The Becoming of Noah Shaw (1) (The Shaw Confessions)

*Can’t really say much on the plot without majorly spoiling the previous books, so just a few things I'd like to point out.1) You absolutely should not read this if you haven't read the Mara Dyer trilogy first. It will make zero sense. You should also not read this if you have read the Mara Dyer trilogy but haven't at least brushed up and refreshed your memory on what occurred in those books. Though this is technically a different series, it starts where The Retribution of Mara Dyer leaves off. I was scrolling through reviews and noticed some people took off stars because they couldn't remember what happened in the first 3 books. Umm…What? Personally, the second I heard we'd be blessed with more Noah Shaw in our lives I carved out time to re-read the Mara Dyer books. Because a.) more Noah (duh), and b.) because SO much happens in those books I knew there was no way I could dive back into this world and remember everything that occurred. And honestly, bless Michelle for not reiterating every fact that was laid out in the first 3 books. If I wanted to read all that again, I would have re-read them. Which I did. ;) I am glad she didn't include too many info dumps.2) This is a completely and totally different tone from Mara Dyer's POV. It's still creepy and sarcastic, but it's also haunting and morose and a little sad. Just like our boy Noah. And Noah's voice is SO distinct. What an undeniable talent Michelle has. This story remains completely original. It's taken turns I did not expect AT ALL.3) Mara has always been a little bit crazy. I don't think anyone can deny that. But home girl has kind of gone full on psycho in this and you know what? I am here for it. (Which brings me back to point 1. If this bothers you, maybe you need to recall the prophecy that was discussed in book 3. It pretty much SAYS THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN.) And back to point 2. I LOVE how their relationship isn't all sunshine and roses. It could never be. It would never be. All the circumstances surrounding them, the past, the secrets, all the unknowns, and that god damn prophecy- all of this has combined and is working against Noah and Mara. And I for one CAN NOT WAIT to see what will happen.4) SO many things happen in this book. (If you need me to point them out, I will.) The last 10% had my heart in my throat. Was everything answered? No. Does that mean nothing happened? Also no. There were so many subtle things that were occurring that Michelle just slyly slipped in without drawing too much attention to them. Why is she so amazing? We got new characters, the reappearance of old characters (!!!!holysh****t!!!!), deaths, mystery, and that FREAKING ENDING. WTF WAS THAT ENDING.5.)“I want her to split me open, to dig her fingers in and pry open my ribs, lick my heart and my blood and my bones. Pick open my bones and suck out the marrow. I want to be devoured by her. And she wants to devour me just as badly. It’s in every look, every movement, every smile.”“If I believed in God I would pray, beg, anything to stop time, to live in this moment with her forever. Tonight is a perfect thing in a broken world, and she is the queen of it. Her pleasure, searing white, arrows through mine, and I would let the Earth ice over to keep the sun from rising, but after hours of her, it rises anyway, sunlight staining our sheets, our skin.”^THIS reads like fan fic? HA..HAH…AHHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Please, someone show me a fanfic that’s written with the same amount of intellect, snark, and distinction that’s in Michelle’s writing.Michelle's writing is just ridiculously good and her story telling ability is just insane. Bravo for delivering something that was so different and totally not what I was expecting. I thought we got most answers in The Retribution of Mara Dyer, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I honestly do not know how I'll be able to wait for the second installment.T H I S W A S J U S T S O G O O D!!!!!!!!!! The Mara Dyer Trilogy remains a top of mine, and these characters will ALWAYS be my favorite. If you want something out of the box, READ THESE BOOKS!

Rating: 2Spoiler free Summary:I had no idea that this book was a thing and when I saw it on social media I was so pumped. I immediately ordered it on amazon and the other day I decided that it was time to finally read it.The book starts off with a bit of interest because they are at Noah’s dads funeral and something peculiar happens. Since it was an interesting start I was expecting it to be an action packed and intriguing book that would measure up to the Mara Dyer trilogy. Then they get to New York and there were some new characters that seemed to be adding a helpful hand into the making of the book. In this book you are truly able to decipher parts of Noah and Mara’s relationship that you had not thought of before. They have both been through so much trauma that could traumatize a person for life. Throughout the whole book it seemed that the author was building everything up in a good direction and that the book was going to be mind blowing. Then ... nothing. I kept thinking that this book would be so awesome because of the Mara Dyer trilogy, but it never came. I mean the end of the book I didn’t see coming, but it still didn’t make up for the lack of action throughout most of the book. I love Michelle Hodkin, but I felt like she had many missed opportunities in this book.This book was suspenseful and mysterious, but a bit underwhelming. I was so pumped to read this book thinking that I would finally get to know what happens to everyone and finally get into the beautiful and intriguing mind of Noah Shaw. I really wanted it to be good, kept waiting for that moment like the other books where I just could put it down. That moment I was looking for never came. My only hope is that the next book in the series will have me more interested, especially since it had an interesting ending.This has not made me doubt Michelle Hadkin’s writing. In my opinion it is just very hard to follow up an awesome series with another series based around the same world.

