The Retribution of Mara Dyer discussion

I just need someone to talk about retribution with, like, right now.

Hi :) I have just finished reading it and... I'm speechlees, obviously, I have cried 3 times, everything was beautiful but overall... I don't know, I feel like the ending doesn't give me all the answers. I am still wondering what her real name is (or have I just not noticed it?), or what moved that piece of ouija board in the first chapter of The Unbecomming (was it some kind of force, someone? I don't remember). Maybe there were the answers to my questions but I think I will have to reread previous books, and this one as well. I bet I will have more questions. I feel a bit like the book is not finished.

Just finished an my brain is about to explode. SO MUCH INFORMATION and yet so little at the same time. I disliked the fact that Noah was only partially in the novel but have to admit that Hodkin's pose and pace was so mindblowingly epic that I barely minded because I was so engrossed in the story. The last hundred pages was a nerve-wrecking and emotionally traumatic game of delicate tug of war. However, I didn't feel complete closure, on some minuscule level I did, but there's still so many questions left unanswered, although not major. I do wish Mara and Noah would have had more scenes together. The whole debate of whether they would stay together or not had me biting my nails. And seriously, did anyone else not ponder why they didn't even kiss when she was dying?? Like come on. No final confession of true love? Overall I liked it but I'm still reeling from all of it- the novel was overwhelming to say the bit.

Kaina wrote: "Just finished an my brain is about to explode. SO MUCH INFORMATION and yet so little at the same time. I disliked the fact that Noah was only partially in the novel but have to admit that Hodkin's ..."


I totally agree! I missed Noah for the first half of the book but there was so much going on that I didn't mind. And yes, I was surprised too, that there was no good bye kiss. Weird.

I agree with the above comments. I missed Noah!! It made me realize how much I loved the first two books because of him and his relationship with Mara. The book just wasn't as good without him in it. Also, what was the goal of Lukami (the Professor)? What was the fight that he wanted them to be in? That wasn't really clear to me. And Mara fully manifesting…to do what? How is Noah supposed to help cure disease and bring peace? I'm assuming he's immortal unless he stays with Mara. But how is that bringing him to "ruins"? In my mind, they can live a normal life together and he will die like a normal person and he won't live up to his "destiny." And I'm fine with that. But that's just what I've decided so that they get their HEA. So yeah, we get a lot of answers, but I have SO MANY QUESTIONS STILL.

Pam wrote: "I agree with the above comments. I missed Noah!! It made me realize how much I loved the first two books because of him and his relationship with Mara. The book just wasn't as good without him i..."

Now that you say that I realize that its SO true. The Professors motive was never explained in black and white and Noah's role in "greatness" could be so subjective. Couldn't he do just as many "great" things with Mara at his side than by himself? If supposably being around Mara kills his cells or whatever won't that just give him a normal life and not an immortal one. And I didn't get the whole thing with Mara fully manifesting like you said. I mean what is she gonna do? And how does that allow her to come back to life?

I LOVED the book, I probably would have cried in that whole dying-not-dying part if MY FAMILY DIDN'T KEEP INTERRUPTING ME!
I felt some closure... but my number one question was WHAT ABOUT STELLA?! I mean, I know that she wasn't a big character and she said that she was going home and stuff... but I came to really like her in this book and I wish we got to see her one more time. I guess there was just so much information in this book that it was hard to close it all. (Fourth book???)
Did anyone else think that the capsules in Mara's stomach were going to be more important? I mean, the words that Noah first heard from her, all the way in book one, were "Get them out." I thought they were, like, creatures or something, and then when Jamie and Stella said that they were capsules, I thought something was going to be in them that lead to the discovery of... something. I don't know, I thought it was going to be more than the note that said to believe Mara.
I kind of wanted to see Noah cry. I mean, when Mara was going to die, I think he was on the verge of crying but he didn't, and then when he was reading the letter from his mom his chapter ended and he left the room. I don't know, I just feel like I wanted to see that side of him.
BUT I STILL LOVED IT. I'm currently in the worst book hangover ever and I just want more.

