Requiem by Lauren OliverMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Synopsis:
"They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
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.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
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." -Goodreads.com
Review:
War is in the midst as the freedom to Love and the freedom to Choose are at stake in Requiem, the final book in the Delirium trilogy.
"We wanted the freedom to love. We wanted the freedom to choose. now we have to fight for it." (loc. 3997)
I am attempting to make this review as spoiler-free as possible, but in all reality if you haven't read Delirium or Pandemonium, you shouldn't be reading this.
I found this finale interesting as we were able to see through both sides of the resistance; Lena on one, and Hana on the other. Will their friendship supersede everything that goes against their values? I guess you'll find out, and you can love it or hate it but in the end, that's just the way the cookie crumbles, haha! Both Lena and Hana are going down roads that they feel they have no control over. Their own love lives are imbalanced and it has left them both thoroughly unhappy.
"This is not freedom. This is not the new world we imagined. It can't be. This is a nightmare." (loc. 1874)
For me, Hana's story is way more interesting than Lena's. Hana is about to marry the Mayor (now Fred Hargrove) and with it she has obtained the responsibilities of keeping up appearances. This is getting harder for her as she learns the truth about her husband-to-be, and his past. She has been cured, yes, but exactly how far does the cure go? The center of this book seems to revolve around the concept of jealousy and sacrifices. Hana admits to things she has done out of jealousy, Lena does things out of jealousy, and even her true love does things out of jealousy (<-- see? spoiler free, right?) The tale of Solomon is repeated throughout the book as well, both the false version inThe Book of Shhh and the real version, which an ultimate tale of sacrifice.
I've been very fond of Lauren Oliver's writing style, and although this book isn't the best display of it (as it is greatly exemplified in the first book, Delirium, and in her novel Before I Fall,) it fits well with the previous two books. Lena is changing, as is society, and this book changes with it. In all, I found the book a quick read, thanks to it's swift fast-paced plot, and a great ending to the series. I was very pleased with the ending, because it leaves room for interpretation; Portland is, after all, just one city.
"But we have chosen a different road. And in the end that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose." (loc. 291)
First Line: "I've started dreaming of Portland again." (loc. 33)
Last Line: "Take down the walls." (loc. 4491)
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Quotes
"The cold is inside me. Sitting next to the fire won't help." (loc. 96)
"He doesn't love me. He never loved me." (loc. 395)
"You must hurt, or be hurt." (loc. 398)
"We wanted the freedom to love, and instead we have been turned into fighters, savages." (loc. 3538)
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ebook, 307 pages
Published March 5th 2013 by HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062202960 (ISBN13: 9780062202963)
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