Book Review: Requiem

Requiem (Delirium #3)

By: Lauren Oliver

Published By: HarperTeen

Publication Date: March 5, 2013

Page Count: 400

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Won by Reviewer

Audience: Young Adult - Dystopian

Perfect. Just perfect. This was a brilliant conclusion to the Delirium trilogy, and I loved the ending.

 

I won’t share much of the plot of Requiem with you in this review because it would reveal a heck of a spoiler from the end of Pandemonium, book two in the Delirium trilogy. Suffice it to say that Requiem pushes Lena to her limits and examines thoroughly what steps the rebellion could realistically take, when they have limited resources. Requiem also examines the true nature of freedom and love; just because people are free doesn’t mean that you will agree with their choices. 

Lena has a lot of soul searching to do in Requiem. She was rocked by the events at the end of Pandemonium, and they have her slightly unbalanced and unsure as she sets out in this final instalment in the trilogy. She thought she knew how she felt and what the world would be like, but Lena comes to realize that she has been more than a little naive. I was never very worried about her choices though; I had faith in her and she came through for me. There were a few surprises in store for her though, buried away like little plot landmines, and I appreciated them as they arrived; they kept the pace high and moved the story forward as the urgency built to the climax. I absolutely devoured this book and it took next to no time to have it all finished.

 

What I particularly enjoyed was the split narration of the chapters; both Lena and Hana narrate, and watching how their perspectives tessellate was very satisfying. I also appreciated how I was left slightly hanging at the end of a Lena chapter, having to read through a Hana chapter for the story to continue. I thought that was a really effective device for keeping me flipping those pages.

 

What was really effective was how the novella about Hana was brought into play; previously it had felt a little on the edge of the Delirium world, but Requiem managed to incorporate it beautifully. I found it very interesting to see Hana’s discoveries about the world as a Cured individual, and the truths she uncovered were unsettling at times. In some respects, I think I actually enjoyed Hana’s journey more than Lena’s, because I wasn’t sure what would happen to her.

 

Overall, I thought Requiem was a really fitting ending to a fantastic series. Fans won’t be disappointed at all and I am sure that, like me, they will think the ending is pitch perfect – true to the series and also quite moving. I’d love to quote you some of the words from the final pages, but that might give something away... they are most definitely quote-worthy though.

Summary:

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. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.