Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ DELIRIUM

Pandemonium (Delirium #2) 
by Lauren Oliver

I'm pushing aside 
the memory of my nightmare, 
pushing aside thoughts of Alex, 
pushing aside thoughts of Hana 
and my old school, 
push, 
push, 
push, 
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence, 
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Holy mother of god this book was awesome. I expected it to been good because Delirium was fantastic, but Pandemonium blew Delirium out of the park! I haven't felt this strongly about a book in a while. 

The book is told from two different points: Then & Now. So we get to see what is happening in Lena's life, but we also get to see what happened to her after she escaped into The Wilds leaving Alex behind. At first, I found myself really enjoying getting to see both parts, but then there were times when I was just desperate to read the Now chapters because of what was happening and what was developing. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the flicking between the two different parts of Lena's life, there were just times where I wanted longer Now chapters and I didn't want them being broken up by Then chapters.

Lena is a completely different person in this book. The Then chapters allow you to see what Lena has been through and how she has developed into the person she is in the Now chapters. I had a much stronger connection with Lena in this book. After what happened during her escape, Lena is trying to forget and convince herself that Alex didn't die. I felt so bad for Lena to start with, after everything she'd been through to escape with Alex to have him ripped away from her was cruel. Lena started to change though, she started to become strong and independent. She had to change her attitude and adapt to life in The Wilds. I really liked the change in Lena, it made me like her character even more.

I had a love/hate relationship with Raven. There were times where I wanted to punch her and times where I really liked her. Raven was practical. She made sure everything that had to be done was done, and sometimes she went to extreme measures to get it done. And those were the times I really hated her. But Raven was also compassionate and I really enjoyed seeing the softer side of her.

And then there's Julian. As soon as I started reading this book I was convincing myself I wouldn't like Julian because he's not Alex. And Alex was just beautiful and amazing and no one could take his place. But then when Julian and Lena suddenly found themselves thrown together, I started to learn about Julian and I couldn't help but fall for him. Julian was sweet and naive and I got so sucked in by his character that I kind of forgot about Alex for a while, I was all for Julian and Lena. His character development was one I loved seeing. The Julian at the start of the book is a completely different person from the Julian at the end. I honestly couldn't help falling for him.

The whole plot of this book was so much more exciting. There was a lot more action and I found myself being pulled into the story. I honestly can't think of a dull moment in this book. It was fast paced and thrilling. I couldn't put it down.

And then the ending happened. My feelings just exploded. I had no idea what to do after it. Everything I'd been dead set on in this book was just blown to pieces. WHYWHYWHY!? This cliffhanger was worse than the one in Delirium, and that one was awful! My head is a mess now, and I'm so confused. My heart is torn.

So, yeah. In case you couldn't tell, I absolutely loved this book which is why I gave it:

Although, I definitely feel like it deserves more because it was brilliant. I'm dying to get my hands on Requiem now and I'll definitely be buying it this weekend!