March 29, 2013

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem (Delirium #3)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Pages: 391
Source: Hardcover/Own

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.

Review: Overall, I enjoyed the book. I want to start of talking about the action. I really loved how the action continuously picked up the further you got into the book. It started out with small fights with regulators to regulators mass murdering entire towns of resistance/invalids. I didn't exactly like that so many resistance/invalids were being murdered, but just the step up in the action made the book more interesting in terms of fighting. I also loved how the Resistance stepped up in fighting back! They came up with some great plans! Granted one of them was messed up by one of their allies ending up working for the other side, but it was still a great plan none the less. And dont even get me started on the huge plan they had schemed up and did at the end. That... That was huge! I didnt see the ending scene with the Resistance going down exactly like that but it was still huge nonetheless!

Ok, so the alternating POV's. I liked it, but I didn't love it exactly. I liked seeing what was going on both in the Resistance with Lena and then back in Portland with Hana being cured, but I really felt like half of the time Hana's POV was boring. I mean there were many interesting chapters, but there were still many boring ones as well. Lena's POV on the other hand always seemed interesting. Whether it was a fight with Regulators, fighting about where the group should go, someone new showing up or leaving, someone dying. There was just always something going on. I enjoyed Lena's POV a lot more than Hana's. 

Hana. In the few chapters I didn't find boring in her POV there were many things I was curious about. Like she went and found Grace (Lena's Cousin) and brought her food. I would think someone that the cure work fully wouldn't do that. So I questioned whether the cure fully worked on Hana. Also, I do have to say I was very curious, like Hana about what happened to Cassie (Fred's former wife). So whenever she was brought up I was very attentive to what was going on. I have to say, right from the beginning I was skeptical about Hana's Fiance Fred. I just felt like there was something seriously unstable about him and that he was hiding something. I was proved right too. Long story short, was never a fan of Fred in this book! I was so proud of Hana finding Cassie and finding out what Fred was capable of. And I'm happy with what she did at the end of the book leaving the house with Fred still in it knowing what was gonna happen. I definitely don't think Hana's cure worked fully.

Lena. Man, she dealt with so much. Alex showed back up but said he didn't love her anymore. That really hurt Lena. She tried to get over it, but you could tell whenever she talked about him or even looked at him that it was killing her not being with him. I mean she had Julian, but even Lena said it outright herself. She'd never love him the way she loves Alex. And you could tell that was true. Though I was happy that Julian was there for her when she was dealing with all that pain. With the way Alex kept treating her she needed someone to just be there for her. But I was also proud of Lena for stepping up when she needed to in the Resistance. Though the Resistance did give her some complications with her life. It brought her mom back into her life, which she wasnt exactly happy about at first. I mean after really getting to talk to her mom and spend time with her she was happy about it but it really upset her at first. I was kinda confused about the ending for Lena though....

The ending in general made me mad. It just cut off so abruptly! I mean Hana left Fred in the house where something bad was gonna happen. Alex tells Lena he still loves her and that he'll never run away again but thats the end. We dont find out what happens to any of them, if Alex and Lena get back together or exactly what happens as a whole with them taking down the walls. There is just so much left unfinished and I was really disappointed in the ending. I was gonna give the books 5 stars but after that ending I cant. I just cant. 

4 Stars!