I just finished this book like an hr ago and I completely agree: too many questions left unanswered. Honestly I feel like Hodkin just made the plot too complicated and convoluted and then she had to tie everything up and connect it all in one last book and so some loose ends were tied very sloppily. Did anyone else think it was weird that Daniel just gets this hunch, decides to go to NY, finds all this stuff on his own and then accidentally meets up with them there? That his parents didn't care where he was really even though that wasn't their style (and Mara even mentions this but it is never explained) and that Mara just all of a sudden tells him everything and even though Daniel is a very logical concrete person he just accepts it all? Really??!?! I know he had been reading the book and finding records and stuff but I expected him to at least kinda be...idk...more freaked out than that. She really needed a 4th book. And Noah definitely needed to be in this one more. Definitely. I love Mara but NOAH SHAW IS WHY I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I NEEDED HIM TO BE THERE FOR MORE THAN THE LAST 4TH OF THE BOOK. But the ending was awesome. I love how they chose each other over saving the world. I loved that so much that I might excuse some of these other things. But overall, yes...too many questions left unanswered.

I absolutely loved it, couldn't stop reading from the moment I picked it up until I had finished it. I did miss Noah, but the scenes he was in were amazing and really made up for all the pages without him. I do admit there are lots of loose ends, but i'm hoping that means she's leaving room for a companion novel (Noah's POV?) or short stories etc. I really hope there is, because the thought of never reading other book with Noah Shaw in it is hard to come to terms with. Also Jamie was perfect in this book and I now want to reread the whole series with the whole purpose of being entertained by Jamie!

The banter between jamie and mara and mara and noah was funnier in this book than any of the others in my opinion. I loved it!

I just finished and I totally agree with the other comments - I missed Noah in the beginning! But as soon I starting missing Noah, Michelle Hodkins would throw something crazy our way and pull me back into the story with her wonderful writing. I really liked Jamie in this book, too. He was so funny! Even though I thought this was a great ending to the trilogy, I do wish there were more books because I don't ever want this series to end!

Blair wrote: "But the ending was awesome. I love how they chose each other over saving the world."

Me too. Great ending.

This capsules thing is weird to me... I mean, she said they were moving. But how could they move if they were not anything alive? And what was inside them?
And I don't understand how their powers work, this concept about saving the world, being hero etc. Lukumi thing wasn't explained and sometimes I couldn't understand those parts about his theories. They were too complicated and not connected well.
Michelle came up with a great closure about Noah and Mara's relationship but I guess she focused on them to much and other things suffered because of this decision. Too bad... The 4th book would be a perfect solution. Or some 3.5 short story. Anything... I need more Noah.

Hekate92 wrote: "This capsules thing is weird to me... I mean, she said they were moving. But how could they move if they were not anything alive? And what was inside them?
And I don't understand how their powers ..."

Ugh yes I need more Noah. I felt SO confused by the power explanation. Also, did anyone notice that with the capsules thing Mara kept on saying Get them out and Noah said that when he saw her in the "vision" in the asylum she kept on saying Get them out> Could it be somehow related or something? AND YAAS I LOOOVED JAIME! He was hilarious and filled some of the void that was left with Noah's absence. One of my faves was the skittles line xD

Every time I see skittles I'll think of this book and Jamie, haha. I totally agree that the capsule thing was a little weird. I also wished we saw Stella again. I know she said she just went back home but I was really starting to like her as a character. I think that the author should make another book - maybe a companion novel or novella? There are a few things that aren't really answered, and since I love these books so much I'm always up for the idea of another book!

I can't agree with the Stella thing. she left mara when things got more difficult and scary and although I got it, I didnt appreciate it. so bye to her. she punked out knowing mara was "sick." I know she couldn't handle much more but still...

The capsules thing…did everyone else get them too or just Mara?

I don't know, I sort of get why Stella left. It was starting to get to me how "bad" Mara was getting. It actually bothered me with the shooting in Book 2. Not shooting the bad guy (although did he really do anything bad given that it was Jude that took her brother?), but she also had the mom shoot him. Which means her life is ruined (going to jail, etc.). Or do we believe Noah, that Mara can't make someone do something? Anyway, that just bothered me that she pictured the gun in the woman's hand, shooting him. Just not thinking things through and affecting another person when she could have just made him die without involving someone else. And then those people in the subway. Yes, they were horrible human beings, but to die? Even the woman who she was protecting did not want them to die. Definitely some darkness there, and she just didn't care. At all.

But yes, a number of loose ends that make me wonder whether there will be another book or maybe a companion novel where it's focused on another character (like Jamie or Stella). And then we get to see Mara and Noah? That would be great. Then we find out more about the Professor, the plan, what they can do to help (remember, Jamie is wearing the necklace that says he's joined them, whatever that means). So there's a lot she could do with it. That's my two cents.

I just finished it and.... woah. I just *cries*
I completely agree with the other comments. I did miss Noah--a lot--in the beginning, but when I started missing him, Hodkin would throw something in and I would be so into it, that I would almost forget about Noah.
The ending was perfection, the book was perfection. I need time to process that this series is actually over.

