Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: 3rd & final book in the Delirium series
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble
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. 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 friend Em saw that I finished this book a couple of days ago with a big *sigh* and she asked me whether she should still read the series. You see, she was smart and waited until the series was over to contemplate reading it. And despite some of the heartache I've had to overcome with these books, I told her that she should indeed give them a chance. The world of these books, the one that is dealing with the affliction of
amor deliria nervosa, is one of our own making and deserves some consideration, as does the way the romantic entanglements were handled.
Love, the right to choose it and to feel it, is an underlying theme of this series. Anyone not subscribing to the government's proclamation that love is to be reviled and removed from the populace in all its forms is considered an Invalid or at least on their way to becoming one. But there is a Resistance, ready to rise up against a government that would take away their ability to love. Lena and Hana, once best friends, are now enemies, separated by a wall and the desire to love.
“And you can't love, not fully, unless you are loved in return.”
If you were expecting
Requiem to concentrate on the fallout of finding out that Lena had found love after loss only to discover that that love was not lost after all, I do not wish to alarm you, but that is not the focal point of this book. That issue is addressed, after much avoidance, but that is all I will say on the matter. It is not who Lena chooses or who lives or dies along the way that is important...it is the struggle to survive and win back the
right to choose that matters most in this story. It is the sacrifices made that matter even more because they represent a choice and the right to freely give up that choice.
“We wanted the freedom to love. We wanted the freedom to choose. Now we have to fight for it.”
Requiem is a dual narrative, like
Pandemonium, but this time the story is told from both Lena and Hana's points-of-view, and I think that's where this story really lost me. I didn't enjoy Hana's character in
Delirium, and reading the
Hana novella did nothing to dispel my concerns about this character, so she already had two strikes against her coming into this final installment. Maybe it's because Hana is already Cured at this point, but even when she was taking risks or questioning things she shouldn't, she still seemed mechanical, for lack of a better word. I did see some improvement from her character toward the latter half of the novel, but it will never be enough to endear her to me.
Lena, on the other hand, remains tragically naive. She has found love not once but twice, and yet she still has no idea what to do with it. Lena may have found love after loss with Julian, but it became clear to me that she never understood what she had with Alex to begin with, the way she was handling the situation, like she didn't realize her love should have been worth fighting for, despite the fact that this is exactly the mission of the Resistance she is working with.
“This is the strange way of the world, that people who simply want to love are instead forced to become warriors.”
As expected, the writing in this book is beautiful and intense, though it is definitely a departure from the romances focused on in the previous books. Instead of caressing with words peppered in possibilities, Oliver uses
Requiem to fling harsh truths and injustices at the reader. I read this book at a much slower pace than either of its predecessors, which I devoured, and I think that maybe this helped me to better appreciate where the story was going and why it had to go in that direction.
“But maybe happiness isn't in the choosing. Maybe it's in the fiction, in the pretending: that wherever we have ended up is where we intended to be all along.”
Although there will undeniably be some readers who cannot fathom the ending to this series, who cannot value the message, I believe that this ending was realistic and near-perfection. It is not a happy ending, nor is it a sad one, nor is it really an ending at all, but I feel that it fulfilled its purpose in providing closure. And that's my favorite kind of ending...one that leaves the reader with questions, not just about the story itself but about life in general.
Rating: 
Friday, March 1, 2013
Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: 3rd & final book in the Delirium series
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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. 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 friend Em saw that I finished this book a couple of days ago with a big *sigh* and she asked me whether she should still read the series. You see, she was smart and waited until the series was over to contemplate reading it. And despite some of the heartache I've had to overcome with these books, I told her that she should indeed give them a chance. The world of these books, the one that is dealing with the affliction of amor deliria nervosa, is one of our own making and deserves some consideration, as does the way the romantic entanglements were handled.
Love, the right to choose it and to feel it, is an underlying theme of this series. Anyone not subscribing to the government's proclamation that love is to be reviled and removed from the populace in all its forms is considered an Invalid or at least on their way to becoming one. But there is a Resistance, ready to rise up against a government that would take away their ability to love. Lena and Hana, once best friends, are now enemies, separated by a wall and the desire to love.
