Review: Requiem

Requiem

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

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.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

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.

**********************************************

For me, Requiem fell in between Delirium and Pandemonium. It was better than the first but disappointing after the second. I really liked the progression of Julian and how he handled being in the Wilds and having Alex back in Lena's life. However, I wasn't overly impressed with the story line and found it very predictable. 

This book alternated between Lena's point of view and Hana's as she lives in Portland and has been cured. I loved Hana in Delirium but I found her story line in Requiem boring. I found myself wondering several times "What is the point of this?"

The biggest disappointment in this book for me was the ending. I really felt like it just ended and there was no resolution on several major parts of the story. I turned the last page and thought out loud, "That's it? That's the end?" It left me very disappointed and wanting more. 

Overall, I think Lauren Oliver is an excellent writer and I liked the idea of her dystopian world. However, I felt like the character and story development was a little lacking for me. I didn't develop a real attachment to any of the characters and the story was very predictable.

IPOD Picks:

"Just Give Me a Reason" by Pink
"Apologies" by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
"Belief" by Gavin Degraw
"One & Only" by Adele

Sources:

Cover Photo: Goodreads

Synopsis: Goodreads