Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

The Evolution of Mara Dyer 
by Michelle Hodkins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: October 23rd, 2012 (US)/February 2013 (UK/AUS)

Format: Paperback, 544 pages

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!

The Evolution of Mara Dyer is quite literally, the definition of “creepy”. I used to think ghost stories were scary, especially when terrifying, murderous spirits are involved, but nothing prepared me for this type of “creepy”. I enjoyed this immensely, even more than I did the first book (which, by the way, I LOVED) and now? I NEED THE RETRIBUTION OF MARA DYER!!

I’ve always been easily frightened by psychological thrillers. Whether it be movies/TV Shows (think The Sixth Sense, Pretty Little Liars) or books (Choker), I usually get pretty freaked out and end up sleeping with the lights on. But Evolution? It surpasses their creepiness. Think dolls appearing out of nowhere, murder of dead crows falling from the sky, seeing the dead out in public and a mad, vindictive stalker taking photos of you in your sleep. *shudder*

I felt so sorry for Mara throughout the entire book. No one, with the exception of Noah, believed anything she said…and I felt like banging all the psychologist, doctor and even her family’s heads against the freaking wall because they all thought she was crazy. I was so annoyed at the psychologist that I actually started wondering just how many patients admitted to mental institutions actually need to be there. There’s absolutely nothing more frustrating than reading about certain ‘professionals’ adamant on diagnosing a perfectly sane person. I don’t know how Mara handled her life so well…even though no one believed her, she still kept her cool and persevered. I greatly admired her courage and being to keep ‘sane’ (ironic, I know) even with everything going on.

I must praise Hodkins for not turning the storyline of Evolution, or more accurately the relationship part, into the typical ‘boy-leaves-girl-for-her-own-good’ scenario that appears so often in YA fiction. No, Mara and Noah (who, by the way, I’m loving more and more!) remain together throughout the book. They don’t have an easy relationship by any means, but at least they can work everything out in rational manner. And it’s good because there’s enough going on in the book without the added drama of relationship problems. I can’t wait for more Mara & Noah in Retribution! There needs to be more steamy scenes..*cough*Noah shirtless*cough*

The ending is kind of cliff-hangery. Scratch that. It’s a cliff-hanger. It’s just I’m not too affected by it BECAUSE I DON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END IS TRUE. I refuse to accept it and I know it’s not true

The Evolution of Mara Dyer is a sexy, dark and unnervingly gripping page-turner; it’s the perfect addition to one of my favourite series!

A massive thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing a copy of The Evolution of Mara Dyer for review!