Yeah I see what you mean about her leaving. I liked her before she left Mara, but I liked her a little less after that. But it's kind of hard because in a situation like that I'd probably stick with my friends, but I also see why she left. She was going through a lot and probably just couldn't take it. I guess I just wished Stella would've stayed with the group because I liked the dynamic between her, Jamie, and Mara. Because they all went through similar experiences it made their friendship seem nice.

Pam wrote: "The capsules thing…did everyone else get them too or just Mara?"

I think only Mara got them, but I'm not positive. The capsules were a little weird. But if only Mara got them, why didn't they give them to the others too?

yeah I wished she would have stayed too. I do get why she left. its just that noah and Daniel and eventually jamie didnt give up on mara. but I know stella didnt have the connection with mara the rest of them did and she had her own crap to deal with. I wish she would have stayed because I doubt things went well for her when she went back with no one who understood what she was going through. that sucks for her..and yes that whole capsules thing. so many questions.

the most fantastic but confusing book I have ever read

Pam wrote: "The capsules thing…did everyone else get them too or just Mara?

I don't know, I sort of get why Stella left. It was starting to get to me how "bad" Mara was getting. It actually bothered me wi..."

Yeah, I was thinking about that, too, because surely peeing on a homeless woman is bad, but enough to be killed for it? I never tied it to the darkness in Mara before, but I'm glad that you pointed that out. That makes a lot more sense now, why she would want to kill them!

Chloe wrote: "Yeah I see what you mean about her leaving. I liked her before she left Mara, but I liked her a little less after that. But it's kind of hard because in a situation like that I'd probably stick wit..."

I think only Mara got them because she was the most dangerous. Stella can read minds and Jamie can get people to do things, but Mara kills people, and so Kells wanted the capsules to kill her off. That was my understanding, at least. Mara said something after they got the capsules out, about Kells's failed attempt to kill her with the capsules. I don't know, I think it will take a LOT of rereading to understand these books haha

I just realized: What about Jamie? Since Jamie was younger than Mara and Stella, his gene didn't manifest yet. What if we got a story about the manifestation of Jamie's gene, and then we got to see Mara and Noah and Stella, and Michelle tied loose ends that way?
I'm really happy we're all having this discussion... I feel like we understand more of the story when we talk it out hahaha

Julia wrote: "I just realized: What about Jamie? Since Jamie was younger than Mara and Stella, his gene didn't manifest yet. What if we got a story about the manifestation of Jamie's gene, and then we got to see..."

I agree. I would love to see a novella with Jamie and his manifestation, and getting to see Stella, Noah, Mara, and Daniel again. Also I felt like we never really got any conclusion about Joseph. Besides that I felt like the book was outstanding.

Julia wrote: "I just realized: What about Jamie? Since Jamie was younger than Mara and Stella, his gene didn't manifest yet. What if we got a story about the manifestation of Jamie's gene, and then we got to see..."

That's a great idea for for a novella! I would love to read a novella about Jamie. He's such a funny, great character. And your explanation makes a lot of sense. I guess that's why only Mara got the capsules, since she was the most dangerous. I agree - I love discussing this book because it can be confusing at times and it's nice to see another perspective on things to help you understand something you may have missed.

Talking about the capsules anyone else catch that she kept on saying "get them out" the same thing she said in the asylum? Also, on the whole Noah not being able to accomplish greatness with mara thing, if he did stay with her he would have a normal life right? Not an eternity. And if he got sick or something couldn't he just get away from mara for a while and heal?

Furthermore, how come when Mara's grandmother had sex with her husband he died and when she did it with the Professor he didn't? She states that the Professor knew she was going to seduce him and in turn would result in the conception of Mara. Could he have somehow been behind the death of her husband somehow?

theres just sooooooo many unanswered questions you lot are coming up with things I hadnt even thought of?

As far as her husband dying while the Professor didn't die, there are two possibilities I can think of. One is that her husband was very early on in her life and so she didn't know how to control her "power." The other is that the Professor is immortal and so he's immune to her power. But definitely yet another thing that's not explained in the book. It's not like Mara's grandmother was walking around and people were dying around her right and left, which is what Dr. Kells made it sound like would happen with Mara. Yes, so many unanswered questions. I did love the book, don't get me wrong, but lack of Noah and so many unanswered questions make me crazy!! :)

the lack of noah was the. worst. part. period. I had withdrawals.

Pam wrote: "As far as her husband dying while the Professor didn't die, there are two possibilities I can think of. One is that her husband was very early on in her life and so she didn't know how to control ..."

yeah was the professor immortal orrr??

