Review - Requiem by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #3)

 

Picture from GoodReads

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Hardcover (391 pages)

Publisher: 3Harper Teen

Publication Date: March 5th 201

Rating: 4/5

Source: Library Loan
Get it at: Chapters | Amazon









Summary from Goodreads:

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.My Feelings and Whatnot:

Like the two predecessor of Requiem (Delirium and Pandemonium), the writing quality was magical and enchanting. Although the pace of the story did not pick up until the last 50 pages, the quality of writing just kept me reading and reading.

That being said, there are things that are quite disappointing. I was happy that the author brought back Alex again, and from the very beginning I knew that Alex and Lena were meant for each other. However, the interaction between these two seemed to be very lacking. Because of that, I enjoyed the moments that Julian shared with Lena more. In Requiem, the character development that we see the most is Julian. In contrast to Lena, her character development just went a few step back. Here, she appears to be a whiny little kid and leading Julian on. Aside from the main characters, or should I say, love triangle, we get to see Hana and Grace too. I'm happy that Hana redeemed herself but then I can't bring myself to hate her after reading her back story (Hana, Delirium #1.5). I'm so glad that she made appearance. I'm also happy about the reunion about Lena and Gracie. What bothers me is that Oliver has not explained the other people mentioned in the trilogy. What happened to Jenny? What happened to Carol? What happened to Annabel? I think a lot of characters need recognition as well as they played a vital part in the protagonist's life.

The plot of the story is quite well planned. Although the moral of the story is to fight what you believe in, and tear down any wall of insecurity, the ending of the trilogy did not do justice. The ending is just plain opened. Yes, we do see Lena grow up and learn what's right and wrong, but the main event of the story didn't have an end. To me the ending was not wrapped up and I was actually waiting for another chapters.

I would have give this book a 3/5, however, the quality of writing just bump up a score.

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 Quotes

• “You know you can’t be happy unless you’re unhappy sometimes, right?”
• “This is what amazes me: that people are new every day. That they are never the same. You must always invent them, and they must always invent themselves, too.”  
• “There are some losses we never get over.”

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About Lauren Oliver

Website | Blog | Twitter  | Goodreads

Blog A Quote [1]

Blog A Quote is hosted by Michelle Chew Writes.
Each week, a quote from one of my favorite books will be blogged.
Usually, this is done on Monday, the start of a new week,
but it can be done any day of the week =)

Quote of the Week:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Picture from Goodreads

"Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side." 

I love Delirium! Honestly, a must read!

Get a copy: Chapters | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review - Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #2)

Picture from Chapters.ca

   

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Hardcover (375 pages)

Publisher: February 28th 2012

Publication Date:   Harper Teen

Rating: 5/5

Source: Library Loan
Get it at: Chapters | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

  












Summary from Goodreads:

 
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.


My Opinions:

And once again Lauren Oliver just left me speechless (in a good way of course!). I was super impressed with this book. The writing quality and the emotions were just amazing and surreal.  You know how in some trilogies, where the authors get a bit sloppy (often too forced) in order to string the first book and the final book together? It did not happened with Pandemonium and the story live up exceeded my expectations despite the harsh ending in Delirium. The waiting time for this book was so painful (almost 2 months - people read so slow on popular books and my library never have enough copies =( )

While Delirium focused on Love, Pandemonium dived into Anger, Hatred and Trust (Moving on as well?) which were interesting combinations of themes. In Pandemonium, we see the changes that Lena has to go through and the sacrificed she made to adjust life in the Wilds. I was really amazed at how Oliver shaped her. In the past, she was used to follow orders and believed what the government said. However, with the lost of Alex, her first love, and the harsh living conditions in the Wilds have made her realized that people feel emotions in order to be human and not just "zombies" (referred to those that are "cured").

Although the secondary characters that were along side of Lena were not describe in detailed (mainly just popped in once or twice) you can't help it but to fall in love with every single one of them. I am super glad that Sarah managed to escape (Thank you Oliver for not killing her off!). However, Blue was not so lucky and her story is so heartbreaking. I'm glad she still lived a happy life (despite that the Oliver has to kill her off).

The downside of the story is ---> LOVE TRIANGLE. Honestly, I was not expecting this. I always thought that Alex would come back and everything will be alright (Well Wish, he did came back.. at the last sentence of the book where the cliffhanger is). It seems that all Dystopian novels just have to have love triangles aka *coughCrossedcough*. I am, however, curious at how this whole love interest will work out. Since Delirium met every single of my expectations of romance and that Pandemonium exceeded  my expectation, Requiem should be REALLY REALLY REALLY well written with ABSOLUTELY NO CLICHES. Although there is a love triangle that is happening, I can't pick a side because I love Alex and Julian equally. I mean, with other love triangles that I encounter, I only sided with one person. I am so torn! I really like the relationship between Lena and Alex as well as Lena and Julian. At the end, Alex comes back, but he is angry about something. I guess if I were Alex, I'll probably be mad too. For example, Alex did so much to for Lena and for her to run off with another guy? I'll be furious!

