Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver (#2)

*There may be some spoilers for the first book in the series, Delirium (here's my review for that)*

I started this a little apprehensiveness to say the least. While I liked Delirium and definitely wanted to find out what would happen next for Lena after THAT ending, it wasn't the best or memorable book I had ever read. So I thought PANDEMONIUM would be the same, honestly.
I found out a couple of months ago about the Lauren Oliver signing (more about that next week!) and having not read this, yet been given a copy by a friend, I thought it would be time to read this as the signing was for the third and final book in the series.
BOY THIS MADE UP FOR WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE IN DELIRIUM. (Get used to the CAPS by the way...)

Synopsis: After escaping Portland with Alex, Lena, alone, finds her way through the Wilds to a group of people, just like her. Fighting against the society she is forced to live within, escaping the cure that will prevent her from love. While she joins the resistance against the enforced regime, without Alex, she finds herself drifting towards a new love - someone that represents everything she is against.

Review: PANDEMONIUM is quite something. Since I started the Delirium series, I have read Lauren Oliver's other novel, Before I Fall (review) and it is now being made into a TV show with Emma Roberts playing Lena. So starting PANDEMONIUM with that already hinted to me there must be something spectacular about this book that has sparked so much interest.

PANDEMONIUM is narrated through Lena's eyes again but this time, in two different time zones, Now and Then. Then begins immediately after the ending of Delirum and shows an interesting side to Lena in coping with the loss of Alex while fitting in with her tough surroundings. It's fair to say she sticks out a bit at first. Now, which were my favourite parts of the book, details Lena's life as she goes to live in New York City undercover for the resistance along with new characters, Raven and Tack. I loved seeing a new and stronger Lena which let me know that despite the narration in Then, I knew she would be okay in the end. It was interesting having the contrast in characters actually that I think made it much more interesting than if it had been a linear structure.

In the Now parts, we are introduced to Julian. Julian is probably the epiphany of what Lena is against. Being a symbol of the younger generation, he is a part of the DFA (deliria-free America) who fight to cure the whole country of love. He isn't exactly your typical hero, I felt like he was a character I shouldn't like at the beginning but as the narrative progresses, you realise that he is merely following orders from a threatening father, it's something to hide his true beliefs. I actually preferred Julian to Alex. He seemed much more natural and I liked the slow progression of feeling between Lena and Julian who are kind of thrown together unwillingly. Their relationship is unique in that sense and the way everything just kind of happens felt much more realistic in my eyes.


Although normally I'm not a huge fan of poetry or lyrical language, I actually liked the way Oliver does this in PANDEMONIUM. I came to love the mixture of prose, speech and lyrical language that made this a lovely and enjoyable read. It makes it much more imaginative in my head, I feel like I am there, with Lena, among protesters or free in the Wilds. It was done so much better than in Delirium for me.
The concept was really the thing that got me to read this series. And while that is still there and developed further slightly, it isn't as 'Wow this is such a good idea!' than previously. However, I think that kind of suits where Lauren Oliver wanted PANDEMONIUM to go. While she doesn't explore the basics in this society with the whole love cure thing, she replaces it by exploring the intricate network of organisations making up the society that both oppose and support the cure for love. I loved this political aspect of the novel and made it much more tense and surprising, I thought.
The aspect I think that made me not like Delirium as much is that for me, it was unrealistic. In most dystopians, like Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (review), there is always the deep feeling that the situation could happen in modern society. And in Delirium I didn't get that. I could not see love being thought as a sickness. Or the governable able to force a cure upon us. However, with a look at the different worlds within and outside the city walls, I'm not sure why but for me it made the narrative that much more believable.

On a last note, OH MY FRICKING GOD THE ENDING. I have to admit I'm one of these readers who looks at the last page as they're reading (Sorry Lauren Oliver...), normally not really understanding the context of it. But OH MY. Advice? DON'T READ THE LAST PAGE because that just ruins everything! Seriously, the biggest surprise (for me anyway). I'm not sure whether I would have seen it coming had I not known but even though I did know I was still left like 'AHHH. WHAT? LIKE...WHAT?!' To say the least, I have no idea what's going to kick off in Requiem, hopefully I approve.

Overall, PANDEMONIUM is a far cry from my opinion on Delirium, making this series really stand up and be noticed in my eyes. I loved the way Oliver chose to narrate it, the settings, the new characters and what it focuses on which makes this book as good as my favourite dystopian novels. I loved PANDEMONIUM, bring on Requiem!

I give it a 5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/
Pages: 375
Publisher: Hodder
Challenges: None

Related Posts:
Review: Before I Fall
Review: Delirium #1

Delirium - Lauren Oliver (#1)

I saw Delirium many times before I picked it up. I think the reason may have been that the idea of love being a disease seemed very...far-fetched? Basic? I'm not quite sure but that is what turned me off. I think I also had a nagging idea that this would be a little like Twilight and with some of the negative reviews I have seen for this book, this wasn't exactly on my to-read list.
I found this in the library, drawn by the different cover I found to the other versions I had seen. When I realised what the book was, in fact, the ONE I had seen, I had already read the blurb and pulled in. I was already intrigued for positive and negative reasons - it was time to give it a go.

