Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver - Ashley's Review

My Pre-Reading

Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Year Published: 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads



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.

Review: Since Delirium, I have been in love with this series, and the world, and Lena an Alex. There's just something about their story that has captured my attention and broken my heart over and over again. Lena goes through so much and changes so completely over the course of the books, that I'm surprised Hana even recognizes her in Requiem. She's so radically different from the way she was in Delirium - she's daring, brave, strong in her beliefs, and very much in love - and it's been incredible to experience her transformation.

I honestly thought Pandemonium was going to be as bad as it was going to get for Lena. I mean, she had to deal with losing Alex (and then finding him!), falling in love with Julian, and almost dying. Oh and realizing her mother is still alive, and then losing her again. I mean, it can't get any worse for her, right? Wrong. Requiem managed to leave me more heartbroken at times than I even thought possible. I don't know how Oliver does it, but she manages to pack such an emotional punch into even the simplest things.

And then, we also got to see how Hana was managing back in Portland. Although I'm not Hana's biggest fan, I thought it was really interesting to see how someone who has been cured is handling the Resistance attacks and planning a wedding to the most important man in the city. And, of course, everyone has their secrets. Even the mayor. I think his might be the worst of all, because he has so much power and has so much potential to abuse that power. 

Like the rest of the series, the writing in this book is absolutely wonderful. It's one of those books that I hated to put down, and then I was so sad that it was over. Especially this time, because that's it. Now we have to say goodbye to Lena and Alex and Julian and Raven everyone else. And speaking of the ending, I thought it was perfect. I don't think a really conclusive ending would have done this series any justice, and it left off in a place that I was ok with. Especially because it feels so real, and not thrown together for the sake of a happily ever after. 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has read any of the other books. And, if you haven't and you enjoyed series like Matched, Divergent, or any of those other amazing dystopian series, I would totally recommend this book to you. Seriously, you'll be blown away. A strong 5/5 on this one, and over the entire series. 


--Ashley