Review: Pandemonium 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.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

*WARNING: This post may contain spoilers*

Pandemonium is the sequel to one of my favourite books, Delirium. However, I was extremely disappointed by the second installment in what I thought would be an amazing series. When I first finished the book, I was a wreck. Angry, annoyed, sad, and I kept texting my best friend about my frustration...I'm sure she was annoyed too.

Even though I didn't enjoy the sequel, I think the premise for the series is incredible. The teen fiction world has been stuck in a rut of Vampires and Werewolves ever since Twilight, but this is a new take on a fantastical world. The imagination behind the story, a world which takes away love, is a new and intriguing take on a Utopian society. The cross between the law and Lena's developing relationship with Alex is a great combination that would make any person fall in love with the concept.

In Delirium, Lauren Oliver painted such a wonderful picture of a doomed love in a Hunger Games-esque world. It pulled me in, making me fall in love with the characters and the story line. Oliver is an extraordinary author, weaving her words to pull on my heartstrings.

The same writing style was used in Pandemonium, however, the story fell flat for me. Actually, it was beyond flat, it fell into the Pit of Despair and flat-lined. Delirium left off with Alex putting himself in danger so he could save his love Lena. Throughout Pandemonium Lena thought Alex was dead, and instead of mourning her "True Love", she moved on to a rebound guy, who turned into her new "True Love". Umm, excuse me Lena?! I thought you loved Alex. You can't just say, "Oh bummer, he's dead. Let's move on!". It startled me how little Lena thought about Alex, and how fast she got over him.

Apparently Pandemonium brings us "the new Lena". And I don't like the new Lena one bit. Oliver made you want the old Lena to win, to make it to safety, but I kind of despise the new Lena. She's cold and not at all as appealing as a heroine. A protagonist is supposed to be likable but the new protagonist felt as though she didn't care about the past. Perhaps that was just a defense mechanism, but it definitely made my excitement for the book deteriorate at a rapid pace.

Overall, the journey from Delirium to Pandemonium was a steep downwards spiral. One that decreased from a rating of 5, to one of 2.5. Sorry Lauren Oliver, but if the third book in the series, Requiem goes down at the same pace, there will be no score to give. Hopefully Oliver can make the third book bounce back.