Pandemonium (Delirium Trilogy, 2)

I’ll admit, as a HUGE fan of Lauren Oliver’s BEFORE I FALL, I was a bit disappointed when I read her second YA book, DELIRIUM. While I had difficulty getting through the vast majority of that book, the final chapter did provide a nice look at what its follow up, PANDEMONIUM, would potentially have to offer. Even still, due to the snooze-fest that was Delirium, I started Pandemonium with very, very low expectations – hold on to only the slightest of hopes that it would match the genius that was Before I Fall. Suffice to say, the book and its story rose above and beyond my wildest hopes. I LOVED every bit of Pandemonium. Her second venture into the world of amor delira nervosa once again places Lauren Oliver near the top of my list of favorite YA authors. Plot: 9 One could say that Pandemonium takes off right where Delirium left us, Lena is lost and alone in the Wilds. But then you move on to chapter two and realize that you have just jumped ahead from “then”, the time when Lena in the Wilds, to “now”, events occurring approximately 6 months in the future after Lena has spent some time in the Wilds. I fully appreciated these two time frames being told parallel to each other, from one chapter to the next, because it provided additional character growth and exposition, as well as a heightened sense of action, story development and the impact that the story has on the reader. In this installment we learn quite a bit about the people who live in the Wilds, how Lena handles the events that occurred at the end of Delirium, as well as what happens to her after. So much happens in this book, that to say more would just spoil what’s in store for you. Just know that by the end of this book, Lena will be a different character entirely and you will have learned quite a bit about the world in which she lives. Characters: 9 While I was actually somewhat bored by all the characters in Delirium, Lena and Alex included, I cannot say the same about the characters in this book. I now have grown to LOVE Lena thanks to Pandemonium, and I felt her anguish, confusion and pain every step of the way. I would say that, as far as character growth goes, Lena’s is one of the best examples of what you should see in fiction. Every event that she is put through alters her in some way, she makes choices and has to live with the consequences, and she knows there is no returning to who she was in Delirium. There are also a number of secondary characters introduced in this book and each of them has a story to tell. The exposition of these characters is superb, and again the use of the “then” and “now” accounts for a lot in how you feel about them. I loved them all, yes, every single one of them. Well, except for one group of people that we learn about, but the reasons for that is for you to find out yourself. Setting: 10 Yay! Lena is finally in the Wilds! And what a much more interesting place it is to see than the Valid cities. We learn about the poor living conditions that the Invalids are forced into, migrating from place to place, just to stay safe and unseen. We are taken on a trip in the Wilds during the winter, where I felt the bitter cold along with Lena. We also return to the world of the Valids, only this time in NYC. I appreciate all the information Lauren provided us about the world in this installment. By providing us with more background/world information, she moves the story forward quite a bit. Also, this novel is much darker than Delirium in both mood/tone and setting; the setting appropriately plays a big part in this. Pacing: 10 There is something to be said about a book that is, essentially, telling two stories in one, while at the very same time managing to keep the pacing of the overall story on track. Pandemonium accomplishes telling two stories: One is about Lena and her very first experiences in the Wilds. In this story you join her as she adapts to her strange, new world. And the other is about Lena and her experiences as a “new” Lena. In this story she is part of an Invalid mission inside New York City. One of these stories is told slowly while the other one races through time at breakneck speed. Some may be jarred by the jumping back and forward between “then” and “now”, but I found it rather enjoyable. In my opinion, and in contrast to Delirium, there is never a dull moment in Pandemonium. Style: 9 I don’t need to repeat what I just said above about pacing. I will only add that along with the two stories being told about “then” and “now”, these individual time periods are woven together and plotted in such a way that common themes are shared between the two at the same time in the book. This (IMO) makes the transition back and forth between the two time periods more seamless and allows the story to have greater impact on the reader. I really can’t go on about how ingenious it was for Lauren to tell her tale in such a way. I only took one point off for the occasional use of foul language in this book. Oh my. Lena! Watch your mouth! (Yay! Prudish mommy strikes again!) I am so grateful to Fire and Ice for allowing me to be part of their ARC Tour for Pandemonium. If it were not for their tour I may not have given Pandemonium a try. What a wonderful adventure I would have missed if I had passed this one up! Lauren Oliver, you are most definitely back on my A-list!

