Requiem By: Lauren Oliver



Requiem

By: Lauren Oliver

My Rating:

3 / 5 stars

My Review:

I had to sleep on this one..I really did.

Let me begin by saying, I love Ms. Olivers writing style. It is flawless and palpable. I really enjoy the way that she brings the events in her story to life. It is fantastic, I did not have any issues with how she transcends human emotion and a physical situation together...so in that aspect, I think she is great.

Now. The story...

Once I was done...I chewed on my lower lip and became quite pensive...All in all, this series is a pretty well developed and brilliant dystopian...I guess it unraveled in a realistic sense and not like a reader would have expected or wanted.

I felt for Lena, I did like her as a character very much...even though I did not like Alex coming back because I was scared of the "love triangle" concept, however, I believe Oliver did this aspect of the book tastefully well...

During the parts of Lena's mother arrival, and the discussions that they had, got me kind of teary eyed...and I am not very emotional with books when it comes to right out crying, but I did (almost)..the same with her final chapters with Alex. (when Coral told her that he still loved Lena)

It hit me hard because these are stories are stuff I related to..So, I might have a biased opinion on how these scenes played out...because I did, in fact, like them very much.

I didn't like how Lena pushed Julian away, but he stood his ground and became an accomplished hero, nonetheless...this is something I ultimately related to as well, in a real experience I had...so I understood it to be a realistic point of view..

The final events of the book was unresolved, really...but i appreciated how much is left up for the reader to decide.

 I was chocked up when Hana let Lena go, and how she ultimately left Fred to burn...It was a beautiful ending to that tale..it was a powerful image (Hana walking away from the chaos in her wedding dress, numb but at peace).

I was very happy that Lena found Grace in all the distress...it was pretty amazing how Lena was able to go back for the one person she really cared for and found her.

I don't feel like this book was rushed, like Mockingjay was...I didn't like the epilogue in Mockingjay and I am glad that there was none here...it gave it a kind of resolve that a dystopian should have..."the world is uncertain, but the people who are fighting for the cause are making grounds"

The future is uncertain, in reality, and so was this books ending...so i deem it to be a proper and tragic finale to a tragic book series..

This ranks perfect with The Hunger Games (even the THG is much better, in my honest opinion)

and I am left with a gaping hole in my chest after reading this, so I believe it was a job well done.

upper 3 stars from me, over all.

Pandemonium By Lauren Oliver



Pandemonium

By: Lauren Oliver

My Rating:

3 / 5 Stars

My Review:

Well, I have to say, I was so happy with this book until the final pages. Oh my goodness, what a let down.

To begin with the PROS of this book: I was excited about how Lena was developing as a character. She was emerging from her shell of the brain-washed, typical girl to becoming an amazing protagonist.
Lena became very saturated and a raw, multifaceted person, full of emotion in a world where she was told that emotion would ultimately destroy her.

Passion was beautifully executed in this book and everything was so much heavier with conviction. 

I loved the new characters, especially Raven; she is a murky and diluted entity and a brilliant contrast to Lena. The pain and struggle through their journey and the strength that was presented was a perfect addition to this story.

I also appreciated how multidimensional this installment was. There are many more pillars than the previous book. In “Pandemonium”, the invalids ruled, but all of the different groups are contrasting and full of substance. It helped demonstrate how the “resisters” are poly layered in this post-apocalyptic world and it made the reading experience a lot more palpable and ripe.

Having a target of interests, the Fineman’s, gave this sequel a boost of adventure and hope for the series, since now there was someone to direct the hate and become an antagonist. I believe its so much more tangible when the embodiment of the main issue is personified; I also find it more like a ultimate goal (to bring this person down).

Having the dynamics of Lena and Julian was, also, a lovely addition.

Now, I DID enjoy that Lena grew from what she experienced with the whole Alex ordeal. I appreciated that Lena felt read love and the ultimate lost; and that she hurt and that she realized that love is more then what she was taught.

I believed it made her a stronger character and stronger heroine. This illustrated her evolution, gave her a passion and something to fight for…

When she began having feelings for Julian, I was also very pleased and endeared. This demonstrated that Lena was completely purged from the world without love and opened her heart again. To me, this was the best representation of the moral of this tale. That no matter how much love hurts, we’d rather have love and lost, then not love at all….or I thought that’s where the author was going for. I originally believed that it was the focal point: showing us the ultimate fear was to have feelings at all, which made the country search for the "cure"..

Also, when Lena’s mom makes an appearance, I was also so excited, because I thought she would have regained at least one person that she had thought was lost forever….

THEN
THE LAST FREAKING PAGES!!!

WHYYYY IS HE ALIVE? I know so many fan’s are pleased…but I hate love triangles, especially with this book. Come on! I was on a high from this story FINALLY!
 Lena got to find out her mom exists and is still in the resistance and Julian was saved…Now, i thought, she was going to go after her mom and all the others left behind, save them and live happily with Julian while keeping alex's memory alive...this is what I wanted, but no.
WTH!
Why dump a bunch of ink on a masterpiece? I had the saltiest taste in my mouth after those final sentences….now I am so afraid to read the last book..I didn’t want her to have to choose or be awkward…especially after she promised her love to Julian. WTH. Urg. Well….maybe it will recover..but I have my doubts.

3 out of 5 for me. 

"Delirium" By: Lauren Oliver

 

Delirium

 

By: Lauren Oliver

 

 

My Rating:

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

 

My Review:

 

I have to say, a lot about this book is not too original. It is a very typical dystopian novel, where the citizens are being brain-washed in submitting and conforming to their

 

So in this case, the government is incapacitating the people to love and make them become relatively indifferent; basically without emotion. Not to mention, the citizens are always being watched by the prying eyes of the "law". In this case, it was a post-apocalyptic USA.

government...taking place in Portland.

 

There was no named "president"/"dictator" or a specific antagonist in this book, however. So there doesn't seem to be a target of where the mind-altering "laws" are coming from and the person to direct "hate" to...it's just the system and machine as a whole which is described to be the enemy (in this book, at least, I don't know about the future installments, yet)

[Just incase if you don't understand, Like a President Snow, from THG]

 

Initially, I was a little skeptical, however, I enjoyed the character development and plot twists. I was not too overwhelmed by the love story, either. It was very tastefully done. I really appreciate Lena sticking to her guns when she first met Alex, and didn't fall in love at the first sight. (I've noticed this trend is a lot of books lately, and I really hate the lack of suspense or evolution to the relationship)

 

Also, there was some pretty interesting plot twists that I did not expect, and these kept me glued to the pages rather than putting it down out of boredom and repetition. Every new detail and unravel  to the story left me wanting to know a little bit more.

 

A couple of things threw me off, and it was more into the "world" that was being created...just some ways the town is ran and how people function...it seems so much like today's world .. like all the references to todays products (like coca'cola and jolly ranchers)

I can't see how these corporations survived after the wars and why people who don't express love and show only apathy, have a preference for taste in products like these.

Maybe this was just me, but it did annoy me a little when I kept seeing stuff like this show up.

 

All in all, it was a good book. The ending did take me by surprise and it did make me a little sad. I am already reading "Pandemonium" and I am sure this will not be a disappointing read, either.

 

upper 3's out of 5 rating from me.