Requiem by Lauren Oliver (Review by Sarah McDuling – Editor of the YA & Teens Buzz)

Lauren Oliver is mean.

Please understand, this criticism comes from a place of love. I say this as a devoted Lauren Oliver fan. I’m not suggesting she is a bad person. I’m sure she’s a lovely person. But she’s downright cruel to her readers.

Case in point: The Delirium Trilogy.

Anyone who suffered through the heart-breaking ending of Book One in this trilogy will back me up here. Delirium ends with the sudden and completely gut wrenching death of a beloved character. It’s pretty brutal.

And then there is Book Two, Pandemonium. Unlike so many Young Adult series that start out strong and then tend to fall apart, the second book in the Delirium Trilogy is stronger than the first. Even better, it’s a game changer. The ending of Pandemonium is a real sucker punch – one that I never saw coming.

And now the trilogy is coming to an end (don’t worry, fans. There is a TV show in the works). Requiem marks the dramatic conclusion of this emotionally fraught, completely addictive, dystopian series.

But I am drifting off topic. The subject at hand is Lauren Oliver’s cruelty.

There are some authors who give readers what they want and everyone is happy (if slightly bored). And then there are authors like Lauren Oliver, who give readers agonizing cliffhangers, shocking twists and bucket-loads of heartbreak – which is all fine and dandy until that moment when you turn the last page and… nothing. The book is finished and you have no choice but to wait on tenterhooks for the next one.

That’s mean. I’m just saying.

All things considered, I’m very, very glad that I did not discover Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy until recently. I feel as though I dodged a real bullet, avoiding the painful wait between each instalment. To all those poor, patient fans out there who have been with this series from the beginning, I can say only this: Respect.

Seriously guys, I feel for you. After the way Delirium ended, if I had been forced to wait more than three seconds for the next book, my head might well have exploded. And if, having finished Pandemonium, I did not have immediate access to Requiem, I would have had no real choice except to hunt down Lauren Oliver and demand answers.

Luckily for me (and Lauren Oliver) I was able to read all three books in quick succession

Set in a grim future where love has been identified as a disease and scientists have developed a cure, The Delirium trilogy is dystopian YA at it’s best. Bound to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent, this is a series that combines romance, suspense and adventure in an imaginative and original dystopian setting. Our main character, Lena, has been raised to view love as a fatal disease and looks forward to turning 18 so that she can be “cured”. And then she meets a boy called Alex and her simple world gets all messy and complicated.

Tales of forbidden love are always pretty amazing. But creating a world where love of any kind of is literally against the law… well, that takes the “forbidden love” angle to a whole new level.

Undercover missions, family secrets, shocking deaths, ever more shocking resurrections, heartbreak, betrayals, suspense, betrayals, adventure, and a few more  betrayals, a love triangle, an evil totalitarian government and best of all…. rebels! I love rebels. Nothing gets me cheering quite like a rag-tag group of rebels banding together to fight injustice. It’s just so heart warming and makes me want to start waving a French flag and singing, “Do You Hear The People Sing”. But that’s another story…

If you have read the first two books in Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy then I’m sure you already have Requiem on pre-order. And if you haven’t read the first two books?  Get cracking. Requiem comes out on the 12th of March so this is really a perfect time or you to begin.

If you like being kept on the edge of your seat and having your mind blown by surprise twists – or if you just like the sound story about brave kids fighting for for love, Lauren Oliver is the author for you.

Just be warned… she’s kind of mean. Awesomely, amazingly, additively mean.
______

Click here to buy Requiem from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

Sarah is the editor of Booktopia’s YA & Teens Buzz. You can follow her genius on twitter here.

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About the Contributor

Andrew Cattanach

Andrew Cattanach is a regular contributor to The Booktopia Blog. He has been shortlisted for The Age Short Story Prize and was named a finalist for the 2015 Young Bookseller of the Year Award. He enjoys reading, writing and sleeping, though finds it difficult to do them all at once.

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