Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I was so excited when Pandemonium arrived in the mail yesterday, I've been waiting months for this book to be released. It did not disappoint me, I stayed up until 5:00 this morning, when I finished reading the very last page. It was impossible to put the book down.

 

Pandemonium (the sequel to Delirium by Lauren Oliver) tells the story of what happened to Lena after she escaped into the Wilds and what is happening in her life currently, now that she has joined the Resistance. There are no chapters, instead, the book is broken up into segments of "Now" and "Then." This never becomes confusing, thankfully.

 

In the "Then" portions of the book, Lena recovers from her escape from Portland. She learns to adjust to life in the Wilds with Raven and Tack, as well as other "Invalids" who are staying at the homestead where she was nursed back to health.

 

The "Now" segments show Lena as an undercover member of the Resistance, posing as a DFA (Delirium Free America) member. The face of the DFA campaign, Julian, is kidnapped, and Lena is taken along with him. At first, she despises Julian because of what he stands for. His father is using him as a way to have the cure for the disease (love, for anyone who hasn't read Delirium) administered to children at an earlier age. The longer they're locked up together, the more they begin to confide in each other. Neither of them have been cured, although Julian believes Lena has at first because of the scar she bears.

 

I thought one of the most interesting things about Pandemonium was the fact that the society itself is opposed to the DFA. They don't want children to be cured before they turn eighteen because there are too many complications. The DFA argues that it's best to destroy the disease before it has a chance to grow, likening it to the tumors Julian had to have removed. Even though both sides are for the cure being administered, they're still at odds and I think that's very relevant to real life and our own political system. Everyone thinks they're working towards the greater good, but no one can really agree on what it is, or how to achieve it. Instead of the goal of peace and a safe environment being met, it's causing a rift between everyone.

 

For some people, the first 100 pages will probably seem to move at a slow pace, especially if you prefer a lot of action in your books. Personally, I thought it was fine and couldn't tear my eyes away from it, but if you are discouraged by it, don't worry. The story really picks up after that.

 

I thought everything about the plot of this book was very obvious. But I also pay close attention to details (it comes from reading so many Hammett stories), so that could be why I was able to predict the outcome. Even so, even knowing what was coming, it didn't soften the blow that came with that last page. It was heartbreaking. I'm really beginning to wonder if Lauren Oliver will ever write a book that doesn't crush me, and I mean that as a compliment. Her characters are so well written, and you actually FEEL for them and what they're going through. She did a really wonderful job writing this sequel and I'm anxious to see how she concludes this trilogy.

 

And this is where some of us will part ways. If you have read Pandemonium, feel free to continue on to the part of this post where I spoil the book. If you haven't read it, go and buy the book, you won't regret it.

Before I get into my feelings about what happens in Pandemonium, I would first like to explain something so I don't seem unreasonably emotional. I get very immersed in every book I read. I become emotionally invested in the characters. I've been like this ever since I was a kid, and I read R.L. Stine's Fear Street Cheerleaders series and Kimmy died in the fourth book. That was a character who had been around since the first book and I was horrified when she was killed. If I read it now, I probably wouldn't be upset by it, but back then, I felt awful.

 

That being said, I knew that it was no accident Lena and Julian ended up locked in a cell together. It was obvious that someone had planned it, so Julian would fall in love with her, refuse to be cured and ruin the DFA's campaign. However, it never occurred to me that Raven and Tack were behind it. It should have, it makes perfect sense that the Resistance would plan something like that. But these were the people who took care of Lena. They didn't even consider how she would feel. That she would fall for Julian as well.

 

At the end of Pandemonium, Raven was going to let Julian die for her cause. It once again reminded me that there is no black and white involved here. One side is no less guilty than the other. Everyone is ruthless and they'll do whatever it takes to get what they want, even if it means sacrificing someone else. Thankfully, Raven had a change of heart and helped rescue Julian at the last second.

 

While reading the chapters where Lena and Julian grow closer (because, once again, I get emotionally involved when I read), I almost felt betrayed on Alex's behalf. Mostly because I was fairly certain he wasn't dead. Even though, if he somehow survived all those gunshot wounds, Lena would have no way of knowing it.

 

Before the book ends, Raven informs Lena that someone from Portland, who escaped from the Crypts, had arrived. That confirmed it for me. Clearly, it was going to be Alex. Lena was happy with Julian and I KNOW how Lauren Oliver works. This book was not about to have a happy ending.

 

"Promise me we'll stay together, okay?" His eyes are once again the clear blue of a perfectly transparent pool. They are eyes to swim in, to float in, forever. "You and me."
"I promise," I say.
Behind us the door creaks open, and I turn around, expecting Raven, just as a voice cuts through the air: "Don't believe her."
Impossible. I close my eyes and reopen them: the boy from a dream, from a different lifetime. A boy brought back from the dead.
Alex.

 

Crushed. My. Soul.

 

It wasn't a surprise to find out Alex was alive, but it hurt to read the ending regardless. It's a hard situation for everyone involved. Alex, who almost lost his life saving Lena because of how much he loved her. Julian, who has only just started a new relationship with Lena and now finds out the boy she loved is back. And Lena, who never wanted to let go of Alex, felt incredibly guilty falling for Julian in the first place and now...Alex reappears and utters that cruel line. "Don't believe her." As if she planned for any of this to happen.

 

Hopefully Requiem will be released not too far in the distant future. I would like to know more about what Alex went through while he was locked away in the Crypts, what will happen to the DFA and how the end of the cure will come about. (This is an assumption on my part. I can't imagine the series ending with the cure still being administered.)