Content Warning: Murder, mental illness, blood, bullying, assault, violence, foul language, mention of self harm
About the Author: “Michelle Hodkin is the author of the Mara Dyer Trilogy, which was a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling series. The trilogy, which includes The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer, was described as ‘haunting and dreamlike’ by Cassandra Clare and ‘darkly funny, deliciously creepy, and genuinely thoughtful’ by Veronica Roth. Lev Grossman has called Hodkin ‘One of the greatest talents in Young Adult fiction.’ The novels were praised by Romantic Times, MTV’s Hollywood Crush, and the Los Angeles Times, and books from the series appeared on several state reading lists. Additionally, The Retribution of Mara Dyer was selected as one of TIME.com’s Top 10 YA Books of 2014. Hodkin grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan, before finally settling in Brooklyn last year” (Bio from author’s Goodreads).
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Back in my times of middle school book fairs and summer reading, mental health wasn’t exactly a headlining topic—and why would it be, when books like Warrior Cats were around? I was an advanced reader who needed my mom’s permission to purchase The Host from the Scholastic book fair, and that only fueled my search for reading material that was out of the ordinary. What many of my peers (and the librarian who had to call my mom) didn’t know, however, is that my obsession with reading was an escape from my crippling mental health issues. Like every other middle schooler struggling with mental health, I had no idea how to deal with it. I felt extremely confused and alone with no one to relate to. After raiding my older sister’s bookshelf one day, I discovered Michelle Hodkin. Her writing was my salvation, as morbid and dark as it may be. Michelle Hodkin’s books can be a tough pill to swallow for some, but for others it allows us to find comfort in a familiar shade of gray.
“Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.”
After waking up in a hospital bed and being told she was the only survivor of an abandoned building collapse, Mara Dyer can’t remember how or why she was the only one of her friends to escape the rubble. When Mara is diagnosed with PTSD, her family packs up and moves from Rhode Island to Florida to escape the hurtful memories, but she soon finds out that she cannot escape the deaths that follow her. Hallucinations and other incidents land her in therapy and on antipsychotics as her family deems her “unstable.” Soon, however, Mara meets a guy at her new school who doesn’t treat her like a mental case. As the memories return to her and she begins to figure out what really happened to her friends, Mara and Noah have to help each other navigate the tricky circumstances that they have been dealt. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is just the start of their story, but it is one that will make you rethink what it truly means to be “crazy.”
“But when everyone tells you you’re crazy and no one believes you when you swear you aren’t, a small part of you will always wonder if they’re right.”
Mirroring the beginning of the first book, Mara wakes up confused and in an unfamiliar place–this time, it’s a psychiatric ward. She is convinced that all of her hallucinations are real, but her family denies her claims. They insist that she is mentally unstable like her late grandmother–the same grandmother who had been visiting her in her dreams. Strange occurrences begin happening around Mara, and they wind up getting her removed from the psych ward and placed into an outpatient program. She reunites with her long-lost friend, Jamie, and is visited by Noah frequently while she struggles to understand her visions and possible powers. As Mara finds her hallucinations multiplying and her sanity deteriorating, another challenge appears–someone from her past who is dead-set on ruining her life. With another building collapse and a nail-biting cliffhanger, the novel abruptly ends and leaves many questions in its wake. The Evolution of Mara Dyer is the perfect balance of chaotic and thrilling, forcing the reader to absorb all the striking details and surprises in Hodkin’s writing.
“Everyone’s a little crazy. Some people just hide it better than others.”
Picking up right where The Evolution of Mara Dyer left off, Mara is kidnapped and turned into a lab rat. After finally escaping the tests and torment designed to drain her of her gifts, she finds herself back in the company of two old friends from her outpatient program. Mara is supposed to be devastated by news about Noah, but she refuses to give up any hope of finding him alive. Mara, Jamie, and Stella are determined to survive and escape the island where they’ve been imprisoned and tested on, but without any help from their families they’re forced to combat the changes that come with using their powers. So, here is where the search for freedom (and Noah) begins. Not only was The Retribution of Mara Dyer the perfect conclusion to the trilogy, but all the questions you asked on your annotation tabs are sure to be answered before the story comes to a close.
“The scars you can’t see are the ones that hurt the most.”
Just when I thought my favorite series was over, Hodkin gifted her fans with The Becoming of Noah Shaw. What I love about this companion series is that it doesn’t start from the beginning, which means no repeated scenes. In this novel, Noah’s POV picks up the story not long after the conclusion of the Mara Dyer trilogy, and the reader is invited to take a front row seat in Noah’s personal life. Mara and Noah find themselves in London after the death of his father in order to attend the funeral and sort out his massive estate. Secrets are explored as Noah and Mara are forced to face certain struggles in their relationship, but their loyalty to each other remains strong. New characters from Noah’s past are introduced and the group of teens has to use their powers to find and expose the people trying to eradicate their kind. The Becoming of Noah Shaw is a string of secrets waiting to be unraveled, and the ending will have you eager to read the next before you can even rate it on Goodreads.
“If you spend your life in a house with no windows and no doors, if you’ve never seen a tree reaching for the sky, or felt grass under your feet, or heard a bird’s wings beat the air, your eyes might be open, but how much can you see?”
Noah has been by Mara’s side since before he even laid eyes on her, but there is only so much weight he can hold on his shoulders. With the secrets revealed from the last book, our protagonist is left feeling betrayed as he is suddenly struck by the grief and terror of past events. Speaking of the past, Noah meets someone he never expected to and is given a mission that will only make his emotional suffering more severe. Though not as renowned as the rest, The Reckoning of Noah Shaw will leave you with a strong sense of empathy for all the men in the world who struggle with mental health disorders.
Release date: Unknown.
“Noah Shaw wants to start over without being haunted by his past.
He can’t.
Despite his recent losses, he’s sure he knows who he can trust.
He doesn’t.
He thinks he’s finally found his happy ending.
He’s wrong.”
Here we are at the final book in the trilogy. Announced several years ago, readers have yet to see any sort of detail or information about this book besides the summary–and that’s okay! It’s important to remember that authors are people too, and since this novel was announced around the time of Covid-19, it’s easy to understand the delay. For now, I intend to support and reread Hodkin’s novels whether she decides to release The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw or not. Her writing is real and raw, and it has stuck with me for almost a decade now. I encourage anyone who may be struggling with mental health to give her books a try. You may be surprised to find a community to relate to and learn from, or a way to escape your own mind and remember you aren’t alone.
Callie Andrews, Pine Reads Review Writer, Social Media, & Web