Novel Review: The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance with Dark Themes

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2017

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

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.

The Cover:

I love these covers. They're very pretty and eye-catching, dark and ominous, and I appreciate that it's not embarrassing or cliche with a girl in a dress. It also works with the previous series, and each book in the series follows the same imagery, which I love.

Review:

I was surprised to hear that this series was continuing, as I didn't really think it needed to be, originally. I also didn't really consider not picking it up—I really enjoyed the first trilogy, and had no qualms about reading more. I was intrigued, but a tiny bit wary.

Upon starting this book, I had no idea so many people disliked it. I understand some of it, though—it does play with a lot of problematic themes (suicide, drugs, sex, self-harm, to name a few), and it has a lot of really awful, unapologetic characters, including the protagonists. But... I never minded those things. I even liked the story because of those things. One of my favorite things about the first series was how violent and bad Mara could be.

Now, to confess—it has been such a long time since I originally read the series, that I remembered very little of it. I barely remember how it ended, or any of the big reveals, or much of it at all. I don't think that hindered my reading of this book too much, though. (Re-reading would have helped clear up some topics, but oh well, my copies are in a box somewhere.)

This series is in Noah's point of view. His father has just died, he's moving to New York with Mara and some of their friends, and suddenly other Gifted people are committing suicide all over the place, only he doesn't think it's by their choice.

It's interesting being in Noah's head, instead of Mara's. They're both very dark characters, and they've experienced a lot of bad things. As the story progresses, we learn more about what his father was up to, what the Professor might have been doing, and what each character knows and hasn't been honest about. And Noah starts discovering, and accepting, some things about Mara that he didn't realize before this.

There are several surprises in this book. Following Noah as he discovers things is surprising, and a little rough at times. He doesn't want to deal with things, and he has his own moral code, but he's forced to make some decisions here. A big reason for why I want to continue this series, not only to discover all of the secrets and find out who is behind all of this and what they want, is to see Noah do something about it. He understands how The Game works, but he hasn't wanted to be a part of it. He's always wanted to kind of give up, to not be the Hero everyone claims he is. But now he's being put in a position where he might have to do just that.

I do really love Noah and Mara's relationship, and I enjoy how dark and rough and gritty, and psychological, this series can be. But I might actually want to know how the plot line wraps up more than anything else. It's surprising to me, but I want to know where this is going to go next.