I just finished reading Retribution a couple days ago and while it answered many questions I'M STILL SO CONFUSED. I loved the ending with it revealing that Mara had actually written the entire series but then it makes you wonder what all of their actual names are! Which I refuse to believe they have different names. Mara will be Mara and Noah will be Noah. The whole capsule thing was super confusing (who put them there and what where they supposed to do??). Thank you, Michelle Hodkin, for leaving me up at night wondering what the heck just happened after I finished. It definitely presented questions that I hadn't even thought of. Those questions probably have a million different answers and of course which we will always be left hanging. I wish we had more Noah/Mara scenes but I think it was a good way to make the scene where they meet again a lot more heartbreaking! Don't even get me started on the whole Professor storyline.

Phoebe wrote: "I just finished reading Retribution a couple days ago and while it answered many questions I'M STILL SO CONFUSED. I loved the ending with it revealing that Mara had actually written the entire seri..."

Lol xD that was my reaction exactly. I think the capsules were put there by the evil doctor lady (can't remember her name) to "help" mara go back to the real world to neutralize Mara's abilities

Kaina wrote: "Phoebe wrote: "I just finished reading Retribution a couple days ago and while it answered many questions I'M STILL SO CONFUSED. I loved the ending with it revealing that Mara had actually written ..."
Oh Dr. Kells? Man that lady was creeeeeepy.

Ah thats her name! Not only was she creepy she was cray cray, that lady had issues

Kaina wrote: "Ah thats her name! Not only was she creepy she was cray cray, that lady had issues"

Oh my god I know! Haha I hated her from the beginning she freaked me out too much!

I am sure this was answered, either here or in the book and I missed it.... But was does the necklace mean? If she puts it on or if she doesn't wear it??

Casey wrote: "I am sure this was answered, either here or in the book and I missed it.... But was does the necklace mean? If she puts it on or if she doesn't wear it??"

ohmagawd what necklace? o_O My memory is so bad xD

Excuse me :) Can someone tell me if there are others out there who ship Mara's grandmother and the Professor too? I'm going crazy. I need this to be a thing. I need to know what he wrote on that piece of paper he handed to her 'that night'. I need confirmation that he really did care for her, despite everything. I want another book focusing on the Professor. How exactly did GrandMara die? Indi said she committed suicide but wasn't she supposed to die 'at Noah's hand'? But weird because he was just a baby then.

Sheila Mariz wrote: "Excuse me :) Can someone tell me if there are others out there who ship Mara's grandmother and the Professor too? I'm going crazy. I need this to be a thing. I need to know what he wrote on that pi..."

I think what the professor wrote in the paper was his "real name" but it was written in a language that she couldn't understand.And Mara committed suicide because she believed that if she died before Mara (this is confusing) could manifest, the cycle of "shadows" would end.
And... I don't ship Mara and the professor,I actually hate him,sorry.
And sorry if I wrote this bad, I'm still learning English.

Ximena wrote: "Sheila Mariz wrote: "Excuse me :) Can someone tell me if there are others out there who ship Mara's grandmother and the Professor too? I'm going crazy. I need this to be a thing. I need to know wha..."

Your comment means a lot to me :) thanks
But if he wrote his real name and then showed it to her...that must mean something, right? It could be his way of, I don't know. But after she told him she loved him he told her his real name (which possibly no one else knows). I think that says a lot. I even think it means more than actually saying 'I love you'. And i'm wondering just how Mara commited suicide. Like did she stab herself or something? I guess we'll never know. The Professor, I think, was a slave to his obsession with trying to fix the world. In the letter, Mara said he didn't gain happiness because of it. And neither did she. What if they were like Mara and Noah but the thing with him trying to make everything better got in the way? What if they set it aside for their main goal? Imagine the Professor wanting to be with Mara but being forced to let her go for the sake of the future. Do you get what i'm saying? Sorry for the babble :)

Sheila Mariz wrote: "Ximena wrote: "Sheila Mariz wrote: "Excuse me :) Can someone tell me if there are others out there who ship Mara's grandmother and the Professor too? I'm going crazy. I need this to be a thing. I n..."

Well, I think we will never know if he was in love with Mara, I don't think so because she said he dismissed her or maybe he just wanted to "use" her for his plan (I know, it sounds a little cruel) and why he didn't even tried to look for her or knowing about Indi. (I'm so angry for that).Despite everything, it would have been very beautiful to see them as a couple, maybe he felt guilty for leaving her and tried to take care of their granddaughter (Mara)in his own way. This made me sob, their history is kind of sad. Thanks for replying :)