Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Series: Delirium, Book Two

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Hardback

Published: 1^st March 2012

Number of Pages: 336

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystopia, Romance, Science-Fiction, Thriller-Suspense, Mystery, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog: Lauren Oliver

Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.

It kills you when you have it.

And when you don’t. humour

“I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside though sot Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.  The old life is dead.  But the old Lena is dead too.  I buried her.  I left her beyond a fence, behind a wall of smoke and flame.”

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel.  Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge.  That’s all you need to know.  We’ll let Lena do the rest of the talking…

                                                                   Review:

Lena Haloway had a plan.  She would run away from the loveless society with her true love, Alex.  Only, he didn’t make it, and Lena is all alone in the Wilds.  Feverish and close to death, Lena is taken in by Raven, an Invalid and member of the Resistance.  She tries to stay strong, to forget about her old life, as she struggles to adapt to life in the Wilds.

But that was then.

Now Lena is an undercover part of the Resistance.

But leaving your old life and love behind is harder than Lena ever imagined, even when you have a whole new purpose, a whole new life and perhaps more as well…

I adored Delirium.  I felt so much throughout the book and was left desperate for more.  And, my God, did Pandemonium lives up to all my expectations – exceed them, actually!  Once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop.  It was amazing, beyond words.  I felt every moment, saw every single thing and was left going out of my mind, desperate for more, more, more!

And Lena, oh how I’ve missed you!  I loved seeing the two sides of Lena – the “Then” and the “Now”.  The “Then” Lena seemed so vulnerable, yet unbreakable.  Meanwhile, the “Now” Lena was impossibly strong and determined.  She just surprised me completely with her resilience, her hardness, her new-found unshakable strength, her dedication to the cause.  While she loved so much, she hated equally.  Both Lenas were so strong, yet so lost…  I love this girl, seriously!

Julian Fineman, son of the head of DFA – Deliria-Free America.  He was so strong.  And so sweet! He had this feeling of vulnerability, of innocence, that just made me want to protect him.  I don’t know why.  And as much as I loved and missed Alex, I really did love Julian too.

I loved the relationship between Lena and Julian: how Lena was now the one opening Julian’s eyes, as Alex once did for her.  I loved seeing how their relationship changed from mistrust and loathing on Lena’s part to friendship and trust, maybe more…  The pressure, the chemistry, the heat just built up and up and man, I felt it!  Yet despite this and how much I loved Julian, I was just screaming: ‘But I want Alex.  I miss Alex…’

Even more than that, I loved all of the new characters to pieces; they gave the story a whole new feel, a whole new dimension.  I loved all the Invalids, the resistance, especially little Sarah and Blue, Hunter, Tack and most of all Raven.  Raven was kinda brash and to-the-point, totally in command of everyone and the homestead and one of my favorite characters ever!  She was firm, yet fair and sweet – and I really loved all of her mantras and protectiveness, and the way we slowly got to know the real Raven. 

Again, I must say: My God, how amazing this world is!  It’s so three-dimensional; it’s real and alive in my head.  So beautiful and so horrible.  I still haven’t gotten over the whole love-as-a-disease thing.  I mean, how did Lauren think of that?  It’s so brilliant, ingenious.  And I loved all the different aspects of the world we get to see, all the different people, even if it wasn’t all nice! 

I adored the writing in Delirium and I loved the writing in Pandemonium even more.  Beautiful, raw and powerful; once more I felt everything Lena felt, saw everything she saw.  There was just non-stop action and I loved every second.  And the gorgeous writing was made all the more brilliant by the split narratives – Now and Then.  It was confusing to begin with, but I quickly came to love this double timeline, eating it all up, unable to put it down.  This split POV made the plot even more amazing!  It was intense, action-packed, amazing.  And the ending?  Oh.  My.  God!  I NEED Requiem.  I’ll go INSANE if I can’t read it soon!  Miss Oliver?  Man, you’ve done it again!

Yet, despite the intensity and new storyline, I found Pandemonium just as emotional as Delirium, which made me laugh as I cried – something I did a lot.  Pandemonium was emotional, but in a whole new and wonderfully powerful way.  I loved every second, hated who Lena hated, loved who she loved, missed everyone she missed until it hurt.  And God, it was amazing…

Addictive, powerful, emotional, intense, compelling and beautiful, Pandemonium is a book you must read.  Even if you only read two books, ever, read this and Delirium!

Star Rating:
5 SQUILLION Out of 5…  Ok, 5 Out of 5.

Read this book if you liked:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Matched by Ally Condie

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year ReadingChallenge 2012 (Hosted by Book ChickCity)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review