Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #2)
Release Date: February 28, 2012
From the Publisher:
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.
375 Pages, HarperTeen
Available: Barnes and Noble
Note: This is a review for the middle book in a trilogy; as such, it may contain spoilers for the first book. Proceed at your own risk.
It was different reading this one than it was listening to the audiobook for Delirium. I don’t know if the format difference is the reason, but I thought Pandemonium was better than the first one. It was a different story; it was a deeper story. In this book, Lena grew as a person and she grew into the strength she didn’t know she had in Delirium.
At first, the two timelines threw me off a bit, but as the story progressed, I found I liked the way it was written. We were able to see the new, stronger Lena – but at the same time we got to see how she got there.
I was apprehensive about a new love interest for Lena – but I also knew it was inevitable. I’m of two minds, however, when it comes to the character of Julian. He seems like a perfectly fine boy, but I feel like I didn’t see enough of him or his personality to truly feel the relationship grow; it actually seemed a bit forced and happened way too fast for me. His acceptance of who Lena was was just too tidy and convenient. People don’t change their whole ideologies overnight – even Lena wasn’t quite capable of that. And while I don’t fault Lena for trying to find happiness again, I was fully expecting the end of this book – which may have also driven my more negative feelings for Julian.
Bottom line: If you enjoyed Delirium, you’ll adore Pandemonium.
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