Top Ten YA Novels 2012: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Time for another dystopian novel set in Portland, Maine!

No. 7: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Summary:

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.  

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What I love about this book:

1. Now and Then set up:

The main difference between Delirium and Pandemonium is probably the way of telling stories. First is then. Lauren gives us a detailed half-book in then about how hard Lena and Raven and The Wilds lives. How this kind of live for months shapes the Lena in now. Now is the big part of the story, shaping what will probably happen in Requiem. This kind of relationship is what makes the book amazing. It doesn't leave out what's important yet gives out very important information and intense feelings (hate, heart-break, love, whatever).

2. The "reborn" Lena"

I'm not sure if I like Lena in this way because all that is pushing her into joining the resistance is hatred. But don't get me wrong. In some way I did like her. She is fiercer and tougher. Being a true dystopian heronie is always interesting. And most importantly, she cares for Julian means she hasn't lost herself. Otherwise she would become like Raven, uncaring and kind of unfeeling and without remorse. Even though Lena is kind of driven by hatred and anger, the reborn version is way better than the naive version in Delirium.

3. Things are getting crazier:

Another main difference is that things are getting tenser (and crazier) in Pandemonium. There are no awareness of The Invalids in Delirium. People in the cities believed the Invalids are mythical creatures like vamps and werewolves. But in Pandemonium, after the Incidents (is that what they called?), The DLA rises up and the public begins to concern about the Invalids (or The Scavengers, whatevs). The stakes are getting higher and higher. I can't wait to see what will happen in Requiem.


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Why you guys should read this book:

1. A different point of view about love:

Well, I haven't seen things like love being a disease and there's a procedure of "curing" in novels other then Delirium. The most interesting part of the story is this. Giving you a different point of view about love is always good for not just reading other YA novels, but also you life. Even though I'm definitely one of the Uncureds, I still believe that some of the information in the 

Book of Shhh is usable.

2. Pandemonium is way better than Delirium:

I heard that some of you haven't read Pandemonium because of Delirium. Yes, I know that the start of Delirium is a little bit boring. I can admit that. But once the book gets into the interesting part, I find it extremely hard to put down the novel. And after reading Delirium, I'm desperate to read Pandemonium. That's why you should read Pandemonium. This book will leave you breathless.

(Maybe you can think of other reasons. But that's all I can think of)


Requiem, the last book of Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver, will be released on March 5th, 2013. So does Raven, a Delirium short story.