I SO wanted to love this book. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Michelle Hodkin, she is brilliant and the Mara Dyer Trilogy is one of the best things I've read. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Noah Shaw. He was one of my favorite things about Mara Dyer.None of these things changed by reading The Becoming of Noah Shaw, however, I didn't care much for the writing style of this book. Perhaps it's because I didn't go back and reread the Mara Dyer Trilogy, but I found myself having a hard time following so many characters. The majority of the novel is written in dialogue, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I felt so isolated in Noah's head and he had such a sparse way of noting ANYTHING that I didn't really connect with the story. I think the plot was great, extremely triggering for those who are sensitive to suicide, but it was a logical next step for the series and the story. I just wish it would've felt more substantial and more rooted. Pages and pages and pages would pass with nothing but dialogue and tiny tags of Noah noticing how the speaker was acting. It was like listening to movie with no picture.Still, I love Noah Shaw, and I think the series has come to an interesting point. I'll continue, but I do hope Noah's POV is more carefully considered in the next book. Being inside his head wasn't nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be.

Definitely a different style than the trio of Mara Dyer books, so I agree with another reviewer that said it makes it feel as though it is written by a different author. In order to fully appreciate and understand this part of the story, you really should read the trilogy first. My reading has been halted, however, since my book seems to have page 255 printed in place of page 225. I had hoped the two pages were simply switched, but the book contains two identical page 255s. It's not a deal breaker for reading the book, but it is frustrating.

The atmosphere set in these books is so amazing. Every little sound can make me jump and it only takes a few chapters before that feeling returns and makes itself comfortable around me again. Noah's head is a dark place and what happens in this book is quite scary and personal, but I really enjoyed every second of it!

Great book

When I finished the mara dyer trilogy, I was so satisfied with the ending and didn’t expect any new books (and didn’t know if there would be any new ones) even though there is still a lot to discover. And we do discover a lot in The Becoming of Noah Shaw.The character of Mara is so dear, important to me, and I love her so much, so I was wondering how it would be with Noah’s point of view. Don’t get me wrong, he is also one of my favorite character but I guess I was a little nervous because I knew his perspectives would change a lot of things, including Mara’s actions. But Michelle Hodkin did a really great job with Noah’s narrative. I always loved her writing and her style, and combined with Noah’s personality, it was really an amazing read. Plus, there were a lot of moments, quotes that felt so true and I could relate to them. That’s also one thing I love with Michelle Hodkin’s writing : there are a lot of meaningful sentence/quote/moments.I was so happy to have Mara and Noah back, but also Daniel and Jamie. Stella is making a come back too, bringing new characters and elements with her. I must admit that she annoyed me a little bit but her role in the plot was really good. It led to one of the final plot twist of the book and... I admit my feelings got hurt because of what Mara did. I felt like Noah, betrayed, but then I also understand why she did it. So it hurt a bit, even worse when Noah told her to leave and she did, but it also felt good because we discovered more about Mara and her abilities. In fact, we discovered about everyone’s abilities, especially with the new character Goose, that I already love.The Becoming of Noah Shaw brings new characters but also new questions : What will be the results of Stella’s video ? What will Mara do now that she left and how the others will react ? But most importantly, what will happen now that the first Mara (our Mara’s grandmother) is back ? That was really a plot twist I wasn’t expecting.I really can’t wait to see what happen next. I know I will be happy and nervous when I’ll get The Reckoning of Noah Shaw, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.You can also see this review on my goodreads profile (themadnesscycle).

My favourite collection of books! Worth the read

Les éditions reliées sont mieux et plus durables, mais encore faut-il que les livres ne soient pas déjà écorchés (au niveau de la jaquette) dans le carton. Ce n'est pas la première fois qu'Amazon me fais le coup de m'envoyer un produit neuf comme ça...