If you were expecting Requiem to concentrate on the fallout of finding out that Lena had found love after loss only to discover that that love was not lost after all, I do not wish to alarm you, but that is not the focal point of this book. That issue is addressed, after much avoidance, but that is all I will say on the matter. It is not who Lena chooses or who lives or dies along the way that is important...it is the struggle to survive and win back the right to choose that matters most in this story. It is the sacrifices made that matter even more because they represent a choice and the right to freely give up that choice.
Requiem is a dual narrative, like Pandemonium, but this time the story is told from both Lena and Hana's points-of-view, and I think that's where this story really lost me. I didn't enjoy Hana's character in Delirium, and reading the Hana novella did nothing to dispel my concerns about this character, so she already had two strikes against her coming into this final installment. Maybe it's because Hana is already Cured at this point, but even when she was taking risks or questioning things she shouldn't, she still seemed mechanical, for lack of a better word. I did see some improvement from her character toward the latter half of the novel, but it will never be enough to endear her to me.
Lena, on the other hand, remains tragically naive. She has found love not once but twice, and yet she still has no idea what to do with it. Lena may have found love after loss with Julian, but it became clear to me that she never understood what she had with Alex to begin with, the way she was handling the situation, like she didn't realize her love should have been worth fighting for, despite the fact that this is exactly the mission of the Resistance she is working with.
As expected, the writing in this book is beautiful and intense, though it is definitely a departure from the romances focused on in the previous books. Instead of caressing with words peppered in possibilities, Oliver uses Requiem to fling harsh truths and injustices at the reader. I read this book at a much slower pace than either of its predecessors, which I devoured, and I think that maybe this helped me to better appreciate where the story was going and why it had to go in that direction.
Although there will undeniably be some readers who cannot fathom the ending to this series, who cannot value the message, I believe that this ending was realistic and near-perfection. It is not a happy ending, nor is it a sad one, nor is it really an ending at all, but I feel that it fulfilled its purpose in providing closure. And that's my favorite kind of ending...one that leaves the reader with questions, not just about the story itself but about life in general.
Rating:
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #44: Requiem by Lauren Oliver
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
This week's teaser(s) comes from the following book(s):
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: 3rd & final book in the Delirium series
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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. 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 teaser:
Eeeeek!!! I have been waiting and waiting to get to this novel. I didn't want to read it too early and then not have anyone to discuss it with, but I can't hold out any longer. Especially now that my sister is listening to this series, at my prodding. I must know what happens after that ending in Pandemonium, even if it means I have to read from Hana's point-of-view again. Blech.
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop
This series "follows Lena and Alex, two teens battling against the controlling government that believes that love is a disease and forbids it from their community." -- Goodreads
Of course, Requiem doesn't release until March 5th, so if you're eager for the final book in the series, it will be a pre-order.
Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out the 100+ giveaway stops on this blog hop:
Thanks for entering & happy reading!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Short Story Sunday #6: Annabel by Lauren Oliver
And so, every Sunday for the foreseeable future, I would like to highlight short stories and novellas set in worlds I've already come to love and learn a little more about some of the secondary characters in my favorite novels. I'll be underscoring some of my favorite aspects of these short works of fiction, in addition to offering up a mini review of each work.
This week, I'm featuring the following book as I prepare to read Requiem in the next few weeks:
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium, book #0.5 (prequel)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: December 26, 2012
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.
Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.
But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.
With this novella, you don't really get any new information, just a different view of what we already know from reading the previous books in the series. But that doesn't mean it's any less pertinent to the story.
Reading from Annabel's point-of-view was very much like reading from Lena's...at least Lena's voice from the beginning of Pandemonium. It is disheartening and depressing, with just the slightest hint of hopefulness. As she alternates between the past and present -- the past being the time before she was paired and the present being the days leading up to her escape from the Crypt -- it is easy to see where Lena's strength and determination come from.
In addition to viewing Annabel's misery through her own eyes, we also get a glimpse of the lengths she was willing to go to for freedom...and the lengths others were willing to go to in order to aide in her escape. I, myself, never made the connection as to who her accomplice was, but I shouldn't have been all that surprised.
Like I said, nothing new here, really, but you do get a peek at the first two chapters of Requiem, and if you're already having a difficult time making it until March for the final installment of this series, that in itself my whet your appetite for a bit. Or it could make the wait pure torture. Who am I to say? *insert wicked laugh*
Rating:
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday: Requiem by Lauren Oliver
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's WoW selection is...
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium, book #3
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
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. 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.
