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.

GUEST REVIEW: Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

GENRE: YA/Dystopian

PAGES: 336
PUBLISHER: Hodder
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

Unflinching, heartbreaking and totally addictive, this novel will push your emotions to the limit. Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it. She's made her decision. But can she survive the consequences?

REVIEW

Pandemonium is the second book in the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver, so if you haven’t read the first book, I advise that you do not read this review before you have read Delirium as there are SPOLIERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK. (My previous review is about Delirium go check it out). This book was very unexpecting and Lauren writes this book in a very interesting way.

At the end Delirium, Lena has runaway to Wilds whilst Alex is caught and possibly dead. At the beginning of Pandemonium she is in The Wilds alone, however soon after she meets a group of Invalids and they become a family. One girl she encounters with is Raven. Raven is the leader of her family in the Wilds and Raven orders Lena to complete a mission in the outside world. Lena was warned by Raven to look out for the ‘Watch the DFA. Observe. Blend.’ She is supposed to blend into the society that she left when she ran away to the Wilds. The DFA stands for Deliria – Free America and this is what Lena and the Invalids are against. Raven also tells Lena to keep on the DFA’s son; Julian Fineman. Lena doesn’t know why she must keep on eye on Julian however she goes along with Raven’s orders. The family is then attacked and Lena and Julian are both captured as prisoners. Her and Julian find a way to escape and she develops unexpected feelings for Julian but will this turn into a romance after Alex or is someone/something going to shake up her feelings?

Main Characters

Lena Halloway: Lena’s character development from Delirium to Pandemonium is exceptional. The way she handles with the grief and heartbreak of Alex to getting thrown back into the real world is amazing and Lauren really shows what a true woman can do and that women are strong human beings. Lena’s character also develops romantically with Julian, however you feel that she still has a connection with Alex therefore her relationship with Julian is bit more strict due to her feelings for Alex.

Julian Fineman: Julian is absolutely adorable however I find his character very confusing. One minute, he doesn’t want to know Lena, the next he is pouring his deep and dark secrets out to her and then is back to not wanting to know her. I did fall in love with Julian however I didn’t agree with some of the choices he makes during the book because I feel they are harsh to Lena and also I personally wouldn’t make those decisions.

Lauren writes the series from Lena’s perspective and this book jumps from the present time to the past and then back again, which means you have to concentrate on the book but I think that this gives the book a whole new depth because you get to feel Lena’s emotions from past and present. I love the direction that the book turns to with the insanely annoying (yet amazing) cliffhanger at the end, with big reveals and emotions flying everywhere.

This book is second in the trilogy and the third Requiem. There are also short stories. For me the order you should read this series, including the short stories is; Annabel, Delirium, Hana, Pandemonium, Raven, Requiem, Alex.

- Ambi
(http://anahal.wordpress.com)

REVIEW: Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

GENRE: Alternate/Fantasy/YA
PAGES: 448
PUBLISHER: Scholastic
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

"Without this child, we shall all die." Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...

REVIEW

This is one of my all time favourite trilogies and I try and re-read the books once a year. I love everything about them, from the incredible world building and the ideas behind the parallel worlds, to the amazing cast of characters; some that I love, and some that I love to hate! Lyra is the ultimate heroine; she is just a normal girl, but at the same time it's her normalcy that makes her so special as she is trust into situations and worlds that are truly incredible. She fights for survival, she fights for justice and she fights for what she believes in and she won't let anything or anyone stand in her way. 

As the trilogy progresses the worlds and the story become darker and the danger becomes ever more present, but as this happens, the level of interest in the story intensifies beyond belief. I feel sad that some people base their perceptions of this trilogy on the golden compass film because it did not do justice to how incredible this story is. 

This is the kind of trilogy that you really just need to read for yourself because once you have read it all the way through you will be so astonished by how complex and amazing it is that you will want all your friends to read it and you will want to read it over and over again! 

A fantastic and spellbinding series that deserves to be read for many years to come.

- Gem.