Requiem Review

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Narrator: Sarah Drew
Series: Delirium #3
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books on March 5th 2013
Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Julie’s Review:

I put off reading Requiem because I was a bit disappointed with Pandemonium and read so many mixed reviews of this final book in the trilogy. Many reviews were critical at the open ending, but I’m happy to say, I found the ending satisfying enough. This review contains spoilers so you’ve been warned.

If you’ve read the first two books, you know there’s a major love triangle in this story. Lena believes Alex to be dead after he was shot when they were escaping into the Wilds. In Pandemonium, she falls for Julian, and later learns that Alex is still alive, and extremely upset with her. OK, I get it, Alex feels betrayed that Lena has moved on and so quickly. His behavior though really pissed me off. But I had to take a step back and remember that these characters are not only young, they live in a world where love is a disease so they don’t really know how to behave when feelings are basically illegal. I think what put me off so much is how much Alex reminded me of someone from a high school relationship. But, I think Alex does redeem himself in his apology letter before he runs away, especially after Lena understands what the note means. *Spoiler ahead* Lena tries to make it work with Julian, but he is just not right for her and I’m happy to say I agree with Lena’s decision between the boys. Once she has her important conversation with Alex toward the end of the book and they admit to each other that they still love each other and never stopped, we know things have come back full circle and they will be together.

I really enjoyed the dual POV between Lena and Hana. Actually, Hana was really fascinating to me in this book. After her cure, Hana didn’t quite feel all the way changed. She was paired to the soon to be mayor, and as it turns out, his previous wife was locked away for being insane.  I thought Hana’s character development was really great with her still feeling guilty over turning Lena in and finally deciding to help Lena and not warn her husband of what was coming.

As for the open-ended finish – I did really like it. Lena made her choice, so we know who she ends up with. The walls are in the process of being taken down, and we can see hope that the cured and uncured can find a way to move on together. While not everything is tied up in a pretty bow, the ending was satisfying enough knowing that things will get better, even if we don’t get to read about it.

 

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