WARNING: Spoilers for Delirium ahead. Pandemonium is the second book in Lauren Oliver's Delirium Trilogy. In the first book, Delirium, Lena lives in a future dystopian United States, where love has been designated a disease, and everyone is cured on their 18th birthday. Lena was eagerly anticipating her "cure" and her orderly, predictable life to follow, free from the "Deliria" that leads to mood swings, irrational behavior, violence, and death. That is, until she meets Alex, an "Invalid" from The Wilds - a boy who has never been cured and doesn't believe that love is something that needs a cure. Alex teaches Lena about love, and they plan to escape Portland to live in The Wilds together. But in the end, Alex sacrifices himself to allow Lena to escape. Pandemonium's narrative alternates between two separate time lines. The first picks up right where Delirium ends. It follows Lena in the days, weeks, and months after she has escaped Portland, losing Alex in the process. Predictably, she meets up with other Invalids living in The Wilds, and slowly assimilates to life with them. Away from the familiar comforts of the city. Away from fear of the Deliria. Away from Alex. The second takes place several months later. Lena is now an active part of the resistance, and is living undercover in New York City. Her cover is that she is part of a new political movement - the DFA or "Deliria-Free America." The movement's mission is for the cure to be administered to everyone in America before their 18th birthday. Lena's mission is to keep an eye on the DFA, especially its leaders: Thomas Fineman and his son, Julian. [Spoilers Ahead] But everything turns to chaos when Scavengers - a violent extremist group of uncureds - attack a DFA rally, and Lena and Julian are kidnapped and held hostage together. Their captivity forces them to question their preconceived notions about each other and about who their enemies really are. Pandemonium was an enjoyable, exciting, fast-paced book. I did find it a bit predictable - I wasn't nearly as surprised as Lena at the twists and turns of the plot - but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of it at all. And as much as I loved Alex in Delirium and I wasn't sure initially if I would be able to accept if Lena moved on, I found that I loved Julian just as much as Alex. I appreciated how the evolution of Lena and Julian's relationship mirrored that of Lena and Alex - but with Lena's role reversed. Ultimately, I thought Pandemonium was a great set-up for the third book in the trilogy. I anticipate the conclusion to the Delirium Trilogy will contain lots of action, a likely love triangle (which is overdone in YA books, but in a world where the entire plot focuses around the benefits and drawbacks of falling in love, it probably can't be avoided), and Lena's deeper involvement with the resistance. It answered some questions set up in Delirium while asking several more. And it introduced us to some great new characters. My frustrations with the book were minor. I missed the characters from Delirium (but I suspect some of them will pop up in the 3rd book). I couldn't understand how just a couple days lost in the woods resulted in Lena needing weeks to recuperate, considering how physically fit she was at the end of Delirium. And several of Lena's great plans just seemed far too simple (especially in the couple parts where she has to deal with key codes). But overall, none of that was enough to take away from my enjoyment of the book. The storytelling was excellent, and I found myself completely immersed in the characters and world that Ms. Oliver created. I'm intrigued and excited to see how she wraps up Lena's story in book 3. Highly recommend!

So the more I read dystopian fiction, the more I find myself having to divide my reviews into two major sections. Whether or not I buy the society, and whether or not I liked the story. Most of the time those two line up, but with Delirium they didn't. I didn't buy the society of Delirium. Oh I can buy a society choosing to lobotomize itself in order to cut down on destructive emotions, after all, Uglies features a society that intentionally gives itself brain damage in order to be compliant. The difference with Uglies though is the trade off, the near perfect society, made me wonder if it would be worth the cost. To me, that's what a good dystopian novel does. It behaves like a Utopian society in every way until you realize the price. The hidden horror lurking just beneath the surface, and your dystopian protagonist has to decide, is it worth it? Do I become complicit in these horrible happenings to reap the reward of comfort, society, and equality? Is THIS what it takes to have it all? Now obviously, many famous dystopian novels don't go the Utopian route. 1984, Anthem, Brave New World, not a single one of those societies featured a place I'd want to live. And more and more, YA dystopian stories are modeling themselves after those stories. The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent. Class struggles and poverty still exist. It makes me a little sad to see this theme becoming predominant in YA.We paid the awful price, and what to we have to show for it? Nothing. No one from the outside looking in would think they've landed in Utopia. Everything is so bad we don't even bother with the illusion of prosperity. The trend of dystopian novels in YA already reflected an uncertainty about our future, the shift to bleak dystopias indicate sheer hopelessness. Another thing that a dystopian novels has to do, to me, is make me buy into the dystopia. There has to be logic, no matter how twisted. I can see love becoming a horror story, but the actual procedure doesn't behave in consistent way. If you lobotomize the brain, it's not just love you get rid of. It's personality, hate, fear. You become a zombie. And the adults sometimes acted like that. Sometimes they were aggressive, and judgmental, and violent. Now no procedure on the brain is going to impact everyone the exact same way, so I was willing to