Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

26 June, 2012 Reviews 8 comments

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren OliverPandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #2
Published by HarperTeen on February 28th 2012
Pages: 329
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Amazon Good BooksBook Depository
Goodreads
four-stars

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.

Oh!  Urrrrrrr.  *Gurgle* Kapowy!  *Splutter* *Cough* *Die*

Okay, Pandemonium was a HUGE improvement over Delirium for me.  First of all, the world seemed A LOT more consistent.  The world building was an improvement as well.

Perhaps the biggest improvement was Lena herself.  No more whiny, annoying, insecure little girl.  This Lena has been through the fire, got burnt and is fighting to survive.  What I love is that Lena has grown, become capable, assertive, intelligent and shrewd.  There were parts of this book in which I was physically cheering her on.

Lena has survived the wild, the bombs and the harsh winter.  She’s come out stronger and more weary.  Now she’s back behind the fence, but this time as an operative of the resistance and her mark is Julian Fineman – son of a radical movement to further eradicate the sickness known as love.  Julian is confused, complex, damaged and vulnerable.  When he and Lena are kidnapped and held hostage together, they have to join forces to escape.

What I loved was the development of their relationship, the hero role of Lena as the stronger, more knowledgeable and capable of the two, and how they both start to grow and heal together.

Of course, the book is filled with complicated plot twists and a couple of “NO WAY!” moments – one of which was obvious and easily foreseen but SO WHAT?!

The writing in this book matched more to the caliber I expect of Oliver.  It felt a appropriate and smooth.

And I guess this is a lesson learned – one that I was glad to learn.  Find a good author and stick with them.  I wasn’t a huge fan of Delirium but Pandemonium has me aching for Requiem to see what happens.

You know it’s a good novel when the last line has you going:

“No!  NO!  No way… oh my goodness… no.  NO!.”

Kat Kennedy

Kat Kennedy

Co-blogger at Cuddlebuggery
Kat Kennedy is a book reviewer and aspiring author in the Young Adult genre. She reviews critically but humorously and get super excited about great books. Find her on GoodReads.
Kat Kennedy

8 Responses to “Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver”

  1. Meg K.

    Woo hoo! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed PANDEMONIUM! 😀 And I know, the ending was torture. Seriously. I had to read it a couple of times before it really sunk in and my mouth dropped open and I had to shout, “OH MY GOD, LAUREN. WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO MEEEEE?!”

    Great review, Kat!

  2. Nathy

    Your reaction to the end of Pandemonium reminded me of my reaction yesterday, when I finished Soulbound by Heather Brewer. I was “NO! I need the second book right now!” I just hate cliffhangers. 🙁

  3. linda

    Ooh, thanks for the review. I really disliked Delirium and wanted nothing to do with Pandemonium, but your review is making me reconsider. If I happen across it in a good mood, maybe I’ll give it a shot. 🙂

  4. Knight

    I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one that disliked Delirium, but liked Pandemonium.

    Pandemonium was so much better. Thank goodness, otherwise I would have been upset at myself for continuing with the series.
    Knight recently posted…I Want to Be Michael GrantMy Profile

  5. Lexie B.

    Well, that’s not very nice of you, Kat. I’d been all content with my decision to steer far clear of this book, and then you write a review like this. Now I might actually have to READ it. I already know what happens at the end, and it really, really turned me off the novel and the rest of this series, but I think I may have to give it a shot.
    Lexie B. recently posted…InsurgentMy Profile

  6. E.Maree
    Twitter:

    Oooh. I wasn’t a fan of Delirium (specifically, THAT ENDING. Ugh.), so this review makes me want to give Pandemonium a try. It’s always nice when an author ups their game — I’ve been feeling quite proud of Roth’s improvements in Insurgent after feeling like the odd-one-out by not absolutely loving Divergent.

  7. Mari - Escape In A Book
    Twitter:

    Wait I second I know what’s wrong with this review, I must be visiting the wrong blog. This cannot possibly be Kat’s review of Pandemonium. It says right here grey on white that she actually LIKED Pandemonium :O 😉

    For me the ending was the weakest part of Pandemonium and it kind of disappointed me. The 5 star rating went down the drain with that one, it was just too obvious. I wanted a surprise!
    Mari – Escape In A Book recently posted…Book review: Mice by Gordon ReeceMy Profile

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