Pandemonium

The prompt from MamaKat: Book review time! Some people STILL read books…share one of your more recent reads and tell us what you thought.

I finally read Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver this week (the sequel to Delirium- the first of a Dystopian, Young Adult series). I know, I know... what took me so long? It's been out for, what, over a month? Morning sickness, that's what. You know it's bad when reading makes you run for the toilet. Ugh.

Anyway, it was so very good. Delirium ended with a, well, bang and I was concerned that the second book of the series wouldn't meet my expectations. It pretty much did.

It starts where the first book leaves off- sort of. The book jumps back and forth from 'now' to 'then'. The 'then' is the point where she's gotten behind the fence and is crawling through the wilds for her life. The 'now' is her involvement in the resistance. Like any good dystopian, nothing is black and white. But there are definitely good people with good intentions.

Lena struggles with her loss and questions why she's in the wilds, what she should do now and who to trust. As the reader, you're not sure of those answers, either. You hope for the best and think maybe she's getting the best and then BAM! Oliver ups the ante on cliffhangers! Seriously... just like the Delirium, you're left saying, "What? How? Huh?" and, "Should I even have read this?". Of course you should have, but it takes a few minutes to get your mind to that point! So now we're back to the wait... when's that 3rd book coming out again?

Oliver's writing is, of course, down right amazing. She doesn't just tell us the story, she paints it for us. That means it takes a bit longer to get to the meat but, with Oliver, it's worth it. Some authors make the story story drag with their unnecessary, poetic, flowery words. But Oliver's poeticism always feels necessary. And I like the feeling that she takes her time and walks us through Lena's story. There's no rush even though the story is full of action.

You'll need to read Delirium first, but make sure to have Pandemonium on hand, too... you won't want to have to wait to go out and buy Pandemonium once you finish Delirium!