#67 Book Review: Pandemonium

Pandemonium (Delirium #2)
Release Date: March 8th 2012
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Amazon & The Book Depository
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,

pushing aside thoughts of Alex,

pushing aside thoughts of 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.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite. 

My review:

Cover:
The cover is similar to Delirium where we can only see half of the girl's face. I like how the girl looks stronger and somehow gives a sense of confidence! I think I adore the UK cover more but this is still a pretty good cover!

4 Forget-me-not flowers for the cover!

Story:

Love is a disease. Love is beautiful. Love is painful. Love is deliria.

Lena has escaped to the Wilds, leaving Alex behind. But Alex keeps on haunting Lena's memories and dreams. Lena knows she needs to leave her 'old' self behind but love is not that easy to let go once you're 'infected'. Can Lena find love again?

Lauren Oliver's writing continues to impress me. Her words are so poetic and beautiful. Both Delirium and Pandemonium are very well written. Pandemonium continues directly from Delirium's ending. Pandemonium is still written in Lena's POV but it switches from 'then' and 'now'. 'Then' tells Lena's story in the past as she tries to survive in the Wilds and meets new characters while 'Now' tells Lena's present story as she goes to New York City and becomes a part of the Resistance. I really enjoyed reading both Lena's 'then' and 'now' stories and reading about the new characters! There are also some surprises in this book and things that I did not expect at all! The only thing that makes me feel sad is that there is no Alex in this story! I miss Alex so much since he was my favourite character in Delirium.

The ending, well I guess you guys all know that it ends in another CLIFFHANGER, like Delirium. But the ending wasn't a big surprise for me since after reading some reviews, I was able to guess what the cliffhanger is! But I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW!

Characters:
Lena is no longer the naive girl in Delirium. In Pandemonium Lena has changed. She becomes much stronger, strong-willed and exposed to the truth of the Wilds and her surrounding. I loved how she has developed throughout the story. There are interesting new characters I really enjoyed reading about who lives in the Wilds such as Raven, Hunter, Sarah and even Coin! Coin is a character who I did not expect to be so much more than just an 'Invalid'.

And there's also Julian. When I first read about him in the story, he didn't quite impressed me. He certainly is NO ALEX to me but the more I read about him, the more I am intrigued about Julian. By the end of the book, I end up liking Julian a lot more than I think but yes, I still love Alex more. I loved him from the first moment I read about him in Delirium and will always do.

I enjoyed reading about Lena and Julian's relationship. Lena finds herself wanting Julian, when she keeps on trying to convince herself that she still loves Alex and has not given up on him. All the characters in Pandemonium are very well written!

Overall:
Lauren Oliver brings you yet another beautifully written story through Pandemonium. Pandemonium is a story of Lena's survival and how love can find you at times when you're least expecting it. Love is everywhere and it's unstoppable. Love can also heal you when time can't. Is it 2013 already? I need REQUIEM NOW!

5 Forget-me-not flowers for Pandemonium!

Thank you Hachette Australia for the review copy!