Title: REQUIEMAuthor: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #3
Genre: YA Futuristic, Dystopian
Published: March 5th 2013
Pages: 391
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover
Source: Gifted from family
"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."
Highlights: I highly enjoyed the dual narration, switching from Lena to Hana's perspective gave a nice view of how different life is for both girls. Hana's voice is slightly detached due to her Cured status, so her perspective is a bit more fascinating to me than Lena's. The writing is, of course, as lovely as it always. Oliver has a way with words. I enjoyed the realism; people die and betray one another, and life isn't always perfect or nice for these characters. Life in REQUIEM is raw and heartbreaking, while also being stark and beautiful. All in all, REQUIEM is a vividly and beautifully written conclusion to the DELIRIUM trilogy that some readers will adore while others will struggle with the ending.
Lowlights: I can enjoy open endings, but I don't think it works well in this book. (SPOILERS-Highlight to read) What happens to Hana after she leaves Fred? Does Fred die or does his house explode? What about Julian? What the bleep happened to Jenny (who was seen once by Hana and then never mentioned again) or Lena's Aunt or Lena's sister? What about the war? Will tearing down Portland's walls do anything to help the Invalids? I feel like Oliver led to me a door and told me to go on inside — but she forgot to give me to the key to unlock it, so I'm stuck twisting and turning the handle to a door that will never open, so I'll never see what's on the other side. Instead of giving answers, Oliver leaves readers with the unsatisfying taste of uncertainty. When I read a series or a trilogy, I expect a majority of the questions to be answered at the end.
Final Thoughts: While I did not love REQUIEM the way I adore Oliver's other works, I do think this trilogy is very worthwhile to read. The writing is gorgeous, but the (lack of an) ending brought the story down a few levels for me.
Final Thoughts: While I did not love REQUIEM the way I adore Oliver's other works, I do think this trilogy is very worthwhile to read. The writing is gorgeous, but the (lack of an) ending brought the story down a few levels for me.
Story Rating: 4 out of 5
Ending Rating: 2 out of 5
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I kind of decided not to read Requiem after reading all the negative reviews. I think open endings work if they are done right. I liked the open ending in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. It gave the readers some closure and hope without actually wrapping everything up.
ReplyDeleteLauren Oliver is a talented writer and I would probably try anything else she writes.
Oliver is definitely talented. But that ending - ah! Open endings are a hit or a miss with me ;)
DeleteHuh...for the ending of a series to have an open-ended conclusion just wouldn't work for me. I loved Delirium, and I even loved Pandemonium, but this is too many poor reviews for me. I don't think I can even finish this series. That kind of sucks. I appreciate your honest take on it though, Lea! I trust your judgment!
ReplyDeleteI can understand an open ending for a standalone, but a series? Not so much. But, Oliver's writing is as lovely as ever, so that made REQUIEM a bit easier to read. You can always check it out at the library, if you ever get curious about what happens in REQUIEM - there are definitely quite a few surprises!
DeleteSo sad to hear about the open ending, but the dual narrations ounds great. I have read the first and want to finish one of these days,
ReplyDeleteThe dual narrations are fantastic! I loved Hana's added narration, it really gave the story an extra spark.
DeleteUgh, I KNOW, the ending kind of ruined this for me. I feel like it's not too much to ask for just a little bit more closure in the end. It's the least she could do for those of us who were fans from the start and stuck through with the series to the end. Not that I'm hating on Lauren Oliver though because she is of course a writing goddess and I am a big fan. I was just a little peeved at her for that!
ReplyDeleteTHE ENDING. Glad I'm not the only one who felt disappointed with it. Ha! I completely agree Despite my frustrations, I too am still a huge Lauren Oliver fan. :)
DeleteOooo LOVE the locked door/key analogy Lea, that's a perfect way to describe quite a few of the books I've read. I really wanted to read this one, but I've been holding off because of the reviews. I do not, NOT, deal well with open endings, so I think that's going to be a huge problem for me. I think I'll just have to be content having finished book two, and pretend everything wraps up nicely:)
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's the first thing that came to mind that captured my thoughts perfectly. There's a bit of resolution, but too many unanswered questions. But, the story was still good. I think it's worth checking out, so long as you don't get too mad at the ending ;)
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