Pandemonium, Lauren Oliver

Now: Alex and I are lying together on a blanket in the backyard of 37 Brooks. The trees look larger and darker than usual. The leaves are almost black, knitted so tightly together they blot out the sky.

But it's a dream. Alex is gone. This is the sequel to Delirium, a book which I really loved. The final book, Requiem, is coming out this winter. Pandemonium is divided into two "sections", "Now" and "Then". "Now" is set in New York City, "Then" is in the Wilds, with the uncured people. Just to backtrack, Lena lived in a society who believes that love is a disease. You get an operation when you turn eighteen, but Lena fell in love with this boy named Alex. They tried to escape, but only she got away.

The way the book is organized is a bit confusing; I wasn't quite sure what was going on, though it gets clearer as you read. On page 52, it all became clear: Lena is spying for the resistance in New York City, which was what I thought in the first place.

Lena as a character gets developed a lot more, though Pandemonium is way grimmer than the first book. For example "'You might as well get used to it now,' she says with quiet intensity. 'Everything you were, the life you had, the people you knew...dust.' She shakes her head and says, a little more firmly, 'There is no before. There is only now, and what comes next.'" Or, "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." (From the back cover and the front flap, respectively). Phew. That is really intense, though I don't know if I would call it deep, stuff. I know it may appeal to some teenage girls, but it kind of annoyed me. I know Lena's gone through a lot, but that doesn't mean she has to get all sappy and over-dramatized.

Nevertheless, Pandemonium is a gripping second book in this trilogy that kept me on my toes and wanting to read more. Some interesting new characters are introduced, and I look forward to reading Requiem, especially since Pandemonium ends on a cliff-hanger, with the inevitable love triangle introduced.

Read Pandemonium:

• if you liked Delirium
• if you like dystopia science fiction
• if you like Lauren Oliver

375 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!