Requiem [Review]

 

Stats:
#3 in Delirium trilogy
391 Pages [Hardcover]
Published 5 March 2013
ISBN: 0062014536
Find on 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.

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 Thoughts:
[Highlight between brackets for spoilers]
For a whole month and change, I've been trying to avoid spoilers like the devil and reading very general "OMFG WHY????" comments about the ending. So going into reading Requiem, my hopes weren't the highest.

Requiem picks up where Pandemonium ends - a huge cliffhanger: [Alex is back. Julian & Lena are back in the Wilds] and the Resistance continues to network and spread, despite the regulators and DFA's combined effort to extinguish the Invalids.

In Requiem, the chapters alternate between Lena and Hana. Lena is a very different person from who she was in Delirium. In the very beginning, she scares off a huge, starving bear without hesitation (or a weapon) - and throughout the book, she puts herself in danger to keep others safe or to help distract from what the Resistance is trying to accomplish. Honestly, this was the harder part for me to read. It was a little slow at times and I wasn't really interested in the Alex/Julian dilemma.

Hana is also very different. She's cured now. [She reveals she is the person who ratted out Lena & Alex.] She is prepping for her wedding to the now Mayor of Portland, Fred Hargrove. But in the midst of all the politics and marriage planning, Hana gets to know the real Fred, the one not on camera. He's abusive and controlling. He tells her that his previous wife was defective and hopes that she isn't also defective. Hana becomes curious about what actually happened to Fred's previous wife, Cassie. This is the part of the book I absolutely devoured. Hana's portion was exciting, mysterious, and nail-biting.

The ending: Ah, yes. The talk of the town. I actually didn't mind the ending. Yes, loose ends that aren't tied, but I felt that the ending was done well enough to where I was satisfied.

I found this video on Oliver's blog and I truly appreciate how she did the ending now after hearing her reasons. http://lauren-oliver.tumblr.com/post/...

What I think happened:
[I think Lena probably chose Alex. They have a history that I think overrides anything she went through with Julian. It's obvious throughout the book that she was still in love with him. I think that Coral & Julian will end up together because they are both survivors and more gentle souls. As for Hana, I'm not sure. I don't think the Cure was as successful as it was "supposed to be" for her and I think she'll end up making a life for herself with love included. I think that the Resistance will only gain more followers [maybe even Hana] and continue to tear down walls - continue to free people who aren't afraid to love. I think they will rebuild the country slowly but surely like it used to be when amor deliria nervosa flourished.]


Previous Review:
Black Heels & Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond [here]

Linked up at...