ARC Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem by Lauren Oliver,
finished paperback edition book cover

Requiem

by Lauren Oliver

Series: Delirium #3

Genre: YA, dytopian

Editions available: Hardback, paperback,

Kindle, ebook, audiobook, audio CD

Expected publication: March 5th 2013 by HarperCollins

Source: Publisher - HarperCollins International
Pre-order now: Barnes & Noble * Book Depository *Amazon

Blurb (Goodreads):

As her country erupts in open rebellion, Lena fights for the resistance and must make a heartbreaking choice between two loves.

After saving Julian from a death sentence, Lena escapes with him and other members of the resistance. But as she embraces her love for Julian, a boy from her past returns and causes her to question everything. 

In the meantime, Lena's best friend, Hana, is engaged to Portland's young mayor and is living a safe, proscribed, loveless life. The story is told from both Lena and Hana's points of view.

As Lena struggles to save the people she loves, everything comes to a head in this exciting finale to Lauren Oliver's epic trilogy. REQUIEM is a sophisticated, wide-ranging novel that explores the large issues of society, government, and resistance, and of course, there is romance.



My Thoughts:

*This review is based on the advance reading copy the publisher sent me. There might be some changes with the finished copy.

Love is not a disease. Love is a natural feeling one deserves to feel. That's the knowledge Lena kept fighting for all throughout the trilogy, along with the other Invalids. 

Requiem is the much-awaited last installment of Delirium trilogy. I've been waiting to read this book the moment I finished Pandemonium, the second book of the trilogy. Like Delirium, Pandemonium has its killer cliff-hanger. The stakes became higher and love has never been so difficult. Could it be Julian or Alex?

Requiem is told in two POVs: Lena's and Hana's (Lena's best friend). On Lena's POV, she continues to live in the Wilds together with her Invalid friends and Julian and Alex. She struggles to be with the two guys that she loved, and choose one from them. Moreover, she also met a person she didn't expect to meet again, and together with the Invalids, runs and hides from the government while planning for their attack. While on Hana's POV told her life as a Cured with her guilt, her past and her struggle to be the perfect girl her family and community wants her to be. Both related, both confused, both trying to prove their worth, both have a hard decision to make but both willing to fight.

This book took me by surprise. Mainly because I didn't expect anything. Well, maybe the more complicated life of our dear main characters and their fight for their freedom. But yeah.  This book is really good. Bettttter.

As always, Lauren-Oliver style, this book was written intelligently. The scenes, the twists and add ons are well-thought. Requiem also contains a well-defined Lena. She becomes braver, risk-taker while being the same old sweet Lena. She's grown and I couldn't imagine her as the old Lena: afraid of breaking the rules, and always hiding behind Hana's shadow. What I didn't liked about her is her fast change of feelings about Julian and Alex. When one is gone, she likes the other and forgets about the other one. It's confusing me and doesn't convince me that much when she says  she love this guy, later on.

Alex is back, of course. But I kept on searching for him. There are changes about him and he didn't received any highlight in this novel. It's like he's there but I want to feel him. I hope he had more spotlight since he disappeared in Pandemonium. Julian is pretty cool. And cute. I want to give him a hug and I want to be a fairy godmother so I can give him a happily ever after (don't freak out; he's not dead or something!). It's just I want to do those things when I think of him.

I can really say that Requiem got really better. Very nice. Exciting. I didn't even realized the time and how much pages I've turned til the sun dropped down the horizon and I barely have a light for reading. I'm totally absorbed. The ending is unbelievable in a it-cannot-end-that-way-I-need-to-know-more way. I want more than the ending the author gave it. It doesn't have to be that way, can it? I mean, I'm not asking for one more novel, but an e-novella's not a bad idea! I want to know what happens.  To their community and the lovely characters. I want to congratulate Hana and smile at Grace. I kept imagining things what happens to them. Or maybe that's what Lauren Oliver thought to do--keep us thinking and never forget this last novel. Of this trilogy. Because you know what? I wouldn't.

Rating:

Take a look on my Delirium trilogy collection! They're so nice to look at, now that they're complete--all protected with a cover (I always cover my books). I bought the first two books and I'm so lucky to receive an ARC of the last book. Thank you so much again, Christine of HarperCollins International!

Check out my review of Delirium and Pandemonium.



Aaaand. Don't forget to check out the e-novellas!

Annabel (Delirium #0.5) - a short story about Lena's mother, Annabel
Hana (Delirium #1.5) - a short story about Lena's best friend, Hana
Raven (Delirium #2.5) - a short story about Raven, the fiery leader of a rebel group in the Wilds