Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)Author: Lauren OliverPublisher: Hodder & StoughtonPublishing Date: March 1st 2012Length: 336 pagesGenre: YA fantasy, dystopia, romanceSource: PublisherI’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.Summary by Goodreads
In
PANDEMONIUM the story around Lena continues
calmer than it ended in DELIRIUM. Chapters are divided into the time of “Now” and
“Then”, the “Then” part following Lena’s weeks
in the wilds after the separation from Alex.
In those
parts we find ourselves in the wild, where Lena
has to fight for her survival and joins a camp of invalids. The waste landscape
and hard living conditions can trust alliances one second and break them apart
the next. For Lena, it’s about surviving in
two different ways, of overcoming the loss of Alex and then to keep her body
going. The life in the wilds stands in stark contrast to her life in the “Now”
chapters. Distant, anonymous, undercover. After Alex is gone she is determined
to go through with his mission to fight for love.
The
invalids living in the wild become Lena’s
family and over the course of the story mine, too. They are so different
and wonderful characters, I just needed them all to survive. Descriptions of daily life and
living conditions are shown in detail so that the first half of the story did feel a bit
monotone and slow. In the end it didn’t make PANDEMONIUM an any less great
read, but contributed to the overall atmosphere of the story.
I couldn’t
believe it when I read a description of PANDEMONIUM mentioning a new love
interest for Lena. At some point into the
story it wasn’t possible to close my eyes to her growing feelings for another
guy anymore. Because he is what Lena once was, obedient and unknowing I couldn’t take
offense at Lena starting to develop feelings
for him. Lena’s and his story is as exciting
as hers and Alex’was, because he is the son of the invalids’ greatest enemy.
Never before
was I so convinced that I cheered for one character to get the girl, but then
was taught otherwise. I was for Alex, I am still. He’s the guy who gifted Lena everything, love and a future. The problem, he’s
just not there in one of the hardest times for Lena.
The biggest mystery: What happened to Alex?
Lauren
Oliver confronts Lena with the hardest choice
in the world: Letting Alex go and learning to love again or living in the past
with a broken heart? I do really love both guys!
I cannot
believe she actually did it AGAIN! Lauren Oliver drew my heart into her story
with her beautiful words and the wonderful characters Lena
and Alex, and then she stamped on it very hard. She writes unbelievable ends.
Cruel, I tell you! I was squirming while reading the last chapter. So bad? YES!
It was horrible and so not fair.
Somebody
tell me again, reading doesn’t affect you. It totally affected me! I felt sad
and the ending ripped me apart!
1) of
finding a new home
2) of a
hidden book
3) of the
most heart-breaking ending
4) of a
beautiful ghost
5) of
saving each other
5/5 ***** PANDEMONIUM- Great feelings, new
chances at life and love and a devastating end! The sequel to DELIRIUM is epic and tragic and so much
more!
Lauren Oliver
continues her excellent writing. This time she leaves the reader in the dark
about the whereabouts of Alex and starts with this whole new great romance for Lena. Lauren Oliver knows exactly how to create a story
that gets to you, a story that’s just more!
First I
didn’t want to give the full rating, but after some time passed after I had finished PANDEMONIUM, I couldn't but acknowledge the greatness of this sequel to
DELIRIUM.
* Don’t
forget to put the last instalment in this series, REQUIEM on your wishlist.
* Have you
read Lauren Oliver’s short story HANA?
* Read an
excerpt of PANDEMONIUM here.
* Watch
this video and listen to Lauren Oliver talking about PANDEMONIUM.
* Check out
Lauren’s blog for information about upcoming appearances.
* A big thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me PANDEMONIUM for review!
Gosh, this book put me through the wringer. I couldn't stop sniffling or get my mouth to close. Between the shock and sorrow and joy that surfaced in this installment, I was in emotional upheaval by the end.
ReplyDelete— Asher
I finished Pandemonium earlier today and that ending made me absolutely insane! Seriously my family thought I was crazy because I was freaking out so much. But I still loved it even though I missed Alex :(
ReplyDeleteI finished it a few days ago and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised because the first one wasn't really my cup of tea, but this one.. this one made me love this series.. I can't wait for book #3, and I'll read Hana as soon as possible :)
Happy midnight reading!
Hahahaha I'm pushing off the day I start reading Pandemonium just because of the end. Delirium's ending nearly killed me. And with people saying Pandemonium's close or even worse... But since I love Lauren Oliver's writing, I know I'll read it next (after I finish Wanderlove!).
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, I didn't even imagine there'd be a new love interest! Now I'm so excited to read about that, I don't know how I'll feel :)
Great review, Sarah! I'll let you know when I read it (yay for twitter stalking lol).
A beautiful ghost! Yes yes yes yes yes yes!!! Omigosh this book KILLED ME. I swear, I was fuming for like two hours afterward...haha! Lauren sure does know how to knock her readers to the floor...and then run them over with a train. Great review! :)
ReplyDeleteOMG, I LOVED Delirium and I am so excited to read it! Really, I need to stop reading reviews about it, they're just making me want to read it even more! :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way I think your blog is lovely so...I gave you the Lovely Blog Award! Come have a look at the post on my blog :)