The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Retribution of Mara Dyer

Series: Mara Dyer Trilogy #3

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Date Published: November 4, 2014

Genre: YA fiction, thriller, romance, action

Pages: 470 (hardback)

Age Range: 14+



Summary

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.

Retribution has arrived

Review

After waiting two years, it's finally arrived. The final installment of the Mara Dyer Trilogy is here! 

Being the book-geek that I am, I went to Barnes & Noble the day it came out to get my signed copy, and have been reading it since.

Hodkin turned up the violence in this final book, displaying Mara as this killing machine without regret or remorse. Mara isn't the same person when she wakes up--which I kind of struggled with because the reason why I loved the series so much had a lot to do with Mara's personality and how she saw the world. But she wasn't the same; the writing was different because she saw things differently, therefore I found it easy to put the book down.

But that didn't last. It takes Mara awhile for her personality returns, but it does, though, not without a painful consequence. Though she does manage to shake out of her dazed, ruthlous murder state, she isn't completely the same. Though I can't imagine who would be after seeing the things, or doing the things that she has.

I was disappointed by the lack of Noah Shaw in this book, but when he did arrive he sure was worth the wait. Like seriously, I went from sad to horrified, then I was blushing and overwhelmed by Noah's speech to Mara...*gleeful sigh* It was just too sweet and swoon-worthy. Noah is definitely a character I will miss reading about.

All the characters were great really (what I really mean is, the good-guy characters were great). Stella was just a throw-in character to me. She didn't really grip me, or hold my attention, so it made no difference to me when she left. I really believe that she was just written in so there was another survivor from Horizons.

Now Jamie on the other hand...Jamie is one of my favorite characters in the book. He was like the glue of the entire operation. He was witty, funny, sarcastic; pretty much the clown of the group. I enjoyed his presence in the book. He was a good addition to the series. Without him, it would have been too dark, hopeless and heartbreaking. He was also a factor that kept Mara (relatively) sane. He made her feel more in-touch with her mortal self.

Overall, I thought the writing was great. Everything was spaced out and thought through on Hodkin's part. I also liked how the writing transitioned even though it was kind of dull for me in the beginning. I thought the ending was genius. I loved all the (good-guy) characters. (The bad-guys got what they deserved). And I like how uncertain the future is for Noah and Mara.

You will love him to ruins.

For those of you that ask: "What was Mara's real name?" we aren't supposed to know. That was the whole point of the ending! Read the first page from the first book, then go back and read the ending of the last book. Michelle planned the trilogy's end. We aren't supposed to know Mara's real name, and we're never going to. And I am okay with that because I understand why she didn't tell us. I get the ending and I thought it was genius. Hodkin planned this series really well and I admire her for it.