Lauren Oliver

3.5 stars

This is book 3 of (I believe) a trilogy. The gist of this dytopian trilogy is that people are “cured” of a disease with a surgery when they come of age. That disease is love. They will no longer feel love. They are then paired with someone to marry. But there is a group of people who don’t want this to happen, at least to them. This book follows Lena and Hana, once best friends. Their points of view alternate.

Possible spoilers for previous books: Lena is living with a group of people in the “wilds”; she has not had the surgery nor does she want to. Hana has had the surgery and is slated to marry Fred. Fred’s father was the mayor, but he died in an uprising and Fred is now mayor. He emphasizes how much he despises the uncured. He was married previously to Cassie, but Cassie seems to have disappeared.

I listened to the audio and this was good. Once again, it took a bit for me to figure out who many of the characters were (though I knew the main characters). It was interesting to see Hana’s and Lena’s different viewpoints, given where they each were at this point in their lives. I found Hana’s POV a bit more interesting than Lena’s. I did like how it ended.… (meer)

In Lena's world, love is considered a disease - deliria. Her mother was afflicted with it and she killed herself - her last words to Lena were "I love you" - which, of course, are forbidden words. There is a cure for the deliria, though - and Lena is only months away from finally getting it. For some reason, you have to be 18 to get the cure. Anyway, she seems a little sad that she and her best friend won't have the same relationship anymore after they have been cured (because all their feelings will be deadened), but she is still looking forward to being safe from the deliria. After all, the cure makes the world a better place - peaceful...orderly...everyone is content. In this society, once you are tested/interviewed (pre-cure), you are given a future profession and a list of potential spouses - choose one, get cured, get married, have children, do your job, and live contentedly ever after. Of course, if this story really went down like that, it would have been awfully boring. And it isn't. And it doesn't happen like that at all. First of all, Lena meets a boy. Alex. Sparks fly. Could she be stricken with the dreaded deliria? Whatever will she choose to do? I could tell you...but I'm not going to. (insert evil/cheesy grin here)

Alex is a little too perfect, which was a little annoying. The potential spouse on Lena's list is a little too much the opposite of Alex, which doesn't make for any tension at all. Lena's friend is an interesting character - their friendship is written well. The aunt Lena lives with, Lena's sister, and the little girl who lives with Lena and her aunt and uncle are also good secondary characters. Lena waxes very, very, very poetic about her feelings sometimes - and since this is written in first person, I found myself thinking, "Really? Who talks like that?" But then again, this is a character who has never really been cared for or loved (well, since her mother's suicide when she was much younger), so all these new feelings would probably seem huge...overwhelming even...so, in retrospect, I guess her reactions to her feelings were probably pretty spot-on.

And then...there's the plot twist near the ending and the ending itself... Well, I can't give that away either, but I'll be purchasing the sequel. No doubt.… (meer)

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of a friend, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical illness, military violence and war themes, explosions, fire
Score: Six points out of ten.
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Two years ago, I read the first instalment of the Delirium trilogy, Delirium, which I initially enjoyed but I later thought it as only okay after picking out the flaws. Two years later, I couldn't delay any longer. It was time to read the next part of the series: Pandemonium. The ratings were high, but in the end, Pandemonium underwhelmed me.

It starts (more like continues) with a character that needs no introduction, Lena, picking up after the events of Delirium, living in a new society away from the dystopia that is America. Speaking of, the worldbuilding is baffling to comprehend. All the government did is ban love. What for? The government allows everything else except love. It doesn't sound like a plausible dystopian world to me. Nothing happens in the first 300 pages save for Lena residing in her new residence. However, the last 40 pages quicken the pace as the government attacks the Wilds, but that begs the question: how did the government not know about the Wilds until the events of Pandemonium happened? I don't understand. It's not clear. The conclusion is shocking and finishes on a cliffhanger, but I'm undecided on whether I should read the final part, Requiem.… (meer)