What’s it all about?:
Mara Dyer knows she isn’t crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive. Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not unstable and doesn’t need to be hospitalised isn’t easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast! Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out exactly how Jude survived when the asylum collapsed, and how he knows so much about her strange ability…before anyone else ends up dead!
What did I think?:
This is the second book in the brilliant Mara Dyer series, which I fell in love with after reading the first – The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. In this sequel, we find out a lot more about the main characters, Mara and Noah especially their family history which I think is going to be an important part of the novel in the final book. This is just my own presumption though, Michelle Hodkin really knows how to get her readers heads in a whirl! However all the confusion and mixed messages in this novel is in my opinion part of its charm, and really reels you in for what I’m hoping will be a dramatic and spellbinding finale in the third book.
I don’t want to put too much about the plot in this review, as I’d hate to give anything away for those who have not started the series yet, but beware…. there are some intense and creepy moments and some decidedly shifty characters. Dolls = scary. Phoebe = HELP! I also loved that this sequel wasn’t entirely focused on the romance between Noah and Mara, but actually gave the reader an interesting storyline to dwell upon. The use of a psychiatric hospital in particular was a moment of genius from the author in setting the scene and giving me a profound case of the heebie-jeebies. As with the first novel, the characterisation is perfect and sets a strong and high standard for all YA novels. The suspense can be pretty unbearable at times (in a good way) but I guarantee that you will be reading this long into the night. Bring on the third!
Would I recommend it?:
But of course!
Star rating (out of 5):
