Molly Looby's Blog, page 19

Boundless - Cynthia Hand

This is the final book in the trilogy so don't spoil books one and two for yourself.  I would read them if I were you.  'Unearthly' and 'Hallowed' are amazing.
A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
Clara and Christian are of to Stanford with Angela to accompany her on her journey to her purpose.  But Clara has bigger problems, like the Black Wing that keeps showing up.  With the help of Christian, Clara sets out to find her brother, help Angela in her purpose and work out her own destiny.  But can she learn to live with the fact that she'll never have a future with the thing she wants most - Tucker?

My Review
I think this will be a rather short review because I don't have anything to say that I haven't said before.  Like 'Unearthly' and 'Hallowed' before it, 'Boundless' blew me away with how much I enjoyed it.  I fell straight back in effortlessly even though it'd been six months since I read 'Hallowed'.   I remembered who everyone was without much prompting at all, it was amazing!
I am so pleased that at last there's a final in a trilogy that hasn't dissapointed me in some way or another.  'Boundless' delivered everything I wanted and more.  I cannot believe that Cynthia Hand doesn't have more fans!  She's awesome!
The plot took turns I was expecting and needed and also took me places I'd never even thought I'd go and that was a gift.  It was the perfect mix of surprise and acceptance as I strolled around the world with Clara and Christian.
While I'm on Christian and Clara, I must say how much I loved them.  They were perfect.  Faulted and real.  And Clara's wit was just right.  She made jokes that I would make, unlike other books where the characters are just too unbelievably funny.  I loved how these angel-bloods felt human.
And there's not much else to say.  I loved it all the way through.  I couldn't put it down and I cried.  What else can you ask from a reader?
Evaluation
Plot - 9/10 - I knew it had to be good
Way Plot Was Pursued - 9/10 - took turns I didn't expect
Characters - 10/10 - perfect as before
Style - 10/10 - I could read it again, the style is so easy to get into
Pace - 9/10 - just right

Would I recommend it? -  Yes, all three were excellent reads
Would I look up the author? - Yes, and I will

'Boundless' was everything I wanted and needed and more from the finale in the trilogy.

Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly.looby@hotmail.com

Happy International Women's Day!

In the style of my World Book Day blog, here's another list.

This time here's a list of strong female characters to be proud of.

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games Trilogy)Matilda Wormwood (Roald Dahl)Diana Ladris (GONE Series)Brianna "The Breeze" (GONE Series)Lana "The Healer" Arwen Lazar (GONE Series)Dekka Talent (GONE Series)Evening Spiker  (Eve and Adam)Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault In Our Stars)Clara Gardner (Unearthly Trilogy)Julie (Warm Bodies)Viola Eade (Chaos Walking Trilogy)Regine (More Than This)Lena Holloway (Delirium Trilogy)Lyra Belacqua (His Dark Materials)Tris Prior (Divergent Trilogy)Christina (Divergent Trilogy)Tori (Divergent Trilogy)Natalie Prior (Divergent Trilogy)Hermoine Granger (Harry Potter Series)Ginny Weasley (Harry Potter Series)Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter Series)Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter Series)Molly Weasley (Harry Potter Series)Mary (Forest of Hands and Teeth)Annah (The Dark and Hollow Places)Stargirl (Stargirl)Saba (Dustlands Trilogy)Epona (Dustlands Trilogy)Emmi (Dustlands Trilogy)Molly (Dustlands Trilogy)I've got some pretty strong female characters in my books too.  Didn't want to miss them out!
The Immorality of Immortality Trilogy:Libby FaytonClove VyronConnie HunterJosie-Anne FairfaxAthene RosalinaViola SummersAnd to list this last one would be a huge Chancing the Truth Spoiler!ZA:Gemma StuartJen Carlisle I Dare You:Leanne AndersonMy Yet Unnamed Werewolf Book (Although I've got a pretty good idea for a title now):Lou ParrisCami RoxenJust A Pair Of Abominations:Ash SaunaEmber BurnOh and I thought you'd like to know there's a least one awesome female in my next book too!  She is incredible.
We rock, plain and simple.


Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly.looby@hotmail.com

World Book Day!

Happy World Book Day everyone!
In celebration, here area list of 40 awesome books/series from my shelf! (If you're wondering they're ordered alphabetically by author)
P.S. I Love You - Cecelia AhernIf You Could See Me Now - Cecelia AhernWhere Rainbows End - Cecelia AhernThe Wasp Factory - Iain BanksWuthering Heights - Emily BroteThe Morganville Vampