GUEST REVIEW: Requiem - Lauren Oliver

GENRE: Dystopia

PAGES: 352

PUBLISHER: Hodder

FORMAT: Paperback

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

It is the rule of the Wilds You must be bigger, and stronger, and tougher. A coldness radiates through me, a solid wall that is growing, piece by piece, in my chest. He doesn't love me He never loved me. It was all a lie. 'The old Lena is dead', I say, and then push past him. Each step is more difficult than the last; the heaviness fills me and turns my limbs to stone. You must hurt, or be hurt. Lena can build the walls, but what if there's no one left to take them down?

REVIEW

Requiem is the third and final book for the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. If you haven’t read the first two books of the series, I suggest that you do not read this review as THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS. (If you are unsure about reading the series, check out my review for Delirium and Pandemonium). Lauren Oliver writes this book in the same way as she has done in the previous books; gripping

So Requiem is written differently from the previous books as it is in the perspective of Lena and Hana which I really like as it shows that the book series goes in a full circle and we get to see the girls reunited again. It also gives the story extra depth as we get to compare a life with love and a life without love.

Lena’s POV: In Pandemonium, we see the rebellion underway and in Requiem, we see it turn into a full out revolution with Lena (of course) being in the centre of it. As you know, in Pandemonium, Alex returns and he is angry and cold at the fact that Lena has moved on from him, when Lena was only trying to forget him as she thought he was killed when he got captured (*sighs due to feelings*). Even though Lena does love Julian, the more she interacts with Alex, the feelings and memories are resurfaced and the guilt and pain of moving on gets to her, especially she sees Alex moving on himself with a a girl called Carol (WHY CANT REAL LOVE PREVAIL?). Trying not to show her jealously, Lena pushes her feelings to one side and tries to keep her family safe and also develops her romantic relationship with Julian.

Hana’s POV: In Portland, Hana has been cured and is planning her wedding with Fred Hargove, her pairing. Even though she is cured, and in the government’s eyes, her life is now ‘perfect’, she is afraid as new feelings are developed, and she relives her memories, she thinks of; Lena, her old life, how she resisted to be normal, being her own person and the feelings of regret, guilt and unhappiness of not doing something hits her hard. She is surprised when she sees Lena, part of the resistance and even more shocked when she finds out that she ran away from Portland, to fight the DFA. Hana also see a different side to her fiancé, which is very frightening and she feels that her life is in danger. She finds out that her fiancé had a wife called Mealana who was sent to prison for being ‘psychotic’, when actually Fred tried to kill her. When Hana and Lena do meet and Hana reveals something which takes this book into a whole new level.

Main Characters:

Lena Haloway: I love her character. Honestly. She gets put under so much guilt by Alex (I love you Alex but sorry you are stupid) and I feel so bad for because she has been told, once you’ve been captured by the government, the chances of you surviving (and escaping) are next to nothing, so of course she automatically thought that Alex and her were never going to meet again. she may have got over him a lot quicker if she fell in love with someone else so she seemed determined not to put herself through the misery she would have faced grieving Alex, so she was going to find some happiness so she moved on to Julian. I love the fact that she is so strong and so willing to put herself in front to defend in what she believes in.

Alex Sheathes: ALEX IS BACK, YAY!! I love Alex, I honestly do but he is a big, fat douche. When he was going out with Carol, all I kept thinking was, it should of been Lena (I am a Alena/Lenex shipper). I am upset in a way because I don’t like how his character develops.

Julian Fineman: JULIAN OMG!! I feel so sorry for him, I honestly do. He is an absolute cutie and he gets heartbroken. I don’t like what happens to his character so I prefer Alex over him.

Hana Tate: I don’t like Hana. I do feel sorry for her but she does something that disturbs my happiness (that’s not cool).

Overall I was disappointed with the ending (The ending was meh) because it didn’t live up to the hype and expectation I thought it to be. This book is my least favourite in the series however it is still beautifully written.

- Ambi.