Requiem

Requiem

by Lauren Oliver

SYNOPSIS:

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.

Read More
5441
3.5
Book #3 in Series

This is not an ending, this is just the beginning.

Yes, we are saying our farewells to our beloved characters, but for them this is just a door opening towards freedom.

the-freedom-to-love

I notice that I am once more writing my review backwards, but that’s OK, as this is what I liked the most about this last book – the hope it gives for a better future, for our characters to find their way to a happy ending.

HANNA

I’ve seen so many people complaining about having Hanna’s point of view in this book, but for me it worked perfectly.
I wanted to see what it was like to be in her shoes and I had many reasons for that. And I did enjoy her struggle, I did enjoy see her come in terms with her pain, with her remorses, because it was not easy for her either, and her story with Lena didn’t end with her mistake.

I must confess that I didn’t read her novella, but I had a feeling about what happened since the ending of Delirium. I am not sure if I need to understand her reasons, but I did understand her side in this story.. it was needed, and as much as I liked Alex, I don’t agree with so many of you – I wouldn’t have wanted to have his POV in this book, there was enough grief in Lena’s voice, I didn’t need more of that.

LENA

lena-requiemI liked her more in the 2nd book. In this one she was again more insecure. She realised that freedom and happiness are 2 different things and when you sacrifice everything for freedom you are more likely to become empty inside and to move through life without purpose.

In Pandemonium she had a reason to fight, she wanted to avenge Alex, but given the fact that she has now to deal now with the aftermath of her actions, she just needs a minute or more to think and see what is more important to her, what is she left to fight for? What can she choose? And there is no need to tell you that she never gets those minutes of thinking, so her pain keeps flooding her words, her insecurities keep hurting the people she loves the most.

THE LOVE TRIANGLE

Oh, isn’t it hard to choose between the people you love? Julian or Alex, Alex or Julian.. and what if show

To be honest this was my least favorite part of the story. The resolution was quite simple (even though I am not sure if it will satisfy the readers) and maybe even a bit elegant. You get a glimpse of where the things might be headed to, but you can still use your own imagination.

THE SYSTEM

I have so many questions about the world, about what this tiny revolution might have changed.. it feels like an unfinished story and I wouldn’t be surprised if the author would decide at some point to write a bit more about it, even though I am not sure if i want that. We just got to untangle all these treads (as complicated as they were), so why would I want to start over again?

CONCLUSION:

All in one, even though my favorite book in the series is still Pandemonium, I did enjoy this book quite a lot. Yes, there was a bit too much angst and teenage behaviour, but there was also quite a lot of action that kept me entertained and eager to know how things might end.
The fans of the series will love this book, even though they might scream as loud as they can about how they need to read at least one more chapter.. Just saying..

Happy midnight reading!

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12 responses to “Requiem”

  1. Sophy says:

    Many people seemed disappointed by this book. It is good to know that you are not. I am not sure how I want to be the one (Alex or Julian) as I loved them both in their own books. This is why i don’t like love-triangles, what’s the point if you’ll need to make a choice anyways? Just pick well from the beginning.

    • Ari says:

      My feelings for this series changed from book to book: I didn’t like Delirium, but enjoyed a lot Pandemonium; as for Requiem .. I have mixed feelings.
      It definitely didn’t feel like an actual ending, but I didn’t mind it. Also I can’t say that there was intense action in it but it still grabbed my attention (even though the triangle/square drama was a bit too much for me).

  2. Joanna says:

    I didn’t read this series, but from this author I loved “Before I Fall”. It is a very interesting book and I think that you might like it too.

    • Ari says:

      I read that book a while back, before starting to write reviews, and I remember liking it a lot (think it got around 4 stars from me back then).
      I had a love-and-hate relationship with this series here, but I am glad I read it, it was really enjoyable even though not the very best out there 😉

  3. I need to catch up on this series ASAP! I’ll be reading Pandemonium soon (very soon) and then Requiem! To be honest, I don’t LOVE this series as much as most people do. Delirium was nice but not really ‘wow’. I get all your points in this review and I think you fleshed out the book awesomely! I can’t wait to read this and see what I’ll think of it. Again, amazing review, Ari! : )

    • Ari says:

      I have too a few series that I started but didn’t get a chance to finish. I might do that soon.. if something else doesn’t grab my attention first :))

      Also, I liked the second book in this series, it is probably my favorite because the pacing felt right and the romance was a bit more plausible, so I hope that you will as well.
      Can’t wait to hear what you think of them bot when you read them 😉

  4. Lis Cárcamo says:

    OHMYGOSH!!!!! Ari! you are going to kill me!!!!! You wanted to kill us, right?

    “and what if another person comes in the middle of this madness to make us even more crazy that we already are?”

    I just got the book yesterday, and I was planning on read the novellas first, but now I WON’T!
    It’s all your fault! and mine, because I love your reviews to much!
    Thank you!

    • Ari says:

      Ooops! Now I realize that what I said is quite a bit of a spoiler. Shame on me! But don’t worry, what’s supposed to happen will happen no matter what 😉

      I hope you’ll enjoy the story, can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the ending :))) I am evil like that :p

      • Lis Cárcamo says:

        Just came back to say that I hated the ending!!!… but no, I liked it, but I hated it as well… I just need MORE!!
        And again, I have to say that I love your artwork, specially with that picture of the couple, I love it!!!
        (the almost spoiler was great for my racing heart, lol!)

        • Ari says:

          I needed more too! I needed more romance, because the action was good, but I could have taken a few more doses of love. You see, for a book in which love was forbidden, I wanted the romance to really sweep me off my feet, but it was kind of “meh” for me (if I didn’t quite feel it in the first book, most certainly I didn’t feel it here either).

          I am glad that you loved this book though, and I feel better now that I know that I didn’t quite ruin your reading experience with my mistake ;))

  5. Shane says:

    Good review.

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