What’s it all about?:
Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena’s emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever…
Told from the alternating viewpoints of Lena and her best friend Hana, Requiem brings the Delirium trilogy to an exhilarating end and showcases Lauren Oliver at the height of her writing powers – emotionally powerful and utterly enthralling.
What did I think?:
Requiem is the third and final book in the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver which began with Delirium (my favourite of the three), and continued with Pandemonium (a good follow-up novel). To re-cap on the story so far as spoiler-free as I can possibly make it for those who haven’t read the series yet, we are introduced to a dystopian world where love is declared an illness and an epidemic too dangerous to risk for vulnerable young people. As a result, on their eighteenth birthday all teenagers undergo an operation where the part of the brain that is responsible for falling in love is neatly sliced out. Unfortunately it tends to turn its patients into emotionless zombies if the operation is a success and if not.. well, you can imagine the worst thing that can happen when undergoing brain surgery I’m sure!
Our heroine Lena happens to fall in love and resists being “cured” by escaping into the Wilds where she is told that there are many other people like her who are mounting a revolution to overthrow the corrupt government in charge. During the second book she manages to recruit the son of the enemy, Julian over to the “Wild side,” and realises that after the loss of her first love, Alex perhaps the heart is able to love twice. This is turned completely upside down and back to front however when someone from her past returns along with the fact that the government is doing everything they can to stamp out the rebels and completely eradicate the notion of love, even resorting to extreme violence to meet their needs. Will they succeed or will love overthrow evil? Can Lena decide what it is her heart really wants?
One of my favourite things and the strength behind this novel was the fact it was told in two alternate points of view – our protagonist Lena, and her friend Hana, the girl left behind to become cured, make a match, and do everything according to the rules. I think this did bring a sort of freshness and vitality to the story, especially when exploring the relationship between Hana and her fiance, the new mayor (who I think is everything that is truly evil and hideous in the world by the way). I loved that Hana became a person in her own right, grows so much as a character and has quite a few moral decisions to make over the course of the novel about what is right and wrong in the world that she is living in. But the ending! I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed. I know a few people that disliked Requiem and as a result, didn’t finish the series and I have mixed opinions about it myself. On one hand, you are missing some good “Hana action,” but as for the conclusion – unfortunately you’re not missing much there. It may have rounded things off well for some readers, but personally I would have preferred it to go out with a bang.
Would I recommend it?:
Maybe!
Star rating (out of 5):
