Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

ISBN: 9780062014535
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 2013
Series: Delirium Trilogy #3
Page Count: 391


GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

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.

IN-DEPTH REVIEW:
**NO SPOILERS, but if you havent read Pandemonium, I wouldn't suggest reading this. You may want to read my review of Pandemonium, though it does contain some small spoilers**
Ever since I finished Pandemonium, I've been dying to read this book as I'm sure many of you have been or were, and we all obviously know why. The return of ALEX **gasp**

I'm not going to lie, at the end of Pandemonium, I was very anxious to see what would happen with Alex, but ever since Julian entered the picture, I was 100% team Julian. I think I mentioned in my review of Pandemonium that I never felt any connection with Lena and Alex. No emotion when he "died" or anything like that. I just had no interest. I instantly connected with the Julian-Lena love story and I think its important for me to add that after reading Requiem where we have both Julian and Alex, I am still team Julian, though only about 90% now, maybe not 100%.

I was 15 pages into this book and I was already pissed off with Lena and the attitude she had taken on once Alex has shown up again. I was quickly understanding why many people didnt like this book. Lena was back to being boring Lena. But then all of a sudden, a few pages later, it all happened for me. I was hooked. I was literally crying at this point because of the emotions Lena was experiencing, and Oliver's writing is just so amazing that, at times, I felt those emotions myself. Those really are the best kinds of books, arent they? The ones that make you feel what the characters feel.

Another reason I felt like I connected with this book was because of the emotions Lena was feeling in her love life. Let us all be honest here, most of us have experienced some sort of romantic heartache, be it a break up in the 8th grade or in your adult life. Either way, you remember being crushed, right? Well I was a particularly dramatic teenager, and havent had the best of luck as of late, so I know what its like, and I think the second best kinds of books are the ones you can relate to. I related to Lena, I felt her pain because of the writing and because of my own memories.
Anyhow... moving on.

Julian grew so much in this final installment of the trilogy. Though I liked him in Pandemonium, he came off as weak to me, and Requiem comes around and no, he isn't all of a sudden tough and strong just because he's left Zombieland to live in the Wilds, like many authors would have made him. He grew. He was still afraid of the changes, of the difference in the quality of life, and of loving or showing affection, but he wanted to try and learn and be strong and be an asset to the resistance to fight for what he believed in and he did all of those things. I just loved Julian in Requiem which made Alex's return that much harder for me to accept. Ugh, imagine how hard it was for Lena!

Now, see - usually, when a dystopian novel like this begins to focus too much on love and romance when the fate of life itself is at stake, I tend to get annoyed by petty teenager things being important when there are obviously more important things to worry about. However, this novel is different in an interesting way. As we all know, this trilogy is about a society that deems love a disease, amor deliria nervosa, that it is the cause of all the world's problems. These books are about fighting for love. I expected to be annoyed by the focus on relationships but I wasnt and I was pleasantly surprised by how invested I was in the relationships in this trilogy.

One thing I do have to say that I also found interesting was that in Pandemonium and Requiem, the characters many times had the same thoughts I did. Are the "cureds" right? Is it really a disease? You find yourself so consumed, not thinking clearly, doing irrational things, etc. Arent they right in some way? It was just clever how Oliver presented this, giving up the ability to see both perspectives, how maybe the "cureds" werent totally wrong with the whole premise of the cure.

Now let's talk about Hana. Many of you should know that this book is told from Lena's view in the Wilds and Hana's view in Portland after her cure. I was so engrossed in Hana's story, as much as I was in Lena's. Even at the times I found myself hating her, I found myself cheering her on and feeling for her too.

I was totally engrossed in this book in its entirety and kind of wonder what some of the reviewers were talking about when they said they didnt even like it. I really cant think of much I didnt like except - oh! The ENDING!! I think many are in an uproar over the way this story ended, and while I am not happy with it, I like that it gives me room to decide how it ends myself. I have some ideas where Oliver wanted it to go with some things, but others, I guess it is kind of left up to the reader, and one day, I suppose I'll say where this one went in my head, but I dont want to give anything away. For now, I'll just replay it in my head whenever I get sad that this trilogy is over.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

I loved this book, and was very happy with the growth of the characters and their depth. I enjoyed all aspects, including the progression of relationships and the progression of the resistance. I am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT TEAM JULIAN and I always will be. As always, the writing is terrific, and frankly this was my favorite in the series. I didnt like Delirium to begin with but continued because I dont like to leave things unfinished, ended up loving Pandemonium, and adored Requiem. I felt every emotion portrayed in this book with fierce intensity which brought me even farther into the world of Delirium.


RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

Four and a half stars for this one. The ONLY thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars one is the ending. I just wasnt happy with it, and though I am trying to look at it in a positive light, I cant help but remember thinking - THIS IS IT? THIS IS HOW IT ENDS!?

Now I'm going to read the three short stories that are a part of Delirium Stories and I will be posting a review on that some time this week, in addition the short story about Alex released in the first printing of Requiem.

So, have you read this one yet? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan on reading it? Can't wait to hear what you thought of this one.

A.