Review- Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem

Lauren Oliver

Release Date: March 5, 2013

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Harper Teen

ISBN: 0062014536

Source: ARC from the San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review

Rating: Liked

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From Goodreads.

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. 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.

 Y’all now don’t get mad at me I liked this one I just didn’t love it like I did Delirium and even Pandemonium. I’ve even given myself a few days to ponder why before writing my review. So here’s my thoughts…..

Lauren’s world building is amazingly written and I love how descriptive she is about life in the Wilds and also back in Portland. I absolutely loved this story up until the very last chapter and then I didn’t. My favorite parts of the story were the ones written from Lena’s POV. I think that’s one of my biggest problems final book in the series. With the three books Lauren went from just Lena’s POV in Delirium, to Lena’s POV past and present in Pandemonium, to Dual POV’s in Requiem; and the second POV was Hana’s. Whom after reading her short story I really could have cared less about. I actually hated her. If Lauren was going to write a second POV in this book I really believe it should have been Alex’s. I think she went with Hana because after what happens in her short story she needed redemption but even then I really had a hard time caring about her.

Oh and the ever present non-love triangle between Alex, Lena, and Julian? Call it what you want but when there’s two guys and the character cares about both of them and, they both care about her even if one doesn’t act like it. It’s a love triangle. Just trust me on this Team Alex and Team Julian will not be happy with the outcome I know I wasn’t because there was no outcome! Oh yeah on to the ending! I don’t think I’ve been this frustrated with a book series ending since Mockingjay! Was there a happy ending? Hell no! Not in my opinion. Was there an ending yes, yes there was but I’m still left numb by it. I’m actually angered by it and I feel it was kind of a cop out.

I was really excited by this one and I’m really upset that I didn’t like it more. I did like it though I just didn’t love it like I had hoped. I really hope you all who have read, loved, and invested so much into this series like I have; read it and feel differently.

I chose a passage between Alex and Lena and this is about as close to hope as I got in this book.

Alex is standing a little ways away from where Julian is lying. All his anger gone; instead he looks shocked, his hands limp at his sides. He’s staring at Julian, looking puzzled, as though he doesn’t know how Julian got there.

I stand up and move toward him, feeling the anger crawl into my fingers. I wish I could wrap them around his neck, choke him.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” My voice is low. I have to push the words out past the hard lump of anger in my throat.

“I--I’m sorry,” Alex whispers. He shakes his head. “I didn’t mean… I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry Lena.”

If he keeps looking at me like that—pleading, willing me to understand—I know I’ll start to forgive him.

“Lena.” He takes a step toward me, and I take a step back. For a moment we stand there; I can feel the pressure of his eyes on me, and the pressure, too, of his guilt. But I won’t look at him, I can’t.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats again, too low for Raven and Tack to hear. “I’m sorry for everything.”

Then he turns and pushes into the woods, and he’s gone.