Title: Pandemonium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre/s: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance
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:
HOLY MOTHER OF CLIFFHANGERS!!!!
You're torturing me, Lauren! You're torturing me. I've been waiting for Alex to show up but when he finally showed up, the book also ended. If Lauren Oliver's reason for this cliffhanger is to make the reader anticipate and crave for the release of the last and final book in the Delirium series, I say, she did a brilliant job. I would move heaven and earth, just to finally read that book.
Anyway, enough about the cliffhanger because the more I talk about it, the more I badly wanted to read Requiem. So let's just talk about the things that happened in Pandemonium.
Pandemonium has a different feel than Delirium. It doesn't have chapters with excerpts from the Book of Shhh. It was told in the alternating now and then setting. And I think it's really unique just like the other books of Lauren Oliver.
The then perspective of Lena was about her experience after she escaped into the Wild, how she was found and taken care of by Zoe and the other Invalids from New Hampshire and how her experience of being an Invalid changed her, not just physically but also mentally and psychologically.
She's not the same girl from Delirium who used to run with her bestfriend, Hana for the sake of fun. Or the girl who wanted so badly to be cured because she doesn't want to dream about her mother anymore. She's now the girl who appreciate every pieces of food she ate, every comfortable bed she lie down and every hot bath she take. She's the girl who has a goal that is fueled by pain and anger. And she definitely showed how tough she became as she narrate the now perspective.
She showed control and self confidence as she blend in with the "Zombies"(that's what the Invalids called the cured). She showed how strong and clever she is when she and Julian(the new guy) tried to escape the Scavengers(they're the barbaric type of Invalids). Yet she still has vulnerability when she told Julian her past.
I really can't express how much I admire the new Lena. If you have read my review of Delirium, you would know that I didn't like Lena at first because she was so uptight and lack the self-confidence to fight. But this new Lena, she has all the characteristic to become a great heroine. The transformation of Lena is really fun to watch.
But I'm not a fan of her being with Julian, though. Yes, Julian is a really nice guy and he made her happy in Pandemonium but there's a nagging part of me who believes that he's just the rebound guy. So, I'm still on Team Alex here.
Overall, Pandemonium is a must-read for every Delirium fans. If you haven't read Delirium yet, start right now.
My Rating
