Review of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER + Giveaway!

So yesterday I posted an announcement about how I'm giving away a SIGNED copy of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER--if you haven't entered yet, you might want to get on that ;)

Tomorrow I'll be interviewing the lovely Michelle, so make sure you tune in tomorrow as well. Meanwhile today I'm going to be reviewing this remarkable book...but keep in mind that if I'd written this review as soon as I finished the novel, my reaction would have just been a bunch of exclamation marks interspersed with appropriate emoticons. Like this: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *__*  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGWTFBBQ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for a more appropriate review:

First: That cover! Man! I promise I don't just pick books to blurb that have pretty covers, but...I'm totally two for two right now.

Second: It is creeptastic. I'm so glad this novel's coming out in time for Halloween. It's the perfect story to read on a spooky, stormy, dark fall night. In fact, I wish you dark and stormy nights in which to read this book, just to set the mood.

Third: A truly surprising end. I'm not even worried about hyping this up, because you are NOT going to see the end coming. Not at all. I'm not saying it comes out of left-field--this isn't something random and crazy--I'm just saying Agatha Christie couldn't guess this twist.

Fourth: Realistic dialog and teens interactions. That sounds boring. It's not. I'm just saying, this book sounds real. A lot of adults write for teens, and sometimes the teens come across as wooden or old or preachy or whatever. In this book, the teens sound like teens.

Fifth: Did I mention creeptastic? Because that. Again.


Sixth: No one's perfect. Don't you hate the perfect guy? In real life or fiction, the perfect guy is annoying. I want characters flawed. And in Mara's world, no one is perfect...not even Mara.

Seventh: Strong pacing. I wanted to put this book down. I read until 4 am. I was tired. But I could not put it down, and that's mostly due to the strong pacing. Every time the action slowed down, the emotion ramped up. Every time I though Mara was okay emotionally, something dramatic happened.

Enticed enough yet? Don't forget to enter yesterday's contest for a chance to get a signed copy of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER! Or pick up your copy, available in bookstores today! :)