EvilEva reviews ...... Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.
WARNING!
This is the SEQUEL to DELIRIUM!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Dissecting The Cover:
Um, I don't get this cover at all. I mean, I get that it matches the second Delirium cover (which also didn't make any sense.) (I'm also a little peeved because even though it does match the second cover, it totally does not match the first cover which is the copy that I own. So now my Delirium series won't look cohesive on my bookshelf. I'm being punished for buying this book BEFORE it got out-of-control popular! I call shenanigans, Harper Collins!)
Anyway, I guess the foliage is supposed to represent the Wilds? Although there was never a point (nor would there ever be a point) when Lena would be frolicking among the flowers. It makes me wonder if whoever is responsible for these covers has even read the book between them.
Let's Review:
Lena made it over the fence and into the Wilds. Alex wasn't so lucky. Now Lena will have to learn to survive without him. Luckily she meets a girl named Raven who saves her from near-death and introduces her to a whole homestead of people like her and Alex.
People that don't believe love is a disease. People that believe you should have a choice. People against the Deliria-Free America organization. People with a plan to overthrow them.
After what happened to Alex, Lena is determined to join the fight.
With the help of her new found friends, Lena heads back to the city to put their plan into action.
But an incident with Julian Fineman, the son of the DFA's leader, could ruin it all. Or it could completely change everything.
Here's What I Think:
You may recall that I abso-fucking-lutely LOVED Delirium. Also that I've been stalking Lauren Oliver (in my mind only, of course) since reading Before I Fall. So obviously I was completely stoked when Pandemonium, the much anticipated sequel to Delirium, FINALLY came out.
And, of course, Lauren Oliver being the unbelievable author that she is, didn't disappoint this time around either.
Pandemonium starts off with Lena at some school in the present which is really the not-so-distant future because, if you'll remember correctly, last we left Lena she was headed for the Wilds NOT algebra class. The book ping-pongs from chapter to chapter, starting with this future "now," followed by "then" which chronicles Lena's time in the Wilds. It sounds confusing, I know, but give it a few chapters and I promise you'll sink into the story.
Even though this is the sequel to Delirium, it couldn't be more different. Where as the first book was more about falling in love, Pandemonium is more about survival. And while Lena was gutsy in Delirium, this time around she's downright badass. Cos, as it turns out, surviving in the Wilds is tough business, y'all. Especially when you've been sheltered your entire life.
So Lena has to harden herself and toughen up not only to make it through the day to day challenges of her new life but also so she can be ready to seek revenge against the people that took Alex away from her.
While we're on the subject of Alex--- and here's a bit of a SPOILER ALERT and also a mini rant for those that have read Delirium and thus feel my pain--- I CANNOT believe that Lauren Oliver would make us fall so completely butt-crazy in love with Alex only to let him be captured and possibly killed in the sequel! Yes, I know that's how Delirium ended, so I shouldn't be shocked that that's how Pandemonium starts, but I'm an optimist. All those many months anxiously awaiting the release of Pandemonium, my mind turned over the hundreds of thousands of scenarios in which Alex could have escaped, could still be alive, could have made it over the fence and reunited with Lena. But no. He's just gone. AWOL.
Lena thinks about him, sure, but then there's that Julian Fineman fella and that whole "trying to save their lives" thing that occupies her mind a little more. So it was kinda hard for me as an Alex fangirl and a Lena/Alex shipper, to suddenly be Alex-less and having this new guy thrust upon me that I'm supposed to be all swoony over now. But Alex is irreplaceable, y'all. I can't just jump on the Julian train simply because it's currently pulling into the station and my boy Alex is nowhere to be found. I'm completely loyal to my fictitious peeps that way. And crazy. I'm also crazy. ;)
Anyhoodle, other than the Alex withdrawal, Pandemonium is yet another fine feather in Lauren Oliver's awesome-writer cap.
And, my God!, with that ending!, it makes me even more excited for the final book! I can't even begin to imagine how it's all gonna end. But I can't wait to read it!
Swoony Times:
Since swoonypants Alex from Delirium is MIA in Pandemonium (is he dead!? is he imprisoned?! we don't know!) Lena needs a new guy to take her mind off her guilt/grief/sadness/Alex obsession.
Enter Julian Fineman, son of Thomas Fineman, the founder of the Deliria-Free-America organization. And while Julian does sound like a dreamboat being all blue-eyed and blond-haired, and while he does show amazing strength under pressure, and while he does seem to genuinely care about Lena, he's just not Alex. Lena may have been able to move on but I just can't. For me, it's as simple as that. Team Alex 4ever!
Bonus Shizz:
Dystopia!
Dystopias are really hot right now. Sequels to dystopias? Even hotter.
And Pandemonium totally delivers. There's action, adventure, romance, drama. Everything you could possibly want in a futuristic world-gone-to-hell thriller!
Survival Of The Fittest!
The Wilds is a brutal place. You've got to know your shizz in order to survive. Lena's lucky enough to meet people right off the bat that are willing to show her the ropes.
Being a crafty MacGyver-type my damn self, I'm always interested to read about people finding inventive ways to do normal things they can no longer do normally. Plus there's the added bonus of totally preparedness for when that whole zombie apocalypse happens. Y'all come on over. I've got backup generators! :)
(P.S. sorry to tell anyone that hasn't read Lauren Oliver's series yet, but there are no zombies in it. Just an evil corporation that hates love.)
Cliffhanger!
Some people don't care for cliffhangers but I love 'em. And Pandemonium has one hell of a cliffhanger. Obviously I can't (and won't) say more but let me just tell ya--- You. Will. Be. SHOCKED!
If You Liked That, Try This:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Divergent by Veronica Roth.
The Scale Of Judgment Says:
...... 5!
This is Lauren Oliver. Blowing my mind. Yet again.
I so totally agree with you on the whole Alex thing, as you know. I mean Julian was nice and all, but I refused to let myself get into him. I probably would have crushed on him had I not already loved Alex. I actually got upset with Lena because she was falling for Julian. And I know that's so dumb because Alex is GONE (Oh, and Lena isn't real, so why would I waste my time being mad at a book character?), but I felt like she was betraying Alex. AND HOLY CRAP THE END!!!!! It was so good. The writing was good too. I love Oliver. Her style felt so different than it did on Delirium, I guess because Lena is hardened, but it was still really well-done. (Sorry, I wrote a book here. Been dying to know what my fellow Alex/Lauren Oliver/Delirium loving friend thought!). :)
ReplyDeletei don't think that's dumb at all, yacrush. Cos i felt the same way. i kinda get a little too involved with my fave characters love lives and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteAnd i think i would have liked Julian too if i hadn't known Alex first. See, i'm doing it right now. It sounds like i'm talking about an actual person instead of a character from a really awesome book. :)
Anyhoo, i can't wait for the third book. i'm really interested to see how Lauren Oliver plans to end it all.