Review: The Becoming of Noah Shaw - Michelle Hodkin

The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin, published by Simon and Schuster on 17th November 2017

Goodreads synopsis:
Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

Review:
This is one book that I didn't see coming.  I loved the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin but I never expected there to be any more books in the series, even if I was still intrigued to find out what was going to happen to Mara and Noah after their happily ever after.  Hodkin takes the reader right back into their twisted universe with this opening chapter of the Noah Shaw confessions trilogy.

I do have a confession of my own to make before I continue this review.  As much as I enjoyed the original trilogy, it's a long time since I read it and I honestly couldn't remember everything that had happened previously to all the characters.  I wish that I had reread the books prior to picking up this one because I think it would have helped enormously to have refreshed myself on all the details.  Previous events are referred back to and there are some brief memory jogging moments but I would have got into the story quicker if I'd had time for a reread first.

It was interesting to see all the events in the story happening from the perspective of Noah.  He was always my favourite, more so than Mara, so I enjoyed getting more of an insight into his thoughts and feelings.  He and Mara are keeping secrets from each other and there's a sense throughout the book that one wrong move and everything they had built together would all come crashing down.  I think they have a rocky road ahead of them.  There are lots of other characters in the book too, including some very familiar faces and it was great getting to learn more about the Gifted and their abilities.   

The story itself is quite slow, particularly in the beginning but it does pick up the pace in the second half and concludes with an extremely dramatic climax that hooked me right back in.  Fans of the original will definitely enjoy plunging themselves back into this world, however strange and twisted it may be at times.  I personally can't wait to see what Hodkin has up her sleeve next!