Published: March 5, 2013
Pages: 391
Source: Bought
Rating: 3 Stars
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.
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.
This review is spoiler-free
In short: I was disappointed with the lack of closure in Requiem by Lauren Oliver, but I did like it overall.
For me, one of the most important factors in evaluating the overall satisfaction of the final book in a series is whether the major questions were answered and whether most loose ends are tied up by the series' close. On this point, Requiem kind of fails for me and I'm sorry to say that I agree with the majority reader opinion in not liking the ending as it stands. Some people may like the open-ended ending, as it allows them to form their own conclusions about the future of the characters and plot, but for me, I needed more resolution, especially for the love triangle. Where was my closure? I feel like we are owed that for sticking with the series to the end. Unnecessary epilogues annoy me, but I feel like this is one case where I really would have liked to have seen one.
And I'm sorry to say I wasn't in love with Lena's character in Requiem. I liked her quite courage and wilfulness in Delirium and I really loved her growth to a strong, mature person in Pandemonium, but I feel like she regressed a bit with two boys in the picture in Requiem. I really hate that she was stringing along one of the boys while actually liking the other one more. Oh, love triangles - why must you make assholes out of people? I didn't have any particular preference for either of the boys going into Requiem, but that doesn't mean that I didn't experience dissatisfaction with the outcome due to Lena's handling of the situation.
I don't mean to be so hard on Requiem because I did like it overall. I liked the action scenes and I liked the inclusion of Lena's ex-bestie Hana's point of view into the story as it provided an opposing viewpoint of the resistance. There were just the few faults outlined above that I found couldn't get past. Still, it is always such a treat for me to get to experience Lauren Oliver's writing. I have yet to be disappointed by it and count myself as a life long fan. Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult - I will read whatever she has planned and am guaranteed to be blown away by her writing skills.
Previously, my reviews for Delirium and Pandemonium.
Other Reviews:
More Than Just Magic
Nori's Closet
Realm of Fiction
Authors Links:
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