Synopsis: Set in the future, Lena Holloway lives in a world where love is a official disease that everyone suffers from. Scientists have found a cure that take this (and other) feelings away. Lena is 17, close to receiving her cure. When all teenagers turn 18, they receive the cure with their partners selected for them as well as their job and the number of offspring they will have. It is how Lena's world works and she has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. With 95 days to go, Lena does something amazing. She falls in love.

Review: The book is set in the future as one can possible tell. It is not too far into it as there are references that any reader nowadays would understand. It is at least 100 years as Lena states in the first few lines of the book 'It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected the cure'. So as you can tell, the cure is still relatively brand new.
Despite this being set in the future however, there is this underlying feeling, for me anyway, that technology has reversed or at least is less accessible than now or we think technology will be. For starters, Lena's daily chore is washing the dishes by hand. She mentions only the rich can afford computers. And that they pass the time by reading or testing each other for exams or dreaming of their future partners. Needless to say, when you start to read, subtly Oliver has created a world that although largely recognisable, is very different to our own.

The idea of love being a cure is interesting. This was part of the reason for me being turned off before but throughout reading, it was interesting to see how this came about and how they enforced it. Without a doubt, this world is a harsh state where there are curfews for the uncured and patrols to avoid. Lena lives in a safe haven, waiting to be finally cured and then continue with her life. Each city is barriered so no-one can get in. But no-one can get out either without permission. The curfews for the uncured prevent any wrongdoings, which only the uncured would cause. Also, if 'amour deliria nervosa' is shown in young people, they are whisked off to be cured straight away. Easy. The only people who can fight this scheme won't because they have no emotions and the uncured just want to be 18 to be cleansed of this disease. Again, easy for the government to control.
It is clear that Oliver has seriously thought about the world and it comes through. I liked the stereotypical things for teenagers to do being deemed scandalous to do for Lena and her best friend, Hana such as a house party, listening to music. It really put into context the do's and don't's of the world especially for a YA audience.
So the idea was clever and can see it happening in the future if I'm honest. However, at times it did feel a little far-fetched like 'Would people REALLY allow that?'. And that President that declared love a disease and the subsequent presidents must have been really manipulative to have the people ALLOW it. It felt to me that there was a major disaster to spur this thought however this is never said. Just seemed a little weird that they would suddenly one day declare this.

The novel was overall very addictive with the mystery and plot twists that keep you reading. Numerous times the chapter would end on a cliff-hanger and then the next chapter would start with an anecdote until you found out what happened eventually. I did find myself flicking through the next few pages to see what would happen as I was on the edge of my seat. The anecdotes were effective as a lot of Lena's past was revealed through there which helps to fill the reader in.

The romance. As you can tell from the synopsis, there is romance throughout with Lena and...I don't want to say who because I was NOT expecting it when it happened. Yes, it is partly obvious at the beginning but...oh you'll find out! Anyway, on reflection, to me the romance felt very fast and sudden where hate to love goes very quickly. It just seemed quite unrealistic to me. However, the romance is nice - not over the top or understated but the perfect amount and to this heavy and depressing topic, gives a nice positive feeling as well.

The novel has been praised for Lauren Oliver's use of poetic prose. Meh, I'm not always a fan of it while others rave so I'm probably not the most reliable on this term. I thought it started off very well and creative. However, as the book wore on, I found it a bit boring and tedious especially if it was in the middle of a tense scene. I'm just not a fan of it but in this case, I felt it broke this book up well and made it a bit different.

I read this book straight after Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (review) and for me, they are both so alike in the writing, setting and plot. Both Tally and Lena defy authority both knowingly and unknowingly, they find romance and almost conform to that authority. AND THEY BOTH HAVE CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS. I think Uglies plays more on the world and the problems within it when Delirium puts emphasis on the romance and her own personal struggle. So if you have read either of these books, you should like the other.

Overall, despite my critisms, I did certainly enjoy this book and it has hooked me for the rest of the series. Lauren Oliver has created this original novel that for me played homage to the best bits of other dystopian novels such as Matched by Ally Condie (review) and The Declaration by Gemma Malley (review) - it certainly is a dystopian fan's delight.
I can totally see why Lauren Oliver is such an acclaimed writer in the blogosphere and after reading the first chapter of her debut, Before I Fall, she is definitely now on my radar. With so many questions left open at this ending, I am definitely looking for the newly released sequel Pandemonium.
This is one time when the quote 'It's better to have loved and lost rather than to never have loved at all' rings quite true.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/
Pages: 393
Publisher: Hodder
Challenges: None

The sequel, Pandemonium is out now in all good bookshops. The third in the trilogy is out next year.


So, while I was reading this on holiday, I listened to the below song and thought the lyrics went really well with this book, especially the chorus. The song is 'The Way You Make Me Feel' by Steps. If you don't know who they are, they were a British 90's band and also one of my favourite childhood bands - and my first concert! They had lots of hits like 'Stomp' and 'Tragedy'. They recently got back together so I'm having a bit of a Steps-fest and re-visiting all the old songs. 
Those who have read Delirium, have a listen and let me know if you agree or disagree. Enjoy! (I love the dresses...)