Sonny Reviews- Pandemonium

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Publication Date: February 28, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 375

Source: Around the World Tours

Challenge: 2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge, Sophomore Reading Challenge, Outdo Yourself

Rating: 5/5

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Goodreads Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts

The first chapter or so of Pandemonium was difficult for me to get through. It seemed to go round and round and said a lot of the same things. I am sure it was meant to seem a tad chaotic because it is written in the thoughts and emotions of Lena as she is was wounded and scared. I get that. But it was so hard to get through!

With that said, I absolutely LOVED this book!!! Five stars until the very end!

Delirium was one of my first dystopian reads, and reading Pandemonium was at the absolute top of my list of reads for 2012. I totally gobbled the words of this book at such at fast rate that it made my head spin. It was very much unexpected the way Pandemonium turned to be. I thought maybe it would be about Lena learning to live in the Wilds. Or maybe finding her mom. I am not totally sure what I did expect, but it turned out to be a fantastic read.

Lena herself grew in leaps and bounds and was almost like a whole new character. She was determined and seemed to decide that she will no longer let her old life weigh her down anymore. The journey of her letting go of Alex was heartbreaking to read. Not to mention heartbreaking for me! Hello?! It took me almost the entire book to get over the boy with the autumn leave hair. I totally cried at the end of Delirium and refused to let go of Alex! It was definitely a huge jump for Lena (not to mention this girl!).

The new characters introduced in this book were very dimensional, rounded, and well written; even the ones with the small parts.

Julian. Oh. Julian. How you captivate me so… Lena, I mean how you captivate Lena so! Julian was an adorable character. He was innocent, good looking, attentive, and a tab bit rebellious. I like rebellious. His type of rebellion started out in a small and quiet way, and slowly grew into something like love. Yes, I said that dirty word: LOVE! Curiosity literally got the best of this boy.

When Lena and Julian spent their days as captives together, you could see their relationship blossom right before your eyes. It was a confused, but kind and adorable relationship. I found myself just waiting for them to figure out that they should be together, and wondering “Why are they just not together yet?!”

In the end, we, the readers, are totally thrown for a loop. I mean jaw dropping, spine tingling, OMG sort of ending. An absolute cliff hanger that fans of Delirium will be dying to learn more about.

Pandemonium was sweet and adventurous with plenty of delirium nervousa to keep the reader swooning. An absolutely brilliant and beautiful read.

Favorite Character: Julian

Least Favorite: Raven; although she did redeem herself somewhat by the end of the book.

Quotes: pg.21 “’You might as well get used to it now,’ she says, with quiet intensity. ‘Everything you were, the life you had, the people you knew… dust.’ She shakes her and says, a little more firmly, ‘There is no before. There is only now and what comes next.’”