accept the sheer number of people in the society that seemed to enjoy being violent. But not within the same person. So one of two things was happening in this society. Either the author wasn't consistent with the procedure (no one should have felt extremes, thus you shouldn't have enraged child abusers and over aggressive soldiers) Or the author didn't do a good enough job explaining that it is not in fact a lobotomy the characters are getting, just a diminished capacity for love. In which case, her descriptions were inconsistent, and the cure would not have "cured" an urge to exercise, a sexual preference on a base level, the urge to reproduce, ect. The people in this society stilled cared what others thought of them, still exhibited pride and judgement, they still got angry. It just wasn't consistent so I could not buy the society. That being said though, I still liked the books. The story was good, even if the society wasn't. The writing was beautiful! Poetic! Flowing. Honestly, it was fantastic writing. The descriptions!!! The nursery rhymes, the book of Shhh. While not believable to me, the world building that went into this was still amazing. I didn't really like any of the characters that much but I didn't like them because I wouldn't like them in person, if that makes sense? They were 3 dimensional, well developed, whole characters. I just happen to dislike most of their personalties. I never really bought into the romance, but for a book series about love, I have to applaud that Oliver never actually made the story ALL about love. The world, the characters, and everything EXIST. The love story doesn't drive the plot of the series, it could stand without it, the world didn't stop and revolve around the two characters. Yay for having an identity Lena outside of lovestruck teen! Good for you :) I did love the friendships formed in this series, and I love that those friendships didn't revolve around the romance either. The girls talked to each other about things OTHER than boys. As in they had a life. Identities outside of their crush's. I'm super impressed by that, and very happy to see it in a book that could have SO easily slipped way too far in the other direction without being called on it, because of the whole love is literally forbidden angle of this story. Like, in this context, and this context alone, disappearing into the romance would have been an act of rebellion and the romance could have actually been its own character and everything could have been all codependent and reliant on the love story, and for book 1, I was a bit worried it would do that but it didn't! I did feel that the ending of the series was rushed. I like that everything wasn't neatly tied up with a bow, but despite not resolving much, the ending just felt gleaned over. And Oliver can DO endings. I read "Before I Fall." Endings, are her fricken forte. I wouldn't be surprised to learn there's one more book for this series. There's enough there for one.

What a wonderful follow up novel to Lauren Oliver's dystopian, Delirium. Where many sequels flounder or just fall flat, Pandemonium delivers and grows on its predecessor. The novel is split into alternating chapters of "then" and "now". The "then" chapters complete the tale of what happens to Lena after Delirium finishes and she is fighting to escape and survive in the Wilds without Alex. The "now" chapters show Lena back in society as a Resistance agent. Delirium left you on such a cliffhanger, I needed to know what happened next. Oliver managed to deliver a sequel where she strung you out the entire book before giving that information. Normally this is something that would have left me twitchy and irritated, however the book is just that good I never once felt exasperated at all. What you get is a book that isn't shy of being harsh and painful. It makes you think twice about about how we behave as individuals and shows the strength and resiliance of humanity regardless of what is thrown at them. Where Delirium explores Lena's growth and love, Pandemonium is about the darker emotions like hate and revenge all of which are still considered part of "the" disease, amor deliria nervosa. "If he were less well trained, and less careful, he would say hate. But he can't say it; it is too close to passion, and passion is too close to love, and love is amor deliria nervosa, the deadliest of all deadly things: It is the reason for the games of pretend, for the secret selves, for the spasms in the throat." There were many scenes in this novel that deeply impacted me, often by what Oliver leaves unsaid, once scene in particular with Raven, Blue and Lena left me in tears it was so harsh and beautiful. The writing is just superb, I can't fault it. Where Crossed so desperately tries to be poetic, deep and meaningful and falls short at the mark, Pandemonium delivers in spades. The story and writing is fluid, soulful you really empathise with the characters and can feel the hopelessness and uphill battle of trying to change their society. Lena really grows in this novel, she states that the old Lena is dead and in some ways this definitely feels true. The new Lena is much tougher after surviving the wilds and joining the resistance. She at times seems numb and dead due to the shock of losing Alex and her entire way of life. There are a few new secondary characters introduced who are well done and really enhance Lena's journey through the Wilds and I can't not mention Julian, her new love interest. I wanted to dislike him, I really did but I just couldn't. Julian, like Lena is all about discovery, growth and acceptance that they are different to the rest of their society. He is sweet, he is genuine and I really felt for him and could see the love blossoming between them even if Lena resisted and battled it. I can't sing this series enough praises. If you haven't read Delirium yet, please go pick it up and get as hooked on it as I am. Pandemonium is a wonderful sequel and I am on tenterhooks just waiting to see how everything comes together in the final book!

