Publication Date: March 5, 2013Review: Where to start... There was probably a lot riding on this book. It's the conclusion to a well-loved trilogy, and based on how Pandemonium ended, Requiem should have tied up many different plots. But it didn't. Not completely.
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 391
Synopsis: 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 fiancĂ©e 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.
Requiem starts off slowly. It moves consistently, but it's rather uneventful. And in all honesty, it lacks the passion and romance and beauty that were abundant in the first two installments. It's that kind of passion that made me a fan of this dystopian trilogy, because the love all felt heartfelt. This book strayed from that kind of theme, and instead, turned to the road of plotting action and executing it in a way that I thought was boring.
It's a dual POV narrative, which I didn't think was all that necessary. I didn't feel like Hana's story was so important that half of the book had to be told in her perspective. This might be because I never liked Hana in Delirium. She was more likable in this novel, but I still am not a huge fan of her character.
In the previous books, I really liked Lena. But in this installment, she frustrated me. I hated the way she treated Julian. (***Mild spoilers for Pandemonium***) If I brought Julian into the Wilds, promising a great life of freedom, and the Wilds ended up being a nightmare, I would feel ashamed. I would feel so sorry for Julian and embarrassed by my promise. But no. Instead, Lena felt ashamed of Julian. Julian, the boy that trusted her word and escaped the world he had known just because he loved her. Julian, the boy who was trying so hard to fit in to the Wilds. (***End of spoilers***) Honestly, I wasn't won over by Julian in the previous book, but I really liked his character in this book. It revolted me how Lena treated Julian in this book because he honestly didn't do anything to deserve it.
I thought this book was very predictable. I feel like Lauren Oliver took the most obvious route for the plot and added the most cliche drama/tension. I felt everything coming before it happened, and I was disappointed by the lack of originality and creativity.
The beginning was slow, and then the ending was rushed. Everything happened so quickly, and Lauren Oliver didn't elaborate enough on the way things concluded. Hana's plotline was left dangling helplessly. The reconciliation between Lena and her love was ridiculously short and passionless, and this happened without any sever between Lena and the boy she didn't choose.
All in all, I was disappointed by Requiem. I expected much more from it, including better development and a satisfying conclusion. It wasn't a bad book. Lauren Oliver's writing is still great, and she tells the story well. It just wasn't what I was hoping it would be.
3 keys.