The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

By Michelle Hodkin

NON-SPOILER ZONE

The last book in the Mara Dyer trilogy was a whirlwind. It was so completely different from the first two and that's probably why I loved it. Don't get me wrong the first two books are great reads and entice you the whole time. But in RoMD, there was a totally different atmosphere that gripped you in a way the first two never did. I think the reason for that was because in this book we are finally getting answers and because everyone's no longer afraid of what they are, of who they are, especially Mara which was something I really loved. She finally owned who she is and wasn't afraid to be who she really was, no matter what other people thought of her.

Throughout this book Mara really starts to go off her rocker. Before in the first two books, Mara didn't really seem crazy, at least to me. Sure, in the first book she hallucinated and blacked out but she just went through a traumatic event and PTSD is bound to occur. In the second one, Mara has memory-dreams about her grandmother, and she has the occasional hallucination. Before, in our eyes Mara was never certifiably crazy as the we understood what was going on with her and we knew about Jude, but in this book...Mara truly experienced crazy things and acted certifiably crazy herself. However, I think that was mainly the cause of what Dr. Kells did to her. So, Mara going off her rocker is a first for her. Another first for her, is the fact that she's built up non-accidental body count and she isn't, in the least, apologetic about it or anything that she does in this book. Mara's self-realization was one of the many reasons I loved RoMD. It's sooo....unique and it embraces the twisted parts of ourselves most people would rather forget about.

 "And I didn’t regret it anymore. I’d wasted so much time wishing I could be different, wishing I could change things, change myself. If given the chance, I would’ve shed myself and become a different girl. Slipped on a name like Clara or Mary, docile and gentle and smiling and kind. I thought it would be easier to be someone else than to be who I was becoming, but I didn’t think that anymore. The girl who wanted those things had died with Rachel, buried under the asylum I brought down. And I realized now, for the first time, really, that I didn’t miss her."

She doesn't believe, neither does Jamie, that there is anything wrong with her unlike Stella who thought that they're was something wrong with all of them; whereas, Jamie and Mara embrace their abilities Stella doesn't. Speaking of people in the book, lets take a moment to 1) appreciate Daniel, 2) appreciate Jamie, and 3) talk about the beautiful and wonderful human being that goes by the name of Noah Elliot Simon Shaw and his absence:

1. I love how Daniel just appeared out of nowhere and it was right where they least expected but really needed him to be as he's the official Gandalf/Dumbledore/Giles of the group. I think we all know who the winner of the Brother of the Year Award was. His and Mara's relationship was just so...I just loved it! I love the bond they had and how they would do any thing for each other.

2. In the first and second book, I had wished that Hodkin would have given us more Jamie and with this book she delivers! Jamie and Mara's relationship is just perf. Jamie is perf. I loved them so much. Jamie was so non-judgemental, understanding, and there for her throughout the book. He wasn't even afraid of her (well for most of the book) and he accepted what she was/what she did.

3. Okay, I really hate when authors have the main characters love interest missing for half the book (*cough* Of Neptune by Anna Banks *cough*) but in this book, I actually didn't mind as much as I should have as I mean it's Noah that we're missing out on. I guess that's the whole reason Hodkin threw in more Jamie and Mara's grandmother as a side story to try and distract us from his absence. One thing that did bug me about his absence was that she said that he was *blank* the whole time! *Blank*! Really? Ugh, it just didn't feel right for them to be doing/going through so much to find him and to find answers for him to have been *blank* throughout it all.

My favorite thing about this series was the fact that it wasn't one of those cookie cutter YA novel, which is saying something because all readers of YA know it can get really dark and twisted. The main reason it wasn't average was because of Mara and the type of heronie she represents. She wasn't a typical heroine as she's also the villain in a way. Hodkin is telling us that not all heroes are brave, selfless, or sane...Mara's character reminds me of Marie Lu's Adelina Amoetreau from her new trilogy, The Young Elites (I'll probably go more into detail and review the series when her next book in the series comes out, The Rose Society, in September)!!