First Impressions: If you have read my review of Delirium, you know that it was my favorite book of 2011, at least, until I read Pandemonium. In hindsight, I wish I had waited to read it closer to its release date because now I have to wait over a year to find out how the story is going to end. It is going to drive me absolutely insane! But, it was sitting in my To-Read pile calling my name and begging to be read. I couldn't resist, so I picked up the book and immersed myself once again in this crazy world Lauren Oliver created. I also really like the cover art on Pandemonium. I'm not sure if I like it more than the cover art on the first book, but it is still really pretty! First 50 Pages: Wow! Now here is where I have to give my warning that this review is going to contain some spoilers. This review would be near-to-impossible to write without giving anything away. I'm sorry everyone! I hate spoilers as much as the next person but it has to be done. I'll try to give away as little as possible. Okay, with that being said, I had predicted that Pandemonium would contain a lot more action then Delirium. I was spot on the money with that! This book is so action packed that it the pages just seemed to fly on by. The book is set up differently than Delirium. The chapters alternate between the past (what Lena encountered after her botched escape into the Wilds) and the present, what is happening to Lena after a certain point in the story. The book begins with the present, a Lena with a fake procedure mark on her neck sitting in a brand new school, in a new regulated city (Manhattan), and a new fake name. Then in the next chapter, we switch to what happened directly after Lena made her escape into the Wilds and how she survived that crazy ordeal without Alex. Characters & Plot: Lena has completely changed in this story. It is true that the old Lena is basically dead. She is reborn in the Wilds as a strong, kick-butt female character that has what it takes to make it through just about everything. The old Lena that couldn't take care of herself and was scared all of the time is gone. I love the new Lena! She has her moments where she feels like everything will collapse around her, but she pushes through and overcomes her obstacles. Adjusting to live in the Wilds was very difficult for her, and loosing Alex, who she believes is dead, seems like something she just can't get past or is able to deal with. Yet, she finds a way to survive with the help of a few new characters. Raven, who is the leader. She is the one who nurses Lena back to good health after Raven's make-shift family finds her half-dead in the Wilds near their summer encampment, miles and miles away from Portland where Lena originally entered the Wilds. There is also Blue, who is kind of a daughter to Raven, and Tack, a stern no-nonsense sort of character who doesn't ever really warm-up to Lena. There is also Hunter, a sweet guy who treats Lena with more kindness then most of the other characters in this group. Raven and Blue have very mysterious pasts that nobody seems to want to share with Lena, even though she asks a few times. Their pasts are revealed late into the story, and they are unbelievably heartbreaking! When we reach the present parts of the story, Lena is working with Raven and Tack undercover in Manhattan, trying to gather as much information as they can about the DFA. These are the people who believe in the Cure and are trying to get younger people to have the Procedure, even if it means risking their lives to be free of love. The head of the DFA has a son named Julian, who at a massive rally in Times Square, Lena is told to keep an eye on no matter what. This is when crap really hits the fan, and Lena and Julian are captured by unknown people. During their time being held prisoners, for what reason they don't really know, they try to get to know each other. Lena tries to uphold her false identity in front of Julian, but in the end, she tells him everything he knows about her is a lie. Now, Julian is an interesting character. He starts out as believing in the Cure and is very much like how Lena use to be before she met and fell in love with Alex. Julian had tumors in his brain and has undergone a few surgeries over his life and was willing to undergo the Procedure to protect him against love, even though the doctors told him and his family the Procedure would probably kill him. All of this starts to break down while he is being held captive and Julian's true emotions start to pour out. I felt very bad for this character. The story of his life isn't all that it appeared to be. Lena and Julian do end up escaping and find their way back to Raven and Tack... and even more craziness starts to happen. I don't want to give away any more spoilers. I've spoiled enough. What happens next in this book is high drama, multiple fights for survival, lies being uncovered, and a new love being born. It is all incredibly emotional and Lauren Oliver really outdid herself this time when it comes to her writing. Talk about being able to create suspense! This book is full of it! Final Thoughts: Excuse me while I yell at Ms. Oliver..... OMG! How could you end the book RIGHT THERE?? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Anyway, the book ends with a major, major cliffhanger. Alex makes an appearance on the very last page. He doesn't sound at all happy either, but who can blame him? Say hello to a love triangle about to be born, but we will have to wait until the next book for all of that. I loved this book. It was better than I could ever hope it would be. It was ten times better than Delirium was and that is quite an accomplishment! I don't even know which boy to root for now! Julian or Alex.... I really don't know! I love each one for different reasons, but I think I would prefer Lena to end up with Alex. There is just something special about him that I can't shake. Oh my... Please, please pick up this book when it is released in March next year! If you haven't read Delirium, do it! You are not going to want to miss out on Pandemonium!

