Annabel by Lauren Oliver Review

Annabel by Lauren Oliver
(Delirium #0.5)
Release Date: December 26, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; 50 pages

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

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Raven by Lauren Oliver Review

Raven by Lauren Oliver
(Delirium #2.5)
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins; 50 pages

This captivating 50-page digital-original story set in the world of Lauren Oliver’s New York Times bestselling Delirium series focuses on Raven, the fiery leader of a rebel group in the Wilds.

As a teenager, Raven made the split-second decision to flee across the border to the Wilds, compelled to save an abandoned newborn—a baby girl left for dead and already blue from the cold. When she and the baby are taken in by a band of rebels, Raven finds herself an outsider within a tight-knit group. The only other newcomer is an untrustworthy boy known as the Thief until he finally earns himself a new name: Tack.

Now she and Tack are inseparable, committed to each other, the fledgling rebellion, and a future together. But as they both take center stage in the fight, Raven must decide whether the dangers of the revolution are worth risking her dreams of a peaceful life with Tack.

As her story hurtles back and forth between past and present, Raven transforms from a scared girl newly arrived in the Wilds to the tough leader who helps Lena save former Deliria-Free poster boy Julian Fineman from a death sentence. Whatever the original mission may have been, Raven abides by a conviction that she believes to her core: You always return for the people you love.

By turns surprising, revelatory, and poignant, Raven’s story enriches the Delirium world and resonates with a voice that is as vulnerable as it is strong.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver Review

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
(Delirium, #3)
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins; 391 pages

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
(Delirium, #1)
Release Date: August 2, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins; 441 pages

Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.

I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.

I want to get it over with.

It’s hard to be patient.

It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.

Still, I worry.

They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.

The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

Author Event: Spring Into the Future (NYC)

Jessica attended the Washington DC tour stop, and I (Sana) was lucky enough to attend the New York City tour stop on April 15th. The authors in attendance were Tahereh Mafi, Lauren Oliver, Anna Carey, and Veronica Rossi. I've always enjoyed book signings. Authors can be some of the most vibrant people you can meet. And it's always nice to put a face behind the book series that you love and enjoy.

The New York City stop was at the lovely book store Books of Wonder. I've had the pleasure of attending previous book signings at Books of Wonder. I have always had an enjoyable experience. The employees at the store allow for personalization of books and allow you plenty of time with the authors. At other chain book stores, you can usually be rushed and sometimes not even say more than 2 words to the author. Or your book is pushed in front of the author before you are actually near the author to keep the line moving, and you don't even get the chance to say anything to the author. That's never the case at Books of Wonder. Everyone is given a plethora of time with the authors, and you are even allowed to take pictures with the authors.