Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Title: Requiem

Author: Lauren Oliver

Series: Delirium

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: March 5^th 2013

Source: Bought

Description: 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.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thoughts: This review will be spoiler-free until the end. I’ll give you a sign when you get to the spoilery part.

Take down the walls.

How was this the ending of the Delirium series? How? I do not understand this.

See, I absolutely loved Pandemonium. Lena had some serious character development and she was all-around badass. That, and I loved Julian, although I have a feeling I am the only one.

But this?

Lena was back to being a whiny brat. There was not nearly enough Julian in this book and he seemed different too. Like he wasn’t real anymore. Alex was for the biggest part of the book just kind of mean. And that leaves only me, sorely disappointed.

So, what happens in Requiem? I’m afraid to say, not much. I genuinely wonder why Lena’s parts were there, because apart from the plot twist involving our lucky charm, not much happens. Apart from Lena constantly being jealous over a girl who has just lost her family, safety and place in the world because she hangs out with Alex. Then she goes to Julian because, “This is what I have chosen, after all.”

Hana’s story was quite interesting. Apparently, the cure didn’t work perfectly, so she still has feelings and finds herself thinking of Lena a lot. She is also getting married soon, but she finds out more and more things about her husband-to-be that aren’t all that pretty.

I did like the two point-of-views. It was interesting to see how Oliver used phrases to string them together, while also reminding us how far away the two friends are. I enjoyed the use of the “It is time.”, for example.

I also liked Oliver’s creative names for government-related buildings and such. Take, for example, the Center for Organization, Research, and Education. That spells CORE. I really enjoyed that, and I thought it was quite ingenious, especially since the name itself does actually make sense, too.

But what I really, really disliked was the ending. I don’t mind open endings, when they are done well. In Requiem, this wasn’t the case.  Spoilers from here on. I actually kind of hated it. So Lena and Alex go from the ‘we’re so over each other but not really’ for the biggest part of the book to all kissy-faced while we’re in a fucking rebellion and shit is going to hell. Not to mention poor Julian. It isn’t made clear who Lena chooses as she does make a promise to Alex but later stares at Julian’s bare back, getting ‘distracted’. But still, if she does choose Alex (which I think she does), this is what has happened:

- Julian gives up entire life, career, safety and luxury for Lena.

- Lena ditches him.

Way to be a bitch, Lena!

Then there’s Raven, who got a horrible and unsatisfying ending. She just gets shot, that’s it. No more words spilled. We don’t know what happened after that and Lena never even grieves.

And Hana. So many unanswered questions. Did the bomb go off? Did Fred get out or not? Does Hana ever find Lena again? Just tell me what the fuck happens?

 And the rebellion, of course. The book ends with Lena and her fellow Invalids tearing down the wall separating the Wilds and the city. That’s it. We do not know if the revolution holds out. We do not know if the cure is being made illegal. We do not know if the original government gets back  into power. We, basically, do not know anything.

End of spoilers.

This turned out quite ranty, but I’m just so disappointed. I expected this to be amazing, and it wasn’t. Sigh. There were a few things I did enjoy, but they weren’t major things. The novel was okay, but I just hated the ending, which gives us no answers whatsoever.

I am curious, what did you guys think of that ending? Also, was I the only one shipping Julian with Lena?