The Evolution of Mara Dyer is the second book to the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin. The series is a young adult, mystery, paranormal novel about a girl named Mara Dyer who goes through an ultra-traumatic event in her life -her best friend and her boyfriend died when the old building they were in at night collapsed. Only she survived, and now she sees things she should not be seeing. She suffers from PTSD, and her family thinks it's a good idea for them to move to Florida, where she can start a new life away from everything that reminded her of her now-dead friends. There she meets hot Noah -the hot, popular guy who strangely seems to be interested in her.
Whatever my previous description made you think, this is no regular, cheeky love story. I loved the first book (the review of which you can find here), and I was dying to read the second one. If you haven't read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (the 1st book in the series), I suggest you go read the post about it first. It's not like I am going to spoil anything, but I think there's no point in reading about the second book if you haven't even read what the first is about! hehe
Anyway. Let's start :)
I listened to The Evolution of Mara Dyer on audiobook, and I loved it. Apparently, the author herself chose the narrator for her books because according to her, Christy Romano sounds just like Mara - which I think it's pretty cool. Not only you get the chance to listen to a high-quality narration, but it also gives you a reading experience closer to reality than if you read the book. Don't get me wrong, one of the things I love about books is that everyone dives into a different story even if they are reading the same book because reading gives you that kind of freedom. But if the voice-over is monitored by the author herself, it will closer to what the author really wants you to feel with her story. I just thought it was cool :) Moreover, the narration was similar to what I had created in my mind when reading the first book - so all great! :D Though not one of those books you have to listen to on audiobook (see Thirteen Reasons Why), listening to it on audiobook was great. The only thing I didn't like was the way she did Noah's accent. He is British, but the narrator is certainly not, and it sounds as if she was mocking the character every time she reads something he says. I really did not like that - for me, it took away from him all of his free spirit. I think it completely damaged the character.
About the book itself, it was a great continuation to the story marked by the first book. There is even more mental health involved in the second book (which I love!), and the author does a very good job making you believe what she wants you to believe even if you think you've caught her trying to trick you into thinking it. You tell me which side you're on when you read it ;) It is interesting, refreshing and oh, does it keep you reading... There are a decent number of small plot twists which are great, and it definitely leaves questions for a third part.
There are a lot of new characters -most of which you'll hate-, and the story develops into something crazy. As in the first book, the characters are very well developed. The relationship between Mara and Noah it's just awesome. Like... Can I have a Noah in my life, please? And a character I've also realised I love is Mara's older brother Daniel. He gives her love and support to the moon and beyond, and I think he is an essential part in Mara's life. I just love him. Also, an old but maybe forgotten character comes back to life (not literally, please) in this sequel in a kind of random way (but let me just tell you there's nothing random in this series... ;)), but I love to have him back!
I just loved The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and I am currently reading the third and last book of the series (The Retribution of Mara Dyer) - by the time I post this review I might have finished it already hehe!
p.s.: don't you love the book covers of the Mara Dyer trilogy?
Because I've read this book on audiobook, it will be part of my 2016 Audiobook Challenge. Yay! :D I'm so proud of myself because I've managed to listen to a decent amount of audiobooks so far, and I'm really enjoying myself! I love audiobooks :D
Have you read this book? I'd love to know what you guys thought of it!
Happy reading!
If you'd like to try this audiobook or any other one for free, you can follow the link below and get two free audiobooks plus 30% off any other audiobook you may like - a month's Audible membership trial, all free of charge and you can cancel at any time! I'll get a small something is you use my link :)
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