Mara has done horrible things, she will continue to do horrible things, but she's also seen horrible things, and she knows that some people aren't worthy of being saved or forgiven. She's accepted herself as who she is, what's shes done, and she's confronted her fears. That's two things not many people can do. Also, Noah and Mara aren't selfless and wholly sacrificing. Despite the fact that people have done so much for them to fulfill their hopes of a better world, and have given so much for them to do so, they don't choose to live separate lives like they should. They choose to stay together. Perphaps, the world is saying it isn't quite ready to be fixed yet. But what Michelle Hodkin is saying in having her two main characters be selfish and not give up their happiness for the good of others, is that it's okay to be selfish sometimes. You don't have to always do the right thing to be heroes because, as she pointed out in the books, being a hero or a villain is a subjective label.

I have seen the villainous act heroic, and men called heroes act villainous. The ability to heal does not make one good any more than the ability to kill makes one evil. Kill the right people, and you become a hero. Heal the wrong ones, and you become a villain. It is our choices that define us, not our abilities.

SPOILER ZONE

The beginning of the story was amazing! I loved it! When she woke up and started talking to herself, it really freaked me out. I was like what is going on? The weird thing is that, her hallucinating herself is probably the only normal thing that she does throughout the book and that was one of the things that really scared me, but everything else she did (except for later on when she starts to cut herself) I was like her own personal cheerleader. My favorite part in the beginning was when she woke up in the operating room with Wayne when she found Jude's tape recorder, and she was covered in blood. The fact that she was so nonchalant about it, just made it so funny to me. Jude's message on the tape recorder was golden, I loved the part where he's like,

  "Sorry about the message in blood thing, by the way. There was nothing else to write with." 

The middle of the book is mainly Mara, Jamie, and Stella after they finally manage to escape from Horizons, that sadly (not really) involved the death of Dr. Kells (thanks Mara!), they have to try and find their way back home to find some answers. Their journey back home was one straight out of a Criminal Minds episode. It's just their luck that the only person willing to give them a ride is a psychopath AKA Mr. Ernst. But sadly, Mr. Ernst has no idea who the f**k he's dealing with as Mara shows him who's really boss (and Mara's left covered in blood again! Honestly, she spent one third of this book covered in other people's blood). After the whole Mr. Ernst fiasco, we finally see Jamie put his powers to work by convincing an elderly B&B owner, who was on the verge of panicking when she saw Mara in all her blood covered glory, to rent them three rooms. After which, they finally manage to get back to Miami safely and to feed a crap story about a Horizons camping trip to their parents as opposed to the truth. Which was that they were going to New York to find answers to why they can between the three of them read peoples minds, persuade people to do their bidding, and think of someones death and it come true. Yeah, that would really go over well with the parents! Then off they go on another road trip! But, of course, with their luck they hit another snag on the way to New York and that is Mara's gotten really sick...but, after Mara practically tried to perform surgery on herself to get them out, we find out that Dr. Kells implanted something inside her which was probably the cause of her ability being blocked and her getting sick.

My favorite part of the middle is when they're at the motel and Jamie tries to log on to Noah's computer after Mara's unsuccessful tries. Turns out Noah's password was... MARASHAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EKKKK!!!!! THE FEELS!!!! #MADNESS

Jamie frowned. “We need some music up in this joint.” He looked around. “Is that Noah’s laptop?" 

I had opened his bag, as well as mine, and the computer was sticking out. 

“Yeah.” 

“Have you . . . looked at it?” I shook my head. “Password protected.” 

“You can’t crack it?” 

“Nope.” 

“Can I try?” I shrugged. 

If I hadn’t had any luck, he probably wouldn’t either. 

Less than five minutes later his eyes closed and his face fell. As I predicted. 

“No luck?” 

“No, I got it,” he said. His voice was weird. 

“Really?” I felt a nervous thrill in my stomach. “What was it?” 

Jamie hesitated before he spoke. Then he said, “Marashaw.” 

