28 February 2013

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Delirium #3
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss)
Goodreads Stars: 4
Rating: Essential

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. - Goodreads


While I don't think that Requiem is the strongest book in the series - that title goes to Pandemonium - I still really liked it and I am more than happy with the way things wrapped up. I think that Requiem could have been much more exciting if a few things had been adjusted, but overall it was a fantastic book! And yes, I cried.


I loved that Requiem was told from Hana's POV as well as Lena's. I really liked getting inside Hana's head because she was a cured and I was really interested in discovering more about their thought process. I loved how Hana rebelled against her fiancé. It just showed that being cured didn't mean she was weak, and she wasn't a mindless drone. 

It also led me to think about the other cured. Surely a lot of them think the same way Hana does, right? I mean, they're not being controlled (via mind powers) or brainwashed or anything. But they didn't stand up and fight the oppressive government, they just sat back and took it. Some even rolled with it, like Hana's mother. It made me so upset - and I'm getting a little bit sad again now - because... well, they're all either not strong enough to fight for themselves, or they're happy as they are. And the whole lack of love thing doesn't help matters because it basically makes them not give a damn. 

I don't really know where I was going with that, I just wanted to try to express my feelings because it made me bloody sad.

Lauren Oliver proved that writing a trilogy of books in three different ways is something that can be done. Made me feel better, since it relates to a duology I am working on! 

The ending - the final battle - was brilliant. Lots of explosions. The whole thing had me on the edge of my seat because I just didn't have a clue about what was going to happen to Lena, Hana, and the other characters that I love.

The final page made me cry so freakin' hard. Lauren Oliver's writing style is as beautiful as ever. The woman is so talented!

The way the love triangle was settled was great. It was left fairly open, and Lena loved them both. I would have liked to have seen closure regarding Julian, though, because we didn't get to see him much at the end. 

Right, what didn't I like about the book? The bloody focus on the bloody romance! It was so overdone. The first few chapters from Lena's POV are all about Alex and Julian. The girl just didn't shut up. The focus on Lena's love for Alex and Julian made me want to put the book down, and I must admit the only thing that kept me reading was Lauren Oliver's writing style. And the fact that I could not give up in the final book!

Luckily, after the first few chapters Lena calmed her loins and the action picked up. But then we hit another road block when she decided to have another crisis over which guy she preferred. Honestly, I kind of skimmed her thoughts on the two guys, because ugh. She hasn't seen Alex in months, the two barely talk in this one, and yet she still loves him and wants to be with him? Okay then. And yet she also wants to be with Julian because he's awesome, but again the two don't really talk that much. PLEASE JUST SHUT UP AND GET INTO A FIGHT WITH SOMEONE GOOD LORD.

Ehem. I really didn't care for the romance, in case you couldn't tell. 

Requiem was a fantastic end to the trilogy, and like I said, Lauren Oliver is a goddess. If you have read it, then let me know what you thought of it. Especially the final page. Did you cry? Because I wept. 

16 comments:

  1. I think you are the first person I've seen who was happy with this book. :D I agree Pandemonium was the best of the three. I wasn't happy with the way this one ended at all because here was no real closure with anything, romance or otherwise. Lena was very whiney but she also got jerked around by Alex big time which I didn't care for. For me, a lot could've been resolved with an epilogue and I've wondered if the original ending wasn't somehow changed to fit the upcoming T.V. series. :(

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    1. I think I'm so happy with it because I didn't care that much for the love triangle to begin with :) I don't really care how that wraps up. I agree that Lena was whiny. LORD. I loved that Lena brought down the wall, and all that stuff (metaphors included). I'm trying not to include spoilers here. GAH. It's hard XD

      Haha. The TV series. Now that DOES sound awful.

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  2. I actually skimmed the review, since I have been waiting to read Pandemonium closer to this publication date. I've heard about a killer cliffhanger. I hope to pick it up soon!
    I'm not happy with the focus on the romance.. That's one of the things I hate in books, but yeah, we will see!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. Haha it does have a killer cliffhanger, although it's related to the romance so... Yeah I didn't really care too much for it because I KNEW it would create problems in this one.

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  3. I skimmed over your review, I haven't read this one. I read Pandemonium a while back and was so mad at the end with the cliffhanger. I will going into this one prepared for Lena's indecisiveness in mind. Can't wait to see how it does end. Great review. :)

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. Hahaha, good luck. At least you're prepared! I was hoping for more action, but oh well. Thanks!

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  4. AHH, I love ending that bring on the tears! I can't wait to find time for this one. I've loved this series so much!

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    1. Me too! I just like to cry over novels and TV/film because then I know it had an impact.

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  5. I think I'm one of the few who LOVED Delirium and really wasn't that thrilled with Pandemonium. I was not a big fan of Julien at all! I like my strong, alpha males, so I am 100% team Alex. I actually love a good love triangle/romance, but I'm sad to hear that this book leaves you hanging in the end. I want to know that Lena and Alex (or even Lena and Julien if it has to be that way) are together and that they'll be ok :/

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    1. Haha, I normally like strong alpha males too, but for some reason Alex just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because he's suddenly turned into Dimitri Belikov a la Last Sacrifice. Sigh. I can't tell you what I want to say due to spoilers, but it doesn't leave you hanging. Not in the way you might think :D

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  6. Although the ending disappointed so many other people, I'm glad it worked for you - I'm also good with open endings, so I'm not too worried that I'm going to hate this one!

    Love triangles do my head in - really, really unnecessary - a nice two-person romance is MUCH better!

    Great review :-D

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    1. Thanks, Kat! Hahaha, love triangles are THE WORST. I think some work really well with character development, but some are just thrown in because it's such a ~cool trend. I just want an epic romance, is it too much to ask?

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  7. Oh thank goodness! I was hoping to see some reviews where people were happy with the ending. :) I'm looking forward to reading it regardless, but some of the reviews were depressing me.

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    1. Aw, don't be depressed! I guess some people are used to having everything wrapped up (and like it that way). But if you're good with open endings that include hints towards which direction it'll go in the future then you'll be fine :D

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  8. Hana...I've forgotten who she is. I'm really glad you enjoyed this! The romance would seriously irritate me, but I'll try and remember that it picks up! Thanks for the review :)

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