What I think is the most interesting and artistic about Pandemonium is how the chapters were string together. Instead of the the good old fashion event progressing layout or the alternating the main protagonists' point of views, Pandemonium alternate between time periods - Then and Now. "Then" refers to the past where Lena just started out living in the Wild and "Now" is the present where Lena is on a mission. At first it was difficult to follow because I had to flip back to remind myself what happened in the past after finishing a chapter about the present. I thought the layout was genius because it definitely keep you at the edge of your seat and makes you keep reading until the very end

When I finished Delirium, I was crying my heart out because the ending was so shocking but the story was heart-breakingly beautiful. While starting on Pandemonium, I have a box of tissue ready just so I can be ready for the sad parts of the story, and I am glad that I have that box of tissue haha. I honestly hope Lauren Oliver would write a short spin-off in Alex's point of view during the time period of Pandemonium (similar to Hana which is a short spin-off in Hana's POV during Delirium time period). I cannot wait for the final installment, because I have a good feeling that ending will be super epic.

Overall, Pandemonium is a MUST READ book. Oh. Remember to read Hana (Delirium #1.5) before reading Pandemonium, it will make the plot way more interesting I promised you.

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 Quotes

• “That is what hatred is. It will feed you and at the same time turn you to rot.”
  “A world without love is also a world without stakes.” 
• “If you’re smart, you care. And if you care, you love.”
  “Something must die so that others can live.” 
• "Live free or die. Four words. Thirteen letters. Ridges, bumps, swirls under my fingertips. Another story. We cling tightly to it, and our belief turn it to truth."
  

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About Lauren Oliver

Website | Blog | Twitter  | Goodreads

Review - Hana by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #1.5)

Picture from Chapters.ca

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia
Format: eBook (64 pages)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: February 2012
Rating: 5/5
Source: Bought at Chapters
Get it at: Chapters

Summary from Goodreads:

The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.

But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.

What I think:

Hana is a companion story to Delirum  and even this is a short story, it still blew me away. The story was told in Hana's point of view and her jealousy towards Alex as he spent so much time with Lena. Although I did see that coming, the relationship between Hana and Lena, did in fact, reflect real life situation. Friends grow apart due to the process of growing up and jealousy is an unwanted feeling if one person start drifting apart in a group of very close friends. In addition, this short gave me insight on Hana, as she sort of disappeared from Lena's life a good half in Delirium to be a teenage rebel.

The ending was a bit rushed and I thought that the author would end Hana's perspective about the same time frame as in Delirium. I really wanted to know what Hana think and whether or not she is feels guilty after Lena and Alex were captured. I also wanted to know if Hana went through the surgery and what she thought of her best friend after. I guess I need to read the sequel to find out.

Review - Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #1)

Picture from Chapters.ca

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia
Format: Trade Paperback (470 pages)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 7th 2012
Rating: 5/5
Source: Bought from Chapters
Get it at: Chapters | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

My Thoughts:

The story is about Lena, a seventeen years old girl that is anxiously waiting for her eighteenth's birthday for her surgery in which all teens get on their birthday. This surgery is said to be mandatory in order to permanently remove Love from a person, to make society equal. Love is regard as a disease in Lena's society as it can make someone mad or worse, death. However, after meeting with a certain government regulator, Alex, or so Lena first thought, she begin to find herself facing the new, forbidden emotion. Perhaps the what she heard about Love is not what it seems anymore.

Delirium was such an enchanting and astounding book. Few books have yet to touched me deeply, however Delirium did the job just find. The story was very well written and I can imagine every single details as I read each pages. Lauren Oliver did such a great job convincing me that "Love" is actually a deadly thing since, at first, I thought that there is no way one can live in a loveless world.





I particularly love how the layout of the chapters were set up. . Each chapter begins with a quotes to help the readers understand how Lena's society works. These quotes are from well known fairy tales or nursery rhymes that we all have heard when we were little but they are all twisted. This reminds me of "Ring around the Rosies", something that I sang practically all the time while playing with other kids when I was younger. Something with such a happy tune that literally means the Black Plague. The ending was heartbreaking and I don't know if I ever read something like that before. 

Overall, Delirium was  hauntingly beautiful.