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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Lena successfully fled Portland to join the Wilds and avoid the procedure, but it costs her everything. She roams the Wilds alone, waiting for Death to take her and bring her back to Alex, but those plans will have to wait because a black haired girl comes to her rescue, nursing her back to health and teaching her the ropes of living on the outside. Nothing is easy in this harsh lifestyle and many challenges awaits Lena along the way.
I have mixed feelings about Pandemonium, not because it wasn’t good, but because I was extremely disappointed. Let me explain, and I’m sorry but I can’t without a tiny spoiler. You can skip the first paragraph if you are highly allergic to spoilers =) I don’t know if you’re like me, but after I finished reading Delirium all I wanted, is to know what happened to Alex, for him to survive and to rock it in Pandemonium. I’ve anxiously awaited a year for my Alex fix and I didn’t get it! He is not really part of the book, he is pretty much memories, conscience and hallucinations and it really let me down. I was flowing from pages to pages hoping the next one would be the one Alex got back in the game and was left on my appetite.
Now onto the book itself, I thought it was good and up to par with the previous novel. The form of the book was somewhat unusual but it worked just fine. Lauren chose to alternate chapters between Now and Then instead of narrating the story linearly. I thought it made things interesting but I kind of missed how she got from Then to Now. See, Then is her time in the Wilds, recovering from her escape, learning her new lifestyle, facing challenges as a invalid and Now is Lena living undercover in Manhattan working for the revolution. I have an idea of the catalyst for this new mission, but the exact why and how are vague and I kind of needed that. The alternating chapters added to the tension because once you finish a chapter, the following one isn’t the one that will clench your thirst, and it urges you to read faster to know what happens next and I thought it was a smart move. Oliver’s writing style is also a delight that you don’t want to miss.
Highly suspenseful, the plot itself was satisfying. I preferred the Now over Then, but Then was necessary to understand Lena’s path. Not everyone in Lena’s new life are who they seem and sometimes she will misjudge them and their motivations, putting her in arms way. I truly enjoyed the journey Oliver set Lena on as she matured a great deal in this novel, promising a very interesting third novel.
This installment is filled with new characters and they were all great even though I wasn’t fond of all of them. Tack, one of the invalids, isn’t really approachable from the start, but he really grew on me. I didn’t really like Raven, another invalid, but she played a big role in Lena’s evolution so I’m glad she was there. Justin, the son of the leader of Deliria-Free America, turned out to be an interesting surprise and even though, for me, he palled in comparison to Alex, he was a good enough character, showing strength and determination when the situation was desperate.
Remember how Delirium’s end was a killer? Well Pandemonium is just as bad, or might be even worst. Honestly, after reading the last word I hated Lauren Oliver, and if you’ve read the book, you know what I’m talking about. I had to vent my frustration to my poor innocent hubby who thought the whole thing was funny- NOT! Lauren how can you be so cruel? how? Waiting another year is torture, plain and simple. I want to get my hands on Requiem NOW!
I strongly recommend this series, it’s a very original dystopian tale in which Love is a disease to be eradicated at all cost. For your own sanity though, you might wanna wait until all three books are out, because I’m honestly pulling my hair out here.
I have mixed feelings about Pandemonium, not because it wasn’t good, but because I was extremely disappointed. Let me explain, and I’m sorry but I can’t without a tiny spoiler. You can skip the first paragraph if you are highly allergic to spoilers =) I don’t know if you’re like me, but after I finished reading Delirium all I wanted, is to know what happened to Alex, for him to survive and to rock it in Pandemonium. I’ve anxiously awaited a year for my Alex fix and I didn’t get it! He is not really part of the book, he is pretty much memories, conscience and hallucinations and it really let me down. I was flowing from pages to pages hoping the next one would be the one Alex got back in the game and was left on my appetite.
Now onto the book itself, I thought it was good and up to par with the previous novel. The form of the book was somewhat unusual but it worked just fine. Lauren chose to alternate chapters between Now and Then instead of narrating the story linearly. I thought it made things interesting but I kind of missed how she got from Then to Now. See, Then is her time in the Wilds, recovering from her escape, learning her new lifestyle, facing challenges as a invalid and Now is Lena living undercover in Manhattan working for the revolution. I have an idea of the catalyst for this new mission, but the exact why and how are vague and I kind of needed that. The alternating chapters added to the tension because once you finish a chapter, the following one isn’t the one that will clench your thirst, and it urges you to read faster to know what happens next and I thought it was a smart move. Oliver’s writing style is also a delight that you don’t want to miss.
