Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Delirium #2
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: Essential

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. - Goodreads

Has everyone bought their copy? I hope so!

Pandemonium was, quite simply, BRILLIANT. I have been waiting for this book for an entire year and I have been dying to read it. I definitely wasn't disappointed, despite having expectations that were pretty much through the roof.

Lauren Oliver has written Pandemonium in a slightly different style to Delirium. The chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now", with the "Now" chapters taking place in a city and the "Then" chapters starting when Lena was running around in the wilderness after escaping her city in the previous novel.

I really liked the new style this book had going on. I don't think I've read a book that was set out quite like this, and I found that it enhanced the story by having non-stop action right from the beginning. I think the book would have been good if it had been written the usual way - from start to finish - but the alternating chapters gave us two different views on Lena and the other characters, as well as making sure there were no boring points in the novel, and it made Pandemonium FANTASTIC. Something was always happening, and my heart was almost jumping out of my chest through most of it.

Lena did annoy me, though. She thought about Alex a lot, which was understandable seeing as she lost him, but she also compared Julian to Alex CONSTANTLY and it got on my nerves. I wish she could have been able to see him for who he is instead of a comparison to Alex.

She also kept talking about love being a disease, and I was disappointed because after everything she had been through in Delirium - and everything she goes through in this novel - I would have thought the government's brainwashing would have worn off. I guess not, though. I hope to see some improvement with her views in the final book. Other than that, Lena was a strong character and watching her grow between "Then" and "Now" was beautiful to watch.

Julian is the new love interest, and I thought he was adorable. I won't say too much about who he is or what his role is in this novel, but I loved him.

The cliffhanger got to me. WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!?! Now I have to wait ANOTHER year for the third - and final - book in the trilogy. I'm dying to know what happens. I did see the ending coming, not because I read spoilers but because it was just something I was expecting to happen. However, there are several suprises in this novel that I wasn't expecting, and I was thoroughly impressed at how well Lauren Oliver hid these things from me.

As for if I enjoyed it more or less than Delirium, I really don't know. I think I like them both the same, some things I preferred in Delirium and other things I enjoyed more in Pandemonium. It's the same series, and I don't think it's necessary for me to compare the two. I loved them both so, so much! (I also love Before I Fall, Lauren's first novel, but that's besides the point. /book pushing).

Please go out and buy this book if you haven't already. I promise you will not regret it!