Requiem
by Lauren Oliver
Published by: Harper Collins
On: March 5th, 2013
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: My purchase
This is the finale in the Delirium trilogy so there may be spoilers.
By now, if you have read the first two in the series, then you know Lena is still living in the Wilds, but now she must face her feelings with Alex and Julian. Meanwhile, the Resistance is still alive and has big plans to overtake the walled cities. They are on the brink of war while the cureds do their best to stamp out the uncured living outside the city walls. Inside the walls, Hana is faced with her future as a loveless wife of the new senator. Soon, these two worlds will collide.
I adore this series. Oliver writes with such confidence and sincerity. She is truly a talented storyteller. She had me loving Alex, then loving Julian, then feeling just as confused as poor Lena did.
This conclusion had everything we were waiting for. The building tension between the cured and uncured, between members of the Wilds, between Lena and Alex and Julian. It starts right up in the action and throws us back into their world. I love that. I don't like how some sequels take place a long time later, and we feel like we missed a lot. This one starts right where it left off. She knows just how to keep you on your toes. Even in the slower parts, there's always something to catch your attention.
The alternating narration is back. Let me tell you, I wanted to dislike this, but Oliver does it so well that it's actually brilliant. When you're in the depths of Lena's story, then you have to switch to Hana's, it can be frustrating for a split second, but then, you're absorbed in Hana's story...and it keeps going like this the whole time...so it becomes impossible to put it down.
The best part of this dual narration is when you can see their stories begin to collide. I won't go into detail, but the chapters get shorter and shorter, and suddenly it's rapid-fire intensity.
This book has a great build-up. It feels as if the whole series builds up to this book. You can feel the excitement charging in the air of this book.
I love her characters. This is really a story about so much more than just Lena and her love triangle. There are mothers, children, wives and friends, and she really shows every angle of love. Every relationship has a dynamic that isn't always so simple. Seeing her interact with Raven, Hunter, and even a few new characters...it's such a well-developed story.
My only complaint...and I won't say any spoilers, but I know there are many who feel the same...the ending was not enough for me.
I'll warn you now...if you are reading this on an eBook, there are excerpts and stuff after the novel, so it ends roughly at 93%! I was not prepared for this...and my heart DROPPED when I reached the end.
I know this was probably a hard story to end. There is no easy way to wrap up this world she has created, but I just feel like she cut some major corners and could have worked harder to create a better conclusion.
I have a theory that there will be more...but that's just me.
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5 Comments
Wait wait wait - WHAT. The book ends at 93% on an e-book? But it goes all the way for the real book? I haven't bought it yet so this may change how I do, how come no one told us this?!
ReplyDeleteOh man.. I totally understand your frustration with the ending. I was reading a physical copy, so I was able to see the last few pages were extra bits. I was thankful for that knowledge! It would have irritated me too if I hadn't known that, though. I feel like you and I have very similar feelings about the series as a whole. You mentioned quite a few things that caused me to nod my head, ha. I kinda wondered if this is the finale too. Perhaps we'll revisit this world later, with someone else? Who knows!
ReplyDeleteI watched a video Lauren Oliver posted on Twitter explaining the ending. She said she left it open because when she was first writing she would write endings to books she was read. She said something about wanting to leave it open to give her readers that opportunity to fill it in themselves.
ReplyDeleteI WANT to understand her reasoning but I just can't. I feel like it was a cop out. I think it was unfair to leave it like that. =( Obviously I'm still nursing my wounds...
I definitely need to start this series!
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