Pandemonium (Lauren Oliver)

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperTeen

Length: 375 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

WARNING! Spoilers of the first book ahead.

In the sequel to Delirium, Lena’s world has changed completely. Now outside society, she is forced to figure out who she really is and what she must do to survive. What must she do to change society, and is it worth it?

I loved how this book was set up-alternating between the “now” and “then” timeframes. Since these books are all about self-discovery, this is a perfect way to show how a person can change, and how you must push away your past self to become a better future you. With the two parallel stories, one of which directly led to the next, it also provides twice the story and twice the depth. Plus it was twice as hard to put down, because I wanted to know what would happen in both timeframes, and how the first resulted in the second.

This wasn’t just part two of Delirium either. This book provided its own complete story, including romance and growth on Lena’s part. I might even like this one more than the first. Yes, the plot lines were still a bit predictable (foreshadowing was quite obvious) but overall, I loved it.

Curse the cliff-hanger ending, because I don’t want to wait for book three! Just read some great Goodreads comments, and it appears I’m not alone- GAH!

Delirium (Lauren Oliver)

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperTeen

Length: 441 pages

Rating: 4/5

In a futuristic United States, deliria is a disease. At age 18, everyone is given the cure and lives their life free from the fear of love. Lena counts down the days until she’ll be safe from love and can overcome the shame of her mother killing herself because of love. But love turns out to be more deadly than Lena ever imagined, both when you have it and when you don’t.

I expected a lot out of this book and it produced. Heart-wrenching in so many ways, this book will make you take another look at the value of your life and the people you love. My eyes refused to stay on the page and kept jumping ahead to see what would happen next.

Another YA dystopian journey of self-discovery, the narrative was somewhat predictable, but in all the right ways. Lena must learn who she is, not just who society says she is, and she does this through changing personal relationships with her best friend Hana, and the boy who changes everything when he enters her life, Alex.

I love that Lena is as ordinary as they come, but someone sees something special in her, and it changes everything. A great read if you’re looking for romance, dystopia, and maybe even a little self and societal reflection. It's sequel, Pandemonium, just came out and I can't fathom why I haven't read it yet...please excuse me while I go do that.