Friday, March 8, 2013

Book Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Hey everyone!
Today I have the long awaited book review on Requiem! All in all, I really did like this book. I have one part that really bothered me, but otherwise, I thought it as great! This book review will contain spoilers for all three books: Delirium, Pandemonium, and eventually, Requiem.
Requiem (Delirium, #3)"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 fiancĂ©e 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."



(Spoilers!)
First of all, one thing that I loved about this book is the two different points of view. You have Lena, who we can see what goes on in the Wilds. But then we have Hana. We get to see how the cure works for her and what life is like inside Zombieland.
Next, we have the whole Alex-Julian thing going on. First, I thought Alex was this evil little jerk, but until he leaves and has the fight with Julian, I start feeling sorry for him again. And then the letter he leaves Lena. It's not until Lena's mom tells her the real Soloman story that she realizes Alex LOVED HER ALL ALONG! Lauren Oliver did a great job at jumbling all of my feelings up, stomping on them, spitting them out, bandaging them all back together.
Oh Raven. Although Raven was never my favorite character, she grew on me more in this book. I also read the Delirium Stories which has a Raven, Hana, and Annabel section. When I read the Raven one after I finished Requiem, I really felt bad for her. SPOILER: She was going to have a baby!!!!!!! (End of spoiler) But she died which was so sad, and I felt so bad for Tack.
Then we randomly meet Lena's mother, Annabel, Bee, whatever you want to call her. I loved the reunion! It was pure shock, then some anger, and a second later, they were crying together! Ahh, so good. I love her mom though, she was a great character. She was a strong leader of the Resistance, but she still had mother-like qualities.
Of course, half the book was narrated by Hana too. I was really hoping the cure didn't work (which I don't think it worked fully, or just differently for her) and that she would meet up with Julian. And then it could be Lena/Alex and Julian/Hana! But her story intertwined with Lena's very well.
The one thing that bothered me and left me very disappointed was the ending. Sure it may be better that we don't really know who she ends up with, although we kind of do since Alex and her admit they loved each other all along. So in  a way we do, but I wanted to see Julian taking it in. We don't even know what happens to Hana! For all we know, more regulators could've came in and took Portland again! I just feel like the book was cut short. I really try to be lenient, but I'm afraid I was too sadden here. 
I still loved the book and would really recommend it to anyone! -Kait

2 comments:

  1. I loved this book, too, Kait! It was so good. My heart just broke for Alex. Have you read his short story? It was my FAVOURITE of the bunch.

    I'm just so sad that this series is over. I feel like I've invested so much in these books!

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    Brenna from Esther's Ever After

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    1. It definitely was! I did feel bad for Alex too!

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