Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: #3 - Delirium
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: #3 - Delirium
Format: Hardback
Release Date: January 4th, 2011My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
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.
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.
My Review:
Requiem was a final bit to the Delirium series and while I thought I was interested in, and rightfully I was. The book flopped between Lena and Hana, and it was refreshing seeing the other side of the wall and the perspective of a future wife of a Leader. I first thought of the two as something extraordinary and I yearned to see more of Hana page after page of Lena. The two were great, and their growth matured as the story unfolded, but there were times and many times that I found that Lena fell from what I thought and what I envisioned her to be.
First lets start where the book started Alex and Lena, but I want to deal with Lena first. Lena is dealt with Alex returning in the beginning, and while she's with Julian the vision of who she wants to be with blurs. Look at Lena in the end of Delirium and than at the middle of Requiem, and that's a whole other issue. She grows delirious and is unsure of who she wants to be with. Time and time again she's told that Alex doesn't want her, when it's really her who isn't sure of what she wants. The love triangle in this book is oddly demoralizing, and degrades the strong character Lena personified.
Alex was great, his pain and his turmoil is all there on the surface. Put yourself in his shoes; he's been beaten and bruised til he's seen the life end in his own eyes, and when he's come back he finds the love of his life with someone else. He's devastated and ultimately heartbroken and truly beyond any and all repair. Time and time again he pushes away from Lena, and continuously speaks with Coral a new Wilds group member. I don't see that Alex and Coral have a relationship starting beyond a simple easy friendship. I loved that about Alex, he was always faithful to Lena, even if it hurt him and the love seemed to be the darker parts of his life.
Than there was the other side of the wall, Hana. Hana was the carefree eccentric one that brought life and freedom to Lena in Delirium. However, when we see Hana in this book its completely different. She's had her procedure and believes fully that love is a disease. The world has changed all around Hana, and she's just getting the first doses of what is coming. The wilds are getting into her city, and growing in numbers. Furthermore, Hana just isn't sure whose side she's on anymore.
The plot and the scenery grows, the Wilds and the camps grow in numbers. The first large camp of wilds appears about midway through this book, and it made my jaw drop. The imagery and surrealism was perfect and great. How it captured what a group of homeless people would be like amassed in the thousands. The stench, the putrid and horror that would go through all those people. Than the city drowns them out, or attempts to in an effort to stop and deal with the Wilds.
The city was, and the DFA seem to be nothing more than a bunch of cowards who hide behind the walls. The quote at the end of this book took my breathe away, I love the idea and the message about taking down the walls, and pushing through our differences. That's what we all do right? Take away our differences, what are we? I look at this book and the series and I love how Lena grew, even if she ended up at the end being a coward. Hiding in the middle of a love triangle that she can't decide on who to be with, until the very end. I was disappointed in this Lena, Requiem's personification of her broke my heart.
First lets start where the book started Alex and Lena, but I want to deal with Lena first. Lena is dealt with Alex returning in the beginning, and while she's with Julian the vision of who she wants to be with blurs. Look at Lena in the end of Delirium and than at the middle of Requiem, and that's a whole other issue. She grows delirious and is unsure of who she wants to be with. Time and time again she's told that Alex doesn't want her, when it's really her who isn't sure of what she wants. The love triangle in this book is oddly demoralizing, and degrades the strong character Lena personified.
Alex was great, his pain and his turmoil is all there on the surface. Put yourself in his shoes; he's been beaten and bruised til he's seen the life end in his own eyes, and when he's come back he finds the love of his life with someone else. He's devastated and ultimately heartbroken and truly beyond any and all repair. Time and time again he pushes away from Lena, and continuously speaks with Coral a new Wilds group member. I don't see that Alex and Coral have a relationship starting beyond a simple easy friendship. I loved that about Alex, he was always faithful to Lena, even if it hurt him and the love seemed to be the darker parts of his life.
Than there was the other side of the wall, Hana. Hana was the carefree eccentric one that brought life and freedom to Lena in Delirium. However, when we see Hana in this book its completely different. She's had her procedure and believes fully that love is a disease. The world has changed all around Hana, and she's just getting the first doses of what is coming. The wilds are getting into her city, and growing in numbers. Furthermore, Hana just isn't sure whose side she's on anymore.
The plot and the scenery grows, the Wilds and the camps grow in numbers. The first large camp of wilds appears about midway through this book, and it made my jaw drop. The imagery and surrealism was perfect and great. How it captured what a group of homeless people would be like amassed in the thousands. The stench, the putrid and horror that would go through all those people. Than the city drowns them out, or attempts to in an effort to stop and deal with the Wilds.
The city was, and the DFA seem to be nothing more than a bunch of cowards who hide behind the walls. The quote at the end of this book took my breathe away, I love the idea and the message about taking down the walls, and pushing through our differences. That's what we all do right? Take away our differences, what are we? I look at this book and the series and I love how Lena grew, even if she ended up at the end being a coward. Hiding in the middle of a love triangle that she can't decide on who to be with, until the very end. I was disappointed in this Lena, Requiem's personification of her broke my heart.