Highly suspenseful, the plot itself was satisfying. I preferred the Now over Then, but Then was necessary to understand Lena’s path. Not everyone in Lena’s new life are who they seem and sometimes she will misjudge them and their motivations, putting her in arms way. I truly enjoyed the journey Oliver set Lena on as she matured a great deal in this novel, promising a very interesting third novel.
This installment is filled with new characters and they were all great even though I wasn’t fond of all of them. Tack, one of the invalids, isn’t really approachable from the start, but he really grew on me. I didn’t really like Raven, another invalid, but she played a big role in Lena’s evolution so I’m glad she was there. Justin, the son of the leader of Deliria-Free America, turned out to be an interesting surprise and even though, for me, he palled in comparison to Alex, he was a good enough character, showing strength and determination when the situation was desperate.
Remember how Delirium’s end was a killer? Well Pandemonium is just as bad, or might be even worst. Honestly, after reading the last word I hated Lauren Oliver, and if you’ve read the book, you know what I’m talking about. I had to vent my frustration to my poor innocent hubby who thought the whole thing was funny- NOT! Lauren how can you be so cruel? how? Waiting another year is torture, plain and simple. I want to get my hands on Requiem NOW!
I strongly recommend this series, it’s a very original dystopian tale in which Love is a disease to be eradicated at all cost. For your own sanity though, you might wanna wait until all three books are out, because I’m honestly pulling my hair out here.
Much better than Delirium, and although the end was predictable, I'm interested enough to read the third one.
I read Lauren Oliver’s first book in this series, Delirium pre-blogging days, so unfortunately there isn’t a review for it, yet I can’t believe I am only getting round to the follow up now. For anyone ignorant of this series, it is set in a future dystopian world where falling in love is forbidden and highly discouraged, and when children come of age they are subjected to traumatic brain surgery to remove any emotions connected with it, pronouncing it a “cure,” and in effect, producing a nation of zombies. In the first novel, we meet our heroine Lena, who is about to come of age and have surgery, however just in time she meets a young man called Alex and falls head over heels in love with him. Doh! As the second book opens, Lena is being looked after by a group of people in The Wilds, and believes Alex is dead after narrowly cheating it herself. Surviving on the outside of the city walls is quite a primitive process, and the group have to build and construct a lot of necessary materials themselves, and either scavenge for food and supplies or rely on the generosity of sympathisers on the inside for transportation of goods.
I enjoyed the way in which the author split up the narrative into “Then” and “Now” portions. “Then” talks about Lena’s life just after she arrived in The Wilds, and “Now” is set in New York where Lena has become an active member of the resistance against DFA (Deliria-Free-America). Lena is attending the DFA meetings posing in disguise as one of the “cureds” with instructions to get close to the founders son Julian, the poster-boy and beacon of hope for the future. But when Julian is kidnapped and things start to go badly wrong for Lena also, she learns a whole lot about trust, strength, bravery and the deliria of love.
So, in my opinion, Delirium is the strongest book of the series so far, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Pandemonium. It’s definitely action-packed, exciting and still intriguing enough to keep you reading on, wondering exactly what’s happening to a character that so far you’ve invested a lot of time in. There are still some little twists and turns in the plot also that I didn’t see coming and welcomed whole-heartedly and if you like your endings with a cliffhanger, you’ll probably be a happy bunny with this one! As for character development, I think Lena really matures as an individual through what she has to deal with, and gains both physical and mental strength through her challenges. Julian I’m not so sure about just yet, maybe he’ll grow on me… but saying that I did sympathise with his back story and the difficulties in his relationship with his father. Hopefully I won’t wait too long before reading the conclusion to the series – Requiem, I am looking forward to where the author takes it next and wonder if a happy ending is completely out of the question?
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
I enjoyed the way in which the author split up the narrative into “Then” and “Now” portions. “Then” talks about Lena’s life just after she arrived in The Wilds, and “Now” is set in New York where Lena has become an active member of the resistance against DFA (Deliria-Free-America). Lena is attending the DFA meetings posing in disguise as one of the “cureds” with instructions to get close to the founders son Julian, the poster-boy and beacon of hope for the future. But when Julian is kidnapped and things start to go badly wrong for Lena also, she learns a whole lot about trust, strength, bravery and the deliria of love.