Have you ever had a love-hate relationship with a story? I've had that experience with several books in the past (The Host by Stephenie Meyer and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold to name a couple), and, unfortunately, this book falls into that category for me. Pandemonium is the second book in the "Delirium" trilogy by Lauren Oliver. I was so blown away by the first book (as you can read in my previous review) that I was both excited and worried about reading this one - excited to continue along in the heart-in-your-throat, gut-wrenching story that was presented in the first book, but worried that it would never measure up. Well, the tally is in...and here's how it looks. Aesthetics The cover art is beautiful, hands down. I would argue, though, whether or not it actually communicates anything about the plot of the story. The title is perfect for the overall tone of the book and carries over nicely from the ending of the first installment in this trilogy, reminding the reader with a simple word of all the emotions evoked by the Delirium experience. Plot Sometimes, as readers, we want the story to go the way we expect. Some of us even feel a need for the story to go that way, as if during the course of the book we've formed relationships with the characters and want to see them prosper, triumph, achieve a form of happiness no matter how dire the situation...etc. Other times, however, I find myself wishing that I hadn't come up with the ending, or at least, in this case, the next path that the author would take. I wanted Oliver to wow me with this book, to take her characters to a level I'd never imagined, to blow my mind as she did in the first book. Hell, I would've been okay with the extreme disappointment that I felt after reading Mockingjay (the last in trilogy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins), just so that the experience would have been raw and new. I'm sorry to say that it didn't happen - no sorrow, no shock, not even disappointment. If I had to describe this book in one word, I would use predictable, and I'm so sad about that fact that I don't know if I'll read the third book. There's a large part of me that wishes that I'd stuck to the gut feeling that I should have stopped with book one. When I say I have a love-hate relationship with this book...you guessed it. It's (very unfortunately) the plot that I "hate." Don't get me wrong, though...I enjoyed the read. I think my expectations were extraordinarily high because the first book moved me so much. I'm hoping that this book suffers from "middle book" syndrome, and that the last installment will wrap things up for me in a way that makes me fall in love with the story all over again. Overall Readability I've said it before and I'll say it again, Oliver is a master of words. Despite the predictability of plot, I loved the writing. It's truly beautiful. I wish it was enough to save the story. However, the book is written in a series of "then" and "now" chapters, and I wish it had just been written as a sequential series of events. The flashbacks made the story seem choppy, and since the first book wasn't written this way, it serves to further break apart the two instead of allowing them to flow nicely together. Recommendation If you read Delirium and loved it, you're going to be very tempted to read this book. At the end of the day, I know I'll read the entire trilogy, if not for any other reason but that I simply have to finish, to allow the author to play out the story and to give her one last chance to wow me again like she did in book one. That being said, my recommendation on this one will be "give it a chance," because there is still great potential in the trilogy as a whole. If you do decide to read, be sure to pick up Hana - A Delirium Story and read that first. This is a super short, easy read written from Hana's (the main character's best friend) perspective. I mentioned before that Oliver has not just created a story but an entire world, and this novella only serves to expand that world for the reader. I love when authors do this, and I think you'll find that it will enrich the reading experience of this trilogy as a whole if you take part in this "bridge" story, too.

