Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Published: March, 2012 by Simon Pulse
Thanks: Simon & Schuster, AU
Pages: 452
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger. She wakes from a coma in hospital with no memory of how she got there or of the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her best friends and her boyfriend, yet left her mysteriously unharmed. The doctors suggest that starting over in a new city, a new school, would be good for her and just to let the memories gradually come back on their own.

But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and when she suddenly begins to see other people’s deaths right before they happen, Mara wonders whether she’s going crazy! And if dealing with all this wasn’t enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen can’t seem to leave her alone… but as her life unravels around her, Mara can’t help but wonder if Noah has another agenda altogether…

Final Thoughts:
I went into this book with an open mind. I really tried to like it, but there were just so many obstacles that kept getting in my way. With clichés all over the place, it became increasingly clear what kind of book I was in store for. Mara is another one of those characters that thinks she’s pretty smart, but isn’t. Her internal dialogue grated on me early on. Listening to her rationalise her choices to herself, all I could think was, ‘this guy is a douche, you know he’s a douche, you’ve said so yourself. Oh, Mara, why?’

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Everneath by Brodi Ashton (thanks to Publishers)
• The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (thanks to Publishers)
• Fated by Sarah Alderson (thanks to Publishers)
• Hallowed by Cynthia Hand (purchased)
• Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward (purchased)
• Hero by Perry Moore (purchased)
• Nana: Volume 2 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)

A big thanks to Simon and Schuster who sent me the top three books this week. Everneath is a Harper one in America, so I’m not sure why S&S Australia has it. Anyway, can’t wait to read all of them. For those that haven’t heard, Simon and Schuster are running a comp giving Aussie bloggers the chance to win a $250 voucher for either Dymocks, Westfield or JB HiFi. All you need to do is read Everneath, film a video review and post it to your blog and then head over to www.everneath.com.au and fill out the form before 24th February 2012. Under 18’s need parental permission.

Okay, back to my mailbox… I went shopping during the week and kind of spent more than I’d hoped. Hallowed and Lover Awakened were both $20 each, more than I’d like to pay for a paperback, but self-restraint went out the window and I hurried to the counter and bought them. I’m hoping to read Hero either this week or next, but who knows if that will happen, we’ll see. Lastly, I stopped in at the local anime store and picked up another volume of the Nana manga. I got a heap of them last week during an online stocktake sale, but I needed this one so I could move on to volume three. If you haven’t noticed the Tempest pic at the top of my sidebar, I’m hosting a giveaway for Macmillan Audio for the Tempest Audiobook. It ends next Thursday 19th January. Click on the pic to check it out. There’s a free audio sample on the page, too.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Cross, Julie Tempest #1, Tempest
Dane, Jordan, On A Dark Wing
Hocking, Amanda Trylle Trilogy #1, Switched

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!
(Sorry to those I missed getting back to last week, I was feeling sick Sunday/Monday.)