Pandemonium by: Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium by: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 28, 2013
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Page Count: 375
Author Blog: Lauren Oliver
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

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.

Teaser:

“ If you take, we will take back. Steal from us, and we will rob you blind. When you squeeze, we will hit.

This is the way the world is made now.”

My Review:

Pandemonium is a poetic story of resilience and what someone is willing to go through to stand up for what’s right. In a world under a horrible illusion, Lena is one of the few who has seen the truth, but not without a cost.

Lena is one of the most resilient characters I have ever seen in YA. She comes from a regular family in Portland, where she lived well and had sufficient means. She goes from that lifestyle to living underground with the Uncureds, never sure if they have enough food to get by and having to work all day. Lena and all of the people around her are against the deliria. They are roughing the wilderness because they won’t succumb to the government’s horrid procedure that each citizen is required to receive.

Pandemonium switches Lena’s perspective from her in present day to her half a year (or so) ago. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this at first, but then found that it was kind of essential in getting the whole story out and a very clever thing for Lauren to do.

Undercover, Lena is working with Raven, the woman who rescued her following the events of Delirium, and Tack, a member of their group. Together,they are just like any other family living in New York City, only they are wearing deep masks.

Mourning the loss of Alex, Lena struggles at times to make it through, but she always prevails, always finds a way to move forward. She meets Julian seemingly by chance and starts to believe that there is more than meets the eye for the poster-boy of Deliria Free America, an organization Lena Morgan Jones is a member of. He is afraid of the procedure and if he will survive it. Once he gets to know Lena, he begins to realize that not all Uncureds are hostile and what his father has been teaching him all his life is a lie.

I loved reading conversations between Julian and Lena. I think they have amazing chemistry. Fair warning, Pandemonium has a wicked cliffhanger, so prepare yourself for jaw-dropping, yelping, and other declarations of blissful frustration.

I cannot wait to read Requiem in 2013!

Other books by Lauren Oliver: