to die."

Video Games -- "Heaven is a place on Earth with you, tell me all the things you want to do...it's better than I ever even knew, they say that the world was built for two. Only worth living if somebody is loving you, baby, now you do."

NOTE: I just found out the title of the third book (as stated above/I think it was just released), and I'm trying to maintain a shred of professionalism and not freak out.

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