Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Delirium #3

Release Date: March 5^th, 2013

Number of Pages: 391

Publisher: HarperCollin’s Children Books

Source: Bought

GR - Amazon - BD - Chapters

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
  

But we are still here.
  

And there are more of us every day.
  

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.  

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.  

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings. 

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it. 

 But we have chosen a different road.  

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
  

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
  

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

So many conflicting emotions came out of reading Requiem. But, let me start by saying that I loved this book, and that I feel Requiem was a beautiful ending to an amazing series. It wasn’t perfect. There were things I wished had been different, but I think Lauren Oliver delivered everything we could have asked for. She gave us what we needed to know, to have some sort of closure with the series and characters, but she also gave us hope for their future (does it sound weird for me to say?) The story might be over, but Lena still has things coming for her, a future to build, and that’s where hope is important for me with this series.

In Requiem, we get to follow two different points of view. We follow Lena out there in the wilds, and Hanna back home. Hana had the cure, and she is about to be married off to the future mayor. Even though Hana’s part weren’t my favorite, I liked seeing the other side of what life could be for them. Her narration gives us an insight into the mind of someone cured. Lena, on the other side, has to figure out how to survive, and to figure out what she really wants.

On one side, there’s Alex, who appeared at the end of Pandemonium, changed from all he went through. Despite everything, despite the fact that his actions sometimes broke Lena’s heart, I still liked him best. There is also another love interest for Alex introduced in this novel, making Lena’s choice even more heartbreaking for her. Then, there’s Julian, the boy who followed her into the wilds. One thing is for sure, Lauren Oliver knows how to create swoon worthy male characters.

Requiem was to me the perfect ending to a series I have loved from book one. Some readers might be disappointed with it, and it is often the case with the end of a loved series. Yet, I don’t think whether or not you will like this book will be decided only by whom you had been rooting for. I love that ending.

About the Author:

From GoodReads

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader.

She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel.

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Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Series: Delirium #2

Release Date: February 28^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 375

Publisher: HarperTeen

Source: Bought

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, 
pushing aside thoughts of Alex, 
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, 
push, 
push, 
push, 
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

I finally had tome to read the sequel to the amazing Delirium, a book I have loved. At first, I wasn’t really sure I would love this book as much as I did the first one. Why? Because the first few chapters, seeing as the novel alternates with “now” and “then”, didn’t captivated me as much as I wanted. Still, after a couple of chapter, I really ended up being captivated by Lena’s story again. The fact that it switched between both time really helped the story be more captivating, as we aren’t simply following Lena for a few hundred pages as she grow stronger in the Wild. That could have been a little slow.

The thing that I really enjoy is that there was a couple of really nice twist that really got me addicted. I love Lena’s new “friends”, even though they don’t always seem too completely truthful. I was sad to see some of them go, but overall, I felt like they added a little something nice to the story.

Now, There is also a new male interest for Lena. I don’t like him as much as I did Alex, but he was great on is own. I can’t wait to see where everything will be heading for Lena after the few twits that were thrown her way in the last few chapters. Lauren Oliver, you got me really, really, excited for your next book in the series.

In my opinion, Lauren Oliver proved in this novel that she could write a sequel without falling into the traditional “curse” of the second book, which often ends up a little bleh in comparison. No, Pandemonium keeps us satisfied from beginning to end, without ever feeling like it can’t stand on it’s own. This was one of those books you can simply devour.

Review: Delirium

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Number of Pages: 441

Publisher: Harper Teen

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Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

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Last Friday, I forgot to bring a second book with me at school. (I always bring the one I’m reading, plus a second one in case I finish the first.) I ended up finishing my first book really fast, and I had a really long break, so I ended up going to Indigo to get a new book. I finally bought Delirium, because of the 20% promotion. I had heard so much about it, and the cover is just so gorgeous. I couldn’t resist any longer.

First, I loved the story. If I could write a review as simple as I loved it, and be done with, I would, because I did absolutely loved it. It is just so well created, and I found it original. What kind of world would it be without love? It is hard to imagine that kind of world, yet Oliver did it. I won’t say to much, because I feel that if I start, I won’t be able to stop myself to reveal spoilers, which I don’t want to do. All I can say is the ending is beautiful, sad, and perfect.

I adore Lena. She is an amazing character. She seems to really change so much through the book, because of Alex. Ah, Alex… I really like him. He is amazing and he made me want to cry at the end. There so much I would say, but I would again give spoilers. Let’s just say that the characters are excellent. Loved them.

Lauren Oliver is an amazing writer. Right now, I really have to control myself not to run to the bookstore to get Before I Fall. She writes beautifully, and she captivated me from the first lines. Can’t wait to read Before I Fall, or any other books from her in the near future.

Overall, I would give it a 10/10. I loved it, loved them and loved her.