Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver Review

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
(Delirium, #2)
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; 375 pages

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.

Pandemonium is the second book in the Delirium trilogy. Warning there will be spoilers for Delirium in this review. At the end of Delirium Lena and Alex attempt to escape to The Wilds. Alex sacrifices himself so Lena can escape. Throughout Pandemonium Lena is dealing with Alex's death and adjusting to her new life in The Wilds.

Pandemonium is told from 2 different time frames. And for some reason it works. It almost feels like you are reading 2 different books, and in a way you are. I thought I wouldn't enjoy the altenating time periods. But I enjoyed it a lot. I didn't find it confusing, and was able to keep along with both stories. There are no numbered chapter either. Each chapter is either labeled "Now" or "Then" The Now is what is currently going on in Lena's life, and the Then is what happened when Lena escaped to The Wilds.

The Wilds is definitely interesting. Now I personally would not be able to survive the Wilds. The lack of electricity and running water, immediately turn me off. I admit that I take these luxuries for granted, and this book definitely makes you think about that. The residents that Lena aligns herself with in the Wilds are definitely interesting. My favorite of them is definitely Raven. She is strong and tough as nails, basically a badass.

But my favorite character is someone who is introduced in the "Now" part of the story. His name is Julian. Julian is a cancer survivor who is 18, but has not received the cure yet due to his cancer treatments leaving him a weak body. If he receives the cure, there is a chance that he could die. Julian's father is a political figure, and this puts Julian in the spotlight. Julian is considered to be a role model and leader of his peers and gives the message that if he's not afraid of the cure (even though it could kill him), then no one should. I simply adore Julian. Julian has this innocence about him, that makes him a very likeable. And when Julian meets Lena, just as you saw a change in Delirium when Lena met Alex, you start to see a change in Julian when he meets Lena.

And in the "Then" part of the story you see this grittiness in all of the characters who live in The Wilds. They truly are fighting for not only their lives, but for something that they truly believe in...love. I think that's one of the things I really do like about this series. Love is such a powerful emotion, and you see what these people go through just to not give it up. The conditions they are willing to live in just to stay true to themselves is really inspiring. Also in the "Then" part there are some scenes that really just tug at your heart. One is particular is just written so well that I was tearing up badly and actually had to put the book down for a few minutes to compose myself.

I admire Lena so much. She's so strong and has dealt with so much. But she somehow has the strength to keep going, and she's a good role model for young teens. I enjoyed this book so much. I actually was so into it, that I finished reading it while on a long bus ride to another state. I usually don't read in vehicles, because I get headaches. But I just couldn't put this book down. And the ending of this book just makes you very impatient for the next book in the series.