Lanaia @ The Temporary Escape

After reading Delirium a long, long time ago (by the way, loved it, but I just have a slight problem with reading sequels soon), I finally got to read Pandemonium and I’m happy to say it reminded me why I like dystopian genre so much. Constant action, fight for bare survival and oppressive government, you will find all of these in Pandemonium. Combined with flawless Lauren Oliver’s prose, this book was thrilling and unputdownable.

Delirium ended with a shocking cliffhanger and I had no idea how the story will continue. I was a bit surprised at the beginning of Pandemonium that there were two time-lines: “then”, happening after Lena climbed that fence into the Wilds, and “now”, in which Lena was back in the city, but we don’t know yet where, how or why. Oliver pulled that off very nicely, because both timelines were so intense and every time each one ended, I couldn’t wait to read it again, I just had to keep reading to know more!

I thought Lena was a very strong character as we watch her slowly grow into a tougher person. She was thrown into the harsh world she never knew about, forced to take care of herself, while trying to forget everything about the life and people she left behind. The whole story had a darker feel to it than in Delirium, with future looking pessimistic and some very sad moments. There was a new romance, a possibility of a brighter future, and it was so refreshing I was actually thankful for it. Julian was a nice young man, I instantly liked him and I loved reading their relationship develop.

There were just some tiny bits that bothered me a little: Oliver’s insults of animals. I’m a huge animal lover and I get that in these survival stories, one might think “we’re like animals” or something similar, but there was constant talk about how Lena felt animal-like, and how people are no better than animals, like “animal” was such an insult. I don’t get it, why would people be better than animals? In which aspect? What’s wrong with animals? Maybe I was just cranky that day, but I thought author really exaggerated with this.

While Pandemonium was a great sequel and a book I really enjoyed, I was a *bit* mad at the ending.. because I knew what will happen! I totally saw it coming and I’m not sure if it’s a good decision on author’s part. I guess I’ll find the answer in Requiem!