REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

Due to being incredibly busy lately, I’m going to be doing reviews a little differently for awhile. I’m bullet pointing my thoughts for you instead of constructing lengthy paragraphs. We’ll see how this goes. 

Title: REQUIEM (Book 3 in the DELIRIUM series)

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Number of Pages: 400
Source of Book: ARC from publisher (Thanks HarperCollins School & Library!)

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. 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.

First thought: Satisfying ending to this series
-Different from DELIRIUM and PANDEMONIUM, I loved the dual perspective voices of Lena and Hana – gave a great insight into what was going on outside the walls in the Wilds and inside the walls with the Cureds.
-The way Lauren Oliver used the length of chapters to enhance the suspense and urgency in climactic parts or the complacency in other parts was masterful…also the way the chapters end and the next one starts is seamless and helps the story flow so well.
–Lauren Oliver’s writing style is beautiful and literary and pulls me into the story and the setting.
-I’ve enjoyed this entire series and the whole idea of this society and amor being a disease…it’s an interesting commentary on the way feelings can interfere with thinking.
-The way the whole storyline comes together in the end and we see how Lena and Hana learn the lessons they learn and have their new perspectives on the world and their lives was great…especially in thinking about the choices we make in life and what those may mean for us.
-You know going into it that hearts might get broken, but the whole time you’re a little unsure of whose hearts those may be and some may surprise you—of course, that’s what happens when you choose love over a lobotomy.
-Dealing with very broken characters here who have had their worldview completely shaken and they have to figure out how to survive in a new world.
Final thought: The things we would do for those we love…