Requiem

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.

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.

My Thoughts;

-    I'm really disappointed. Delirium was so fantastic, and then it quickly went downhill. 

-    I'm confused. I don't really think this ended.

-    I like that we got Hana's perspective. She was a wonderful character in Delirium, and it was interesting to see what happened to her. I also liked that we got to get inside the head of a "cured" person.

-    There was some heavy swearing now and then. It wasn't frequent, but there were f-bombs.

-    The love triangle sucks! I really hated this one!

-    Lena was a real cry baby in this book, and it was so backwards from her character development. She can kick butt in a fight and lead a squadron, but she cries over everything! It was annoying.

-    The ending is really lame! I feel like the ending cut off in the middle. The resistance takes over one town, but what about the government? They didn't make a lasting difference by taking out one town! 

-    There were a lot of loose ends. What happened to Hana? Did Lena choose Alex? Did they win the battle after they tore the wall down? Did Fred die? I have a lot of questions!

-    I understand that the author was challenging herself by changing up the writing style and stuff for the books, but I really loved the first book. I loved the bits of The Book of Shh at the beginning of each chapter, and I liked Lena a lot. This last book was better than Pandamonium, but I wish Oliver had tried different writings styles on different books. 

-    By the end, I kind of just wanted everyone to die. If they just went down heroically, it would have been ok with me. 

Previous Books in the Delirium Trilogy(click on the cover to see my thoughts)

 

Pandemonium

Goodreads Synopsis:   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.

My Thoughts:

-    I have mixed feelings about this book.

-    The story switches between Then and Now chapters.  Both time lines follow Lena, but it's just split between her struggles in the Wilds and her role as part of the Resistance.

-    There were two F bombs and a lot of swearing in this one.  I didn't like it.

-    The first book was filled with a lot of hope and love.  This one has a lot of anger.  Lena's character has changed a bit, and I'm not sure I like the new Lena.

-    The ending is TERRIBLE!!!  Another bad cliffhanger!!  Honestly, the last few lines made me feel like "Oh brother! Please don't do this!"

-    The unanswered questions from the 1st book don't get addressed until the VERY end!  I really wish the author had spent more time on the missing pieces from Delirium.

-    It almost doesn't feel like the same book series as Delirium.  The author's style has a changed a bit, and the feel of the book is just different.  There really isn't much to connecting the 2 books besides Lena and the ending.  

-    The book was still good to read.  If you loved Delirium, definitely give this a chance.  Like I said, I have mixed feelings.  I liked parts, but I didn't like other parts.  

Delirium

Goodreads Description:   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 government 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.

My Thoughts:

-    I can't imagine a world without love!!  It would be so tragic not to be able to love my husband and child.  Love drives me to do a lot of things for my family and others.  I would be a really selfish person if I didn't have love to serve and care for others.

-    I liked the little excerpts at the beginning of each chapter.  It helped me understand the culture better. 

-    Without love why do they marry and have children?  It is interesting that they still had family units. Without love, I think people would just procreate as a job or something.  

-    There were two F bombs in the book.  I thought they didn't need to be there.  It was kind of a shock, especially since the rest of the book is pretty clean.

-    I love Hana and her friendship to Lena.  Hana is so loyal!  Every girl needs a friend like her.  I love how their friendship was so realistic too.  They had arguments and disagreements, but they got over it and made up. 

-    The author does a wonderful job conveying the scenery.  She doesn't describe them in great detail, but I can picture everything so clearly and easily.  For example, all the beach scenes are so vivid in my mind.

-    Alex is quite the "knight in shining armor" fellow.  I really liked that he was strong independent person.  He didn't just sit around waiting for someone to tell him something.  He took action on his own.

-    The ending is KILLER!!!  The cliffhanger is terrible!!!  I can't wait to read the sequel!!