The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer: Revew

Michelle Hodkin- Simon and Schuster

The details:  452 pages, 2 days to read.
 
Summary: (From Goodreads) 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.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer has been on my TBR pile for every. I would pick it up at the book store and say ‘not today’ but it was always a ‘someday’. There were always bigger and better books, always. However when I saw one of my book club students reading this book, I told her I had been wanting to read it as well. Two days later, that book was in my book return box with the note ‘READ ME!’

Well, who am I to turn down a student’s request like that?

The book starts out strong, interesting, and moves pretty quickly. Once Mara is introduced and you start to learn of her accident, and the beginnings of her PTSD the book takes a huge jump. Suddenly we are introduced to Noah and a few other characters. It was too quick for my liking. I felt like I missed a chapter somewhere. (Later this is resolved in the book, but for me the damage had been done.) At this point, I started to ‘check out’ of the book. I disliked the character Noah. I did not enjoy reading about him, or any part that included him. Sadly, the last half of the book he is present. Ugh.

Beyond this one character, the story is interesting. Mara wakes up after an accident that left her friends dead. Soon after she starts having PTSD episodes that leave her seeing things that aren’t real. Or are they? Then things that she wishes would happen, do. This is an interesting concept, and Michelle Hodkin did a great job in getting the reader inside Mara’s head.

If you can enjoy a story with crappy characters (Noah is controlling, and Mara isn’t much better) then give this book a go. If you can’t get behind a book with such crappy characters, then steer away.

 Review: The characters are the sole reason this book is at 3.5 stars. This book had potential, but didn’t deliver.

Review: Gorgeous

Gorgeous-- Paul Rudnick-- Scholastic
The Facts: Signed Hardcover-- 336 pages-- 3 workouts to read

This book was one that I picked up from Scholastic during ALA. This review is my own, and is not biased based on this fact.


Summary: Inner beauty wants out.

When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle’s mother dies, she’s summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He’ll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he’s producing a hidden camera show called World’s Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she’s remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself – an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness.

Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there’s not enough magic in the world.

A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace, Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.

My Review: This book combines two of my favorite things: finding inner beauty and ROYALS! While this book is not specific to THE Royal family (you know which one I'm talking about) it's practically a mirror image. And who can't imagine themselves as Rebecca, falling in love with Prince William?

This book caught my curiosity by the cover. Isn't it pretty? I picked up quite a few books at ALA, but I picked this one up after someone on my twitter posted a picture of the first paragraph. I loved it enough that from that paragraph alone, I picked this book next. 

I wasn't disappointed, but to be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The hard part, is that I'm not sure why. I enjoyed this book. I liked the plot, I loved the writing, and I enjoyed the characters. Yet I am still left somewhat disappointed. 

I know this isn't the best review, but as I said, I can't quite put my finger on what it was about this book I didn't like. The magic seemed lacking, and the characters seemed somewhat flat. It was hard to follow at points, as characters moved and time seemed to FLY. The plot line seemed to jump around but yet I don't think any of these elements are what I'm annoyed with. I would recommend this book, but it's not a favorite. My students will enjoy this book, as they seem to have a fascination with any book with a love story. Hopefully this might show them inside beauty is what counts. *cough*doubtful*cough*

My Rating: 3.5 Stars