Review: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publish date: February 2012
Source: Won in contest
"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."

Pandemonium is by far my most anticipated 2012 release, more so than Insurgent. I absolutely LOVED Delirium and it was clearly my favorite read of 2011. Obviously I had really high expectations for Pandy and while most of them were met, the book definitely wasn't what I thought it would be. That said, though, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pandemonium is written in a different style than Delirium in that the chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now." I'll be honest: at first, I did not like that, AT ALL. I was all, why this flip-flopping; just give me my precious NOW!. However, about a third of the way into the book, I realized that Lauren Oliver made a great call with the Then and Now. If she hadn't, I think the story would have dragged a bit and gotten tedious.

As usual, the writing is FANTASTIC. Ms. Oliver just has a way with words that I don't even understand. Everything is perfectly crafted, with so much figurative language that I could imagine everything (but not too much that it was pretentious). I should really have known my mind was going to be blown since of course I read Delirium and Before I Fall.

I liked all of the new characters that we were introduced to and felt that the major players were well-developed. The story was great, although I didn't enjoy quite as much as Delirium and the ENDING. That's all I will say. Oh and also: I need Requiem NOW. The end.

Favorite Books of 2011

I am awful at creating lists of favorite things, but I decided to give it a try with books. The book title link will take you to my review. Here goes!

Favorite YA Dystopian/Science Fiction/Paranormal

Delirium by Lauren Oliver: My favorite book of the year. Lauren Oliver is SUCH an amazing writer. I am counting down the days until Pandemonium comes out!

Divergent by Veronica Roth: A great dystopian that takes place in Chicago. Fast-paced and excellent.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin: I'm not sure how to classify this one, but I loved it! Definitely a page turner.

Favorite YA Contemporary
Shine by Lauren Myracle: A fantastic, heartbreaking, and extremely realistic story of homophobia in small town America. I loved the voice of the narrator.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: I'm usually not one to go for YA romances, but this one was really cute and fun. Stephanie Perkins is great.

Paper Towns by John Green: My first John Green novel and I loved it. What a fantastic author and a male protagonist to boot!

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: A terrifying and honest foray into the life of someone with anorexia. I'd never read a book like this before and can't believe how intense it was.

Favorite series that I discovered
The Shade series by Jeri Smith-Ready: I tried this at the recommendation of other bloggers and loved it! The first two are out now (Shade and Shift) and Shine comes out next year. It's paranormal, but was so much better than I ever thought paranormal could be!

Favorite nonfiction
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure: It was awesome to read about someone who has a similar obsession as me. This book was hilarious and anyone who loved Laura Ingalls Wilder should read it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: This was the first nonfiction book I've read that felt like fiction. It was so interesting and I stayed up late for a few nights in a rush to finish it.

Review: Before I Fall

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publish date: March 2010
Source: Purchased
"What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing."

I absolutely loved Lauren Oliver's second novel, Delirium, so I was curious about her first, Before I Fall. A few other bloggers highly recommended it, so I decided to buy it. Best decision ever.

This book is about way more than a girl reliving her last day alive seven more times and it is not simply a retelling of Groundhog Day. This book is about how every little action has a consequence and how everything you say affects someone, whether you think it will or not. I knew I would like the novel, because I like Lauren Oliver, but I wasn't expecting to be as blown away as I was. All of the detail and wonderful prose just added to the overall messages of the book.

Before I Fall is also honestly one of the most authentic portrayals of high school and teenage life that I have ever read. For a lot of people, high school sucks and this book absolutely shows that. Sam, the main character, is a member of a group of friends that are very popular in school, much like the main group in Mean Girls. As Sam relives her last day, she begins to notice how much her words and actions (and those of her friends) affect everyone else. The detail about high school life made me feel like I was back in school (although I do work in a school...) and some of the things that Sam and her friends did made me cringe because I know how true they are. 

Overall, this was an excellent book that I did not want to put down while reading. I'll definitely be recommending it to everyone I know because sometimes we all need a reminder about how much every little thing we do affects everyone else. 

Review: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publish date: February 2011
Source: Library
"Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. 

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love." (from Goodreads)

There was a lot of hype around this look and guess what? Believe it. This book was awesome. I'd been looking forward to reading it for a while and it finally came in at the library for me last week. After I got a couple chapters in, I was hooked, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn't able to finish it until tonight. Did not disappoint.

Lauren Oliver has such a lovely writing style. Her writing was full of figurative language: lots of metaphors, similes, personification, etc. Maybe it's the English teacher in me, but I just loved all of it. It made her writing so poetic and just beautiful to read and really helped describe the setting and world of Delirium. I also really loved how the author described falling in love. It was amazing to "watch" a character go from thinking love was a disease to actually falling in love and discovering what it was about. Ms. Oliver used such great language to describe those almost unexplainable sensations that you experience while falling love. Just perfect. I loved it. 

To conclude: read this book! Yes, it's YA dystopian, but so much more than that! The writing style is fantastic and I already can't wait for Pandemonium.