I couldn’t breathe.

Towards the end of the book, we find Daniel in the place we needed him the most and we finally find out what the hell Horizons was and its purpose (Dr. Kells performing experiments to artificially induce abilities on 5 different sets of twins, including Jude and Claire who were the ones who lived the longest, to try and produce one with a healing ability aka a Noah). Then Stella leaves our little group after the whole train station incident with Mara and Jamie. She was there for three fourths of the book and then she just ups and leaves! I just really hate how she left and how we don't know what happened to her. I mean after everything they went through together! But, all is well as we finally find Noah (!!!) after Jude kidnaps Mara, Jamie, and Daniel in the train tunnels. 

Then our emotional roller coaster that's been teetering on the crest starts to descend because of the choice Noah and Mara are forced, by Noah's infamous father David Shaw, to make. Okay, I know David Shaw is a horrible human being but can I just say how sad I felt for him and how admirable I think he is for loving Noah's mother so much? I'm not excusing anything he's done or how shitty of a father he was, but its just...he loved Naomi so much that he was willing to do anything it took to fullfill her dying wish, and I just can't help but feel bad for him because he lost the love of his life...

Okay, enough sympathy for the bad guy.

Even though I knew they made it out alive (thanks to my reading ahead), I still had feels at that part of the book, especially when they mimicked the pose on the front cover. One thing I didn't like about this part in the book was the whole Romeo Juliet situation that went on, Mara dying, then coming back to life, but Noah died and she had to bring him back as once she had fully manifested she now had the ability to not only wish for death but wish for live, but at a price. Noah's price, Mara, decided was all of the NYPD officers in the warehouse. I love how devoted Mara and Noah are to each other, I mean Noah got institutionalized to be with Mara and she sacrficed a lot of good people to save him.

Another thing I really hated at the end of the book was the whole debate over them staying together or going their separate ways to fulfill the whole Hero-Shadow archetype they've got going on. They just went back and forth too much. At times it felt like they actually were going to go their separate ways and I was like "NO. You guys did not just go through all of that to just call it a quits." I wanted them together even though I knew how much mankind would have benefitted by them going their separate ways and how much Noah's mother wanted him to fulfill his archetype. I, at that point, could have cared less. I just wanted them to be selfish and stay together which they did (!!) and it's one of the things I love about their relationship, about them. They will do whatever it takes to be together. No matter what the cost.

Before, I get to the epilouge I want to talk about Mara's dreams/ her grandmother's memories. That whole thing was so interesting to me and I usually hate the frame story in books. What really interested me was the whole Lukumi/Professor mystery that went on as well as the Naomi aspect. I had figured out that the Professor was the same man she saw at the well when she was a little girl but I didn't realize he was Lukumi when he started telling Grandma Mara all of his alias which was right before we realize that Lukumi is Mara and Daniel's grandfather! Out of Grandma Mara's memories, my favorites were when we see Noah's birth and Grandma Mara write that letter Mara ended up burning in the doll.

The only part of the epilogue I liked was when she started writing their story and began it with the first lines of the first book.

My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something.

I thought the epilouge could have been better. I still had so many questions; like, what happened to Noah's dad (would he ever pay for what he did), Lukumi being Mara and Daniel's grandfather (are they just going to ignore that or are they going to embrace it?), and their lifespan (since Grandma Mara and Lukumi had/has lived for a very long time, could they live for a long time too?).

I wished it was set a couple of years later so we could see what everyone was up to. I want to know if Mara and Noah decided to join Lukumi together. . I want to to see how Jamie is helping the world. I want to see Daniel be their Gandalf/Dumbledore/Giles. I want to know if they ever see Stella again and if she finally embraces who she is. I just want them. I'm really not ready for their journey to end, to say goodbye. I'll miss this mystery. This love story.

Please let me know what your favorite part of the book was, who your favorite character was, what your favorite book in the series was, or anything else.

~Leah Bene
  A Fangirl's Digest 
  A Bookie from Two Bookies & a Worm