The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin | 5/5
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"Everyone's a little crazy. The only difference between us and them is that they hide it better."
-Michelle Hodkin
I felt no beginning in this book, because as soon as I read Chapter 1, I was at the edge of my seat. Just like the preceding book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (which I also loved), it was full of tension and mystery.
Usually, on trilogies, I find the second book always the best, because it's usually action-packed, and full of discoveries. The Evolution didn't fail me. I appreciated that Hodkin was able to deliver a twist right in the first few chapters, and not wait for the latter. It just never runs out of plot twists and revelations! I was gasping for air at every page!
I remember The Unbecoming (Mara Dyer #1) as a whirlpool. It was confusing in a way that it creep/ weirded me out on several occasions, but that in itself is what made it so good. I felt myself coming back for more.
The Evolution was so much better, and it actually gave the readers the answers they needed to assure themselves, but maintain some of the major questions unanswered. It still is a mini whirlpool (Take it or leave it), but diving into it is actually fun.
I love the way Hodkin tends to finish every Chapter with one five-word sentence that sums up the entire chapter, something that screams to your head when you read it. Something that clicks automatically, that you don't have to process the entire chapter just to understand what it was about. Kudos for that!
I love that even though the main plot seem very dark themed, there are still humors in between, and the exchange of dialog was easy to comprehend. I love that Hodkin gave the readers some break when she gives Mara some "normal" days.
I love how Mara's family is always so supportive, from the first book to this one. Often from my recent reads, there's always betrayal between siblings (coughs-Divergent-coughes), and it gets super tiring to be honest. So reading about Daniel really warms my heart. He's the perfect brother that he was to Mara. I really admire their relationship. I just wish he had more part on helping Mara solve her problem.
And of course, we have the handsome-rich-popular-rebellious guy protagonist - Noah Shaw. I always find his character cliche, but something about the combination of the mentioned attributes that always click in one story or another. Perfect Noah? Good. Too Perfect Noah? Maybe not. There were parts in the book that I wanted to stop him from paying everyone else to get what he wanted. Once or twice... maybe, but three or four? Easy there, Noah! Don't turn me off, lol
But Mara though... I really admire her. Not just because she's brave and she's the protagonist, but on some rare occurrence, Mara actually have common sense. Thank the literary world for that! Some books lately, they focus too much on creating a perfect flow of a story, they end up making their main character seem really stupid, just to make way for conflicts and other annoying arguments between the parties. Yeah, that doesn't work! So, Hodkin, thank you for giving Mara her brain!
I also love how Mara describes "love" in her own term. It's like reading poetry after poetry in paragraph format. Hodkin's description of Mara's feelings toward Noah was superb! It felt so real. It wasn't rushed or anything. It actually made sense. Another flaw on some books out there.
The BIG revelation that came to the last few chapters of the book was still confusing. Somehow I find The Evolution somehow related to Allegiant by Veronica Roth (In a way), but luckily, this trilogy has one last book to spread the story. Since Allegiant to me is too crammed, I expect a lot more for Mara Dyer's finale, since Hodkin actually gave us enough hints and clues to where the story might be headed.
Overall, here's a four-word sentence that concludes my review: I LOVE THIS BOOK.
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