Why I'm waiting: Where do I start?!? Pandemonium's ending left me utterly speechless. I mean, sure I kind of saw it coming, but I was hoping things wouldn't go down that way. I can't say anything else without risking spoiling it for those who haven't read up to this book, which includes Hana -- which you should also definitely read -- but just know, this series is kind of explosive. Literally and figuratively. I cannot wait to see where Lauren Oliver takes things in the finale!
So, what are you waiting on this week? Share in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium
Publisher: HarperCollins/HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 28, 2012
Source: ARC
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.
WARNING: If you don't like cliffhangers, I suggest you wait until Requiem is released next year before picking up Pandemonium. Just sayin'.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the sequel to Delirium, a book I loved in 2011. I was afraid of the middle-book slump, that "second book in a trilogy is just a filler" feeling you get from the second installment in a series -- the one that determines whether or not you'll pick up the last book -- but Pandemonium surpassed all of my hopes. I think...no, I KNOW I loved the sequel more than Delirium. Whereas Delirium was the build-up to an engaging love story, Pandemonium was wrought with the fears and circumstances of what comes after, in a world where love is illegal and punished.
Lena's life has changed fundamentally in the six months since she was forced to leave Alex at the fence and embark into the Wilds on her own. She is not the same girl. Lena has had to leave that life behind and forge her own way in the Wilds without Alex's help. And she's done surprisingly well for herself, considering how privileged her life had been before her escape.
Lena's story is not an easy one to tell, but Lauren Oliver does it beautifully. This book was poignant and sad and all the while hopeful. And it introduces an entirely new cast of characters, all of whom are hard to forget. I like that it's easy to see the general camaraderie between Lena and her new allies, whether they be other Invalids like herself or those from the inside. Either way, Lena has to earn friendships wherever she goes. She is no longer the scared, timid girl she was in Portland. She has grown stronger, both physically and mentally, and she is ready to fight against everything she believed before.
Pandemonium is just as explosive as the ending to Delirium. Nothing's really changed on the other side of the fence since Lena left it, except that the Resistance has stepped up its efforts, and the government is no longer trying to hide the fact that Invalids exist and are causing chaos. The DFA (organization for a Deliria-Free America) are using these attacks as evidence that the Cure should be administered even earlier than age 18, especially in extenuating circumstances. If Lena found any part of her world hard to swallow when she met Alex, I'd wager she finds it quadruply hard to swallow now. Nothing is ever as it seems.
As opposed to a switched POV, like many sequels tend to take on, Pandemonium features a past and present POV from Lena's perspective It really helps the reader gauge what Lena has endured and how it has ultimately changed her. I found this type of narration a little more difficult to read than a standard switched POV between two characters until I realized that it was kind of the same, the way Pandemonium is told. There is the old Lena and then there is the new Lena. Past and present. One character, then another.
Again, I'll advise you that if you do not want to be waiting for the third book with bated breath, you should abstain from Pandemonium. However, as sequels go, I will say that it was definitely one of my favorites. It made me endlessly sad, but it also filled me with a sense of hope and longing. It kept me thoroughly entertained and entirely engrossed in the story. It was the epic sequel to an epic love story, and I am starting to seriously question why I don't make myself wait until all the books in a series have been released before starting one because it is going to be painful to endure the wait until Requiem.
Rating:
Lauren Oliver discusses Pandemonium:
Saturday, February 18, 2012
In My Mailbox #19
In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.
This was probably the best week I've had since I've been blogging. No joke. The proof:
For Review:
Black Heart by Holly Black, via a Southern Book Bloggers ARC tour
Clockwork Prince audio, written by Cassandra Clare & narrated by Ed Westwick (swoon) & Heather Lind, thanks to Simon & Schuster
The Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman, from Candlewick Press via Netgalley
Won:
Saturday, January 21, 2012
In My Mailbox #15
In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.
Borrowed:
A Million Suns by Beth Revis, courtesy of the zany April from Sim~Sational~Books
Um, so Audible was having yet another one of their member sales, and well, you know I can't say no to those, so I ended up with these gems:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver - couldn't pass up the deal, need to re-read anyway for Pandemonium
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - already read but heard the audio was awesome
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - need to "read" before seeing the movie
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - re-"read" is necessary before seeing the movie in March with the sisters I forced this series on (they loved it, too)
What were your spoils from the short week that didn't seem so short?
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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