It is rare that I enjoy a second book more than the first in a trilogy (I am usually disappointed in the second books) and Pandemonium is definitely one of these rarities. I loved Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, but I never really got into Delirium. I think Ms. Oliver is a fantastic writer, but the story in Delerium was too slow for my taste. Her prose and world building in Delerium were fantastic, but parts of the story just dragged for me. The story really picks up the pace in Pandemonium and I enjoyed it and can't wait for the third installment. Pandemonium follows Lena after she escapes her life and witnesses Alex's death. The first part of the book switches from "then," to, "now." Then picks up immediately after Delerium and now is some period of time later. The switching of time periods was done well and I had no problem remembering where Lena was in each storyline. There are plenty of twists in this book, although the major one, revealed in the very last chapter, is fairly predictable. Having said that, I would have been disappointed had it not happened. The story ends with a big cliffhanger (the last twist), but it does so in a way that sets up the next book without being frustrating. Pandemonium is its own story, not just a chapter in the larger trilogy story. Lena's journey as a character felt believable. We already saw much of it in Delerium, but she sheds some of the annoying characteristics she had in the first book and really grow into her own in this one. She becomes more confident and self-sufficient and it is done is a completely authentic way. Although I missed some of the characters from Delerium, I liked the new characters in this book. Raven, Tack and Julian were all three dimensional, real people. I think that the introduction of the new setting and new characters really makes this book stand alone, instead of having it feel like filler in a trilogy. As New Yorker, I loved that much of the book took place in Manhattan and nearby. It was fun to read about the future NYC and I always enjoy reading futuristic books that take advantage of New York's intricate underground subway system. The only thing that bothered me was some of the construction of the dystopia. I kept wondering why the society doesn't cure its prison inmates. It would seem to be an easy way to keep them controlled and there wouldn't be any worry about anyone escaping. Other than that (and a few other) little nit picks, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Delerium and even those who were a little bit iffy about it. Well done, Ms. Oliver.

Read this and other reviews at [...] First - if you haven't read Delirium, stop what you're doing and go buy this book IMMEDIATELY. Oh, and stop reading this review. While it doesn't have spoilers per se, you need to read book 1, before you starting reading reviews for book 2. So quit getting ahead of yourself. And go read Delirium. Now. In terms of Pandemonium, there's really only word that comes to mind: BRILLIANT. This story was so different from Delirium, in the best ways possible, but it was no less amazing. I was still left completely floored. Even now a couple days later, I can't stop thinking about this book and it's basically killing me to not be able to read Requiem right now. The second I finished Delirium, I got on Amazon and downloaded Pandemonium. There was no chance I was going to be able to wait to see what happened. I NEEDED ANSWERS. This book is so much different because it's told in the "then" and the "now." The "now" is 6 months later after Lena has been in the Wilds and built a new life for herself entirely...in New York. When I first started reading, I thought I would really hate the "now" because I just wanted the old Lena back, and in fact, I just wanted Delirium back entirely. If you've read it...then you KNOW what I'm talking about. I just wanted to go back in time and fix it all. So at first, I felt like a petulant child stomping my feet, saying, "but I don't care what she's doing NOW, go back to THEN." I was sad, sometimes to the point of crying, at any mention of Alex, and I just didn't know how I could even come to like this story. But I did. So much. {{We all need mantras, I guess-stories we tell ourselves to keep us going.}} Without giving too much away, Lena was found in the Wilds - after her escape from Portland - by a girl named Raven. She goes back to their homestead and spends quite a bit of time recovering...from running over 60 miles before she almost died. She's not sure she even wants to be alive anymore. After the escape. After Alex. She just doesn't know how she'll go on. But Raven demands it of her. And in time, Lena gets stronger and learns to survive in the Wilds - and learns about joining the movement. In the "now" portions of the story, we see Lena integrated into life in New York City, as a "cured" - while really serving as almost a double agent against the DFA (Deliria Free America) - against the President of the organization, Thomas Fineman - and his son, the leader of the youth division Julian. During a DFA Rally, an attack takes place by Scavengers - uncureds who are just out of their freaking minds. This is where the story gets CRAZY. And I can't say anything about it. It must all be experienced firsthand, because it will blow you away. I will say, I REALLY did not want to like Julian. At all. But I couldn't help it. He grew on me. And even though it felt wrong and like I was cheating on my beloved Alex, I couldn't help but fall for Julian. Just a little. He's still not Alex. But he works for me, as Julian. {{It occurs to me, then, that people themselves are full of tunnels: winding, dark spaces and caverns; impossible to know all the places inside of them. Impossible even to imagine.