So, in my opinion, Delirium is the strongest book of the series so far, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Pandemonium. It’s definitely action-packed, exciting and still intriguing enough to keep you reading on, wondering exactly what’s happening to a character that so far you’ve invested a lot of time in. There are still some little twists and turns in the plot also that I didn’t see coming and welcomed whole-heartedly and if you like your endings with a cliffhanger, you’ll probably be a happy bunny with this one! As for character development, I think Lena really matures as an individual through what she has to deal with, and gains both physical and mental strength through her challenges. Julian I’m not so sure about just yet, maybe he’ll grow on me… but saying that I did sympathise with his back story and the difficulties in his relationship with his father. Hopefully I won’t wait too long before reading the conclusion to the series – Requiem, I am looking forward to where the author takes it next and wonder if a happy ending is completely out of the question?
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
[IndonesianEnglish]
My current review: I love Julian, but I hate him to meet Alex. Demi Tu-HAAAN! *then Finemans' residence breaks into pieces*
My longer review: I'm a new faneven very new of dystopia, and the dystopian books I've read so far is The Hunger Games trilogy. Yeah, Delirium is my second chance. Hence, I can't avoid the unconscious comparisons between them. Please understand, I know they are different, have their own weakness, bla bla bla. But I can't just avoid it—please understand me as a new reader.
Well, comparison yang paling mengganggu saya adalah ini:
Lena VS Katniss
Lena is, of course, much more weaker and mushy. Dia gak terbiasa berantem, jadi instingnya agak gak jalan. Saya gemes waktu dia ngejebak Scavenger pas dikurung itu. Dia bisa pegang pisau, oke. Bisa ngiket orang segede Scavenger-nya itu, oke. Dan dia tahu si Scavenger punya senjata. TAPI, kenapa gak dilucuti dan dirampok? Saya yakin kalo Katniss yang main, dia bakal ngelakuin itu. Katniss, yeah, setelah saya pengin nyacat-nyacatin dia di Mockingjay, sekarang saya pengin muji-muji dia, soalnya saya lebih suka dia dari Lena. Kuat, teliti, waspada, hati-hati. TAPI, dua tokoh ini punya persamaan: mudah mengatakan "impossible" di saat genting dan mudah galau. Sigh.
Alex VS Gale
Sementara Lena adalah Katniss, maka Alex adalah Gale. Orang yang menjadi bayang-bayang Lena dari masa lampau, dari tempat yang sulit dia raih, dari tempat asalnya. Soal personality, saya angkat tangan. Ini cuma berdasarkan intuisi saja. *nyengir*
Julian VS Peeta
Oh, oh, my dear, Julian... Keluguanmu amat mirip dengan Peeta. Kalian sama-sama mencintai Lenadan Katniss dengan apa adanya, bahkan terima-terima aja waktu mereka ada di pelukan kalian, tapi mikirin cowok lain. Pada akhirnya intuisi saya juga mengatakan kalian mirip, dan pada akhirnya kalian jugalah tokoh cowok favorit saya. Huh, siapa sih Alex sama Gale itu? *lirik sinis*
Dan ini: Lena & Katniss = sama-sama dimanfaatkan.
Gak ada perbandingan yang lebih dahsyat dari itu di kepala saya. Santai aja. Jangan keroyok saya, oke?
I love the Now and Then concept. I love the Now much better (where Julian is there, teehee!). Saya gak menyangka the new Lena bakal sebadass itu. Padahal dulu dia amat culun(?).
Saya masih merasa cerita agak membosankan di awal, tapi makin jauh makin menegangkan. Saya seperti diajak berjalan dulu, santai... menikmati cuaca cerah... lama-lama saya diajak berjalan lebih cepat, lalu berlari, lalu berlari amat kencang, sampai akhirnya melambat dan saya tiba di ujung jurang: di mana Alex muncul, dan saya jatuh. *halaaahhh*
Di sini, kita dibikin tahu dan diperjelas tentang konflik besarnya, tentang Invalids yang pengin menggulingkan pemerintahan. Dan ternyata kelompok Lena masih punya musuh lain yang lebih liar, yakni the Scavengers. Lena masih galau tentang keterlibatannya yang agak dipaksa (di mana penculikan dia dan Julian sebenarnya telah direncanakan. DIRENCANAKAN! Kasihan banget kan?!), tapi dia gak punya pilihan lain selain join.
Tapi tentang usaha penggulingan(?) itu masih samar. Sepertinya itu isi buat Requiem, ya... Hmm....
