For Review: Hodder
Published: 1 March 2012
From Goodreads:
I’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.
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.
Honestly I could not wait to read this! The moment I had it in my hands I had to read it and I think I loved it even more than Delirium! There is just something so beautiful and captivating about Lauren Oliver's writing - it demands my attention from the beginning and doesn't let go until I've finished.
The story is split into alternating chapters of Then and Now. 'Then' picks up where Delirium left off and 'Now' takes place a few months later. While some may prefer a more chronological order to the story I loved having the story told this way. It added intensity and an air of mystery to the story - it felt like two stories running parallel to each other with you needing to understand how the two fit together - how the Lena in 'Then' becomes the Lena in 'Now'.
Lena really grows in this too. There is a big difference in the Lena we know from Delirium and the one we know at the end of Pandemonium. She takes the role Alex played in Delirium to some extent - trying to open Julian's eyes to what the cure really means. And what it will mean to live without it.
I loved all the new characters we meet too, especially Raven and Blue. Julian is someone I really, really liked, but at the same time I found myself unable to invest in a possible relationship between him and Lena. I'm still invested in Alex - and I believe Lena is too - despite being led to believe he didn't survive their escape at the end of Delirium.
There is so much going on in this - making it fast paced and intense. I completely and utterly loved it! And as for the ending? IT COMPLETELY BLEW MY MIND! Honestly, I need to read Requiem right now! I so need to know how this is all going to turn out!