}} There were so many unanswered questions at the end of Delirium - regarding Alex, Lena's mother, Lena's fate. All of it. There are plenty of questions answered during Pandemonium, but at the same time, there are just as many questions raised. Never did I feel like this was the typical filler book in the series, which is usually how second books can feel. There was just enough tension and bomb dropping, that just when I thought I could take a break, I would find myself 5 more chapters in, and completely enthralled. Lauren is such a magnificently skilled writer, in the sense that she knows how to dangle that carrot and make you complacently hop along, having NO idea you're about to have your world rocked. This could not be more true for even the last 7-8 pages of Pandemonium. OMG. Of course, this was a 5 star read for me. Again, the storyline was completely captivating and the characters were just as amazing as ever. I loved the introduction of all the supporting characters Lena met while living in the Wilds. Of course, meeting Julian and figuring out a part of his story. I literally CANNOT wait until March for Requiem to be released. While the title makes me incredibly nervous, I'm still looking forward to seeing how the series wraps up. Although, I will certainly be sad to see it end. I still have to read the couple novellas that are out as well, Hana and Annabel. I know that Raven is also being released on the same day as Requiem. I look forward to getting into these ladies' heads a bit more too. And just getting to experience more of this world. And Lauren's writing. If you haven't read these yet, PLEASE do yourself the greatest favor, and pick them up. Even if you don't like dystopian. Or young adult. I beg of you. You will be forever changed. {{In approved places, every story serves a purpose. But forbidden books are so much more. Some of them are webs; you can feel your way along their threads, but just barely into strange and dark corners. Some of them are balloons bobbing up through the sky: totally self-contained, and unreachable, but beautiful to watch. And some of them-the best ones-are doors.}}

Loved this sequel so much. Must read

Der erste Satz: "Alex and I are lying together on a blanket in the backyard of 37 Brooks." Cover und Titel: Das deutsche Cover ist ja sowas von tausendmal schöner! Ich finde das Original einfach komisch; es passt nicht richtig, es ist zu bunt, und dieses Mädchen sieht wirklich irgendwie aus wie Bella. Der gleiche leidende Gesichtsausdruck - irgendwie. Ich versteh das wirklich nicht. Das deutsche Cover ist dafür aber wirklich richtig toll geworden. Ich hatte mich bei Delirium ja gefragt, wie die das wohl machen wollen, damit alle drei Teile zusammen passen - es ist super gelungen. Ähnlich ist es mit dem Titel, passt halt irgendwie zur Reihe und auch ziemlich gut zum Inhalt, würde ich sagen. Gerade am Anfang. Meine Meinung: Diese Cliffhanger machen micht total fertig! Das ist noch schlimmer als bei Rubinrot, oder so. Wirklich, das macht mich grad total verrückt! Und vorallem ist es am Ende auch gar nciht mal vorhersehbar. Ich hab keine ahnung, was Lena im dritten Teil machen sird. Und vorallem, egal, was sie tut, ich würde es irgendwei verstehen, wenn auch nicht alles gut finden. Aber erstmal allgemein. Ich liebe die Art, wie Lauren Oliver das Buch geschrieben hat. Nicht nur, wie sie schreibt, aosnder auch, wie sie es aufgebaut hat. Sie hat nämlich immer ein Kapitel aus der Gegenwart und das nächste dann aus der Vergangenheit. Aber nicht die Vergangenheit von Delirium, sonder ab dem Zeitpunkt, an dem sie in der Wildniss ist. Das geniale daran ist, dass es eigetnlich ständig spannend ist. Nicht super spannend, aber ziemlich spannend. Man sieht Lena, wie sie sich bei den Invaliden einlebt und dann plötzlich in New York ist und das ist so super. Wirklich, ich liebe es. Ich hoffe mal, der dritte Teil hat auch wieder irgendwie so eine kleine Besonderheit. Vielleicht Kapitel aus anderen Perspektiven, oder so. Neben dieser Sache war der Schrebistil auch so einfach toll. Man war selber Lena und man hat immer verstanden, was sie denkt, warum sie so denkt. War zumindest bei mir so. Wenn Lena von Raven (toller Charakter!) enttäuscht war, war ich auch von Raven enttäuscht, obwohl ich selber vielleicht das gleiche getan hätte. Zu den Charakteren kann man nur sagen, dass sie alle ziemlich gut überlegt und beschrieben sind. Raven und Blue und Hunter (') und Tack; man bekommt jetzt nicht suuuper viel von ihnen zu sehen, aber das was man gesehen hat, hat mir gefallen. Julian ist so ein Typ, den man einfach mögen muss. Obwohl ich ihn gar nicht mögen wollte! Ich hoffe, die werden im letzten Teil noch ein bisschen ausgebaut, aber das ist sehr wahrscheinlich. Fazit: Es ist so ungerecht, dass ich nicht sofort den dritten Teil bekommen kann! Ich würde sagen, Pandemonium steht Delirium in nichts nach, höchstens, dass es an manchen Stellen ein bisschen langatmig sein könnte. Ich würde jedem empfehlen, die Bücher zu lesen, aber dass hab ich ja schon bei Delirium gesagt.

