Title: Annabel (Delirium #0.5)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre/s: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction,
Synopsis:
Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.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.
My Thoughts:
This 50-page novella made my heart ache, so much. I don't know how Lauren Oliver did it, but I felt every single emotion of Annabel's longing, her struggles and ultimately, her love for Lena and Rachel. And it's not surprising that it moved me to tears.
“Is it possible to tell the truth in a society of lies?
Or must you always, of necessity, become a liar?”
Annabel's story was written from the now and then perspective just like in Pandemonium. It showed her life when the Cure was still new, her teenage life, how she met Lena's father, Conrad, her life in the Crypts and how she escaped.
“That’s the easy thing about falling: There is only one choice after that.”
We all know, from Lena's memories, that Annabel was a loving mother. But who would have thought that she used to be a rebellious teenager. She run away from home, found a few friend who taught her how to pick pocket and live in Boston. That's where she first met Conrad.
“But from the beginning, I knew that in a world where destiny was dead, I was destined forever to love him. Even though he didn't - though he couldn't - ever love me back.”
This quote brought a lot of mixed emotion to me. I was really happy when Conrad was paired to Annabel but I also felt sad for her because her love will never be reciprocated. Anyway, that's all I can say about her past.
Her "now" story was a lot more intense. Her experience in the Crypts was really terrible. The only thing that kept her going is her love for Lena. I can feel her longing with every memory she reminisce of her and I can't keep my eyes from shedding a tear.
But aside from seeing her maternal love, I also saw her unwavering fighting spirit which I think Lena inherited from her. I admire her so much more here and I'm looking forward to seeing her and Lena get reunited in Requiem.
“Love obeys no laws other than its own.”
Overall, it was a really good novella. I will definitely recommend this to every Delirium series fanatics out there.
My Rating