Tentang Lena sama Julian... saya bisa memaklumi keluguan Julian. Dia cuma tahu sekelumit tentang cinta-cintaan, dan tiba-tiba berhadapan sama Lena yang tahu banyak. Sejak awal pembaca udah bisa nebak sebenarnya, kalo Julian bakal mengkhianati DFA. Ambu-ambune wis ketara. Dia gak yakin sama pendiriannya dan punya keingintahuan berlebih. Then... voila, udah gak surprise waktu tahu dia bakal ikut Lena ke Wilds.
Apa lagi, ya? Banyak yang pengin saya omongin, tapi ntar lebih kayak racauan ketimbang review, soalnya gak berurutan, hehe. Yasudahlah, sudahi saja.
Requiem, here I go.
My current review: I love Julian, but I hate him to meet Alex. Demi Tu-HAAAN! *then Finemans' residence breaks into pieces*
My longer review: I'm a new fan
Well, comparison yang paling mengganggu saya adalah ini:
Lena VS Katniss
Lena is, of course, much more weaker and mushy. Dia gak terbiasa berantem, jadi instingnya agak gak jalan. Saya gemes waktu dia ngejebak Scavenger pas dikurung itu. Dia bisa pegang pisau, oke. Bisa ngiket orang segede Scavenger-nya itu, oke. Dan dia tahu si Scavenger punya senjata. TAPI, kenapa gak dilucuti dan dirampok? Saya yakin kalo Katniss yang main, dia bakal ngelakuin itu. Katniss, yeah, setelah saya pengin nyacat-nyacatin dia di Mockingjay, sekarang saya pengin muji-muji dia, soalnya saya lebih suka dia dari Lena. Kuat, teliti, waspada, hati-hati. TAPI, dua tokoh ini punya persamaan: mudah mengatakan "impossible" di saat genting dan mudah galau. Sigh.
Alex VS Gale
Sementara Lena adalah Katniss, maka Alex adalah Gale. Orang yang menjadi bayang-bayang Lena dari masa lampau, dari tempat yang sulit dia raih, dari tempat asalnya. Soal personality, saya angkat tangan. Ini cuma berdasarkan intuisi saja. *nyengir*
Julian VS Peeta
Oh, oh, my dear, Julian... Keluguanmu amat mirip dengan Peeta. Kalian sama-sama mencintai Lena
Dan ini: Lena & Katniss = sama-sama dimanfaatkan.
Gak ada perbandingan yang lebih dahsyat dari itu di kepala saya. Santai aja. Jangan keroyok saya, oke?
I love the Now and Then concept. I love the Now much better (where Julian is there, teehee!). Saya gak menyangka the new Lena bakal sebadass itu. Padahal dulu dia amat culun(?).
Saya masih merasa cerita agak membosankan di awal, tapi makin jauh makin menegangkan. Saya seperti diajak berjalan dulu, santai... menikmati cuaca cerah... lama-lama saya diajak berjalan lebih cepat, lalu berlari, lalu berlari amat kencang, sampai akhirnya melambat dan saya tiba di ujung jurang: di mana Alex muncul, dan saya jatuh. *halaaahhh*
Di sini, kita dibikin tahu dan diperjelas tentang konflik besarnya, tentang Invalids yang pengin menggulingkan pemerintahan. Dan ternyata kelompok Lena masih punya musuh lain yang lebih liar, yakni the Scavengers. Lena masih galau tentang keterlibatannya yang agak dipaksa (di mana penculikan dia dan Julian sebenarnya telah direncanakan. DIRENCANAKAN! Kasihan banget kan?!), tapi dia gak punya pilihan lain selain join.
Tapi tentang usaha penggulingan(?) itu masih samar. Sepertinya itu isi buat Requiem, ya... Hmm....
Tentang Lena sama Julian... saya bisa memaklumi keluguan Julian. Dia cuma tahu sekelumit tentang cinta-cintaan, dan tiba-tiba berhadapan sama Lena yang tahu banyak. Sejak awal pembaca udah bisa nebak sebenarnya, kalo Julian bakal mengkhianati DFA. Ambu-ambune wis ketara. Dia gak yakin sama pendiriannya dan punya keingintahuan berlebih. Then... voila, udah gak surprise waktu tahu dia bakal ikut Lena ke Wilds.
Apa lagi, ya? Banyak yang pengin saya omongin, tapi ntar lebih kayak racauan ketimbang review, soalnya gak berurutan, hehe. Yasudahlah, sudahi saja.
Requiem, here I go.
and here i thought i liked alex. well, i LOVE julian. sorry but not really hahah. also, alex was giving adam kent vibes at the end of this book…
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Child death
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slow pace in the beginning. Sad points that break you heart. Cliff hangers that keep you coming back for more.