Ayant bcp aimé le premier tome, je me suis laissée embarquer dans ce deuxième : je n'ai pas été déçue, l'histoire est très prenante!

YAのディストピア系のお話って２巻目はなんかちょっと中だるみで面白くないな・・と感じる事が多いんですが、deliriumのラブストーリーっぽい感じから雰囲気がガラッと変わった展開になるし、物語が進むテンポが良く、スピード感もあってとても面白かったです。

Eu acabei de ler faz uns cinco minutos e ainda estou tremendo aqui. Acho que vou precisar de mais uma hora para voltar a respirar direito e me livrar desse frio na barriga que o livro me deu desde o começo. Que livro tenso, meu deus. Que livro incrível! Sabe aquele tipo de livro que você não segura, agarra, que você nem se deixa respirar quando passa as páginas, que fica se contorcendo de apreensão enquanto os acontecimentos - tensos, que parecem só dar errado, mesmo quando dão certo, - se desenrolam? Pandemonium é assim! Eu tenho uma regra para ler: toda vez que começo um livro novo, leio pelo menos cem páginas, para estar dentro da história já. As primeiras cem páginas desse livro são mais calmas, mas não menos interessantes. Mas, a partir daí, é um deus nos acuda completo! Cenas incríveis, interessantes e tensas, completamente tensas! Esse livro define a palavra 'tensão' e eu o amo por isso! Sobre os personagens: amei os novos, amei ver a construção da Lena, que está diferente, mas ainda coerente, que cresceu, mas ainda mantém sua essência! Acho super plausível e realista a evolução dela, o clímax e o que mudou profundamente nela (vocês vão entender quando lerem). Vou avisar uma coisa: tem um triângulo amoroso nesse livro, apesar de eu achar que nem deveria se chamar triângulo amoroso aqui, e ele super funciona! Eu não gosto muito de triângulos, apesar de eles não me incomodarem tanto assim. É só que, para mim, nunca tem dúvida de quem é o OTP mesmo, de quem deveria ficar com a protagonista. Mas eu tenho uma dúvida absurda depois desse livro! Me senti traindo o carinha do primeiro, de verdade, mas depois aceitando e abraçando a situação! Haha, que, lembrando, não acho que possa ser chamada de triângulo amoroso nesse livro. Eu amei o jeito que a história foi contada, se dividindo entre "tempos", cheia de ação desde o começo, com personagens novos interessantes e uma visão melhor também do mundo que está fora do que ela sempre achou que era o mundo real. Só tiveram algumas cenas durante o livro que eu achei que a autora fez a Lena se safar fácil demais. Tá, não foi fácil, mas só de se safar dessas cenas já é milagre! E aconteceram umas três vezes, o que foi um pouco improvável. Não que isso tenha atrapalhado a leitura! Eu ainda estou tentando decidir se gostei mais desse ou do primeiro! Normalmente, quando gosto muito de uma trilogia, escolho só meu livro preferido dela e coloco na lista de favoritos. Mas já sei que não vou conseguir fazer isso com Delirium e Pandemonium. Os dois vão para os favoritos, fato. Fico tão, mas tão feliz de já ter o próximo livro! Vi que ele é dividido em pontos de vistas diferentes e estou me coçando aqui de ansiedade para começar! Vou lá agora! Só um aviso: As últimas noventa páginas (arrendondando aqui) são as mais tensas e incríveis - é melhor só ler quando você souber que não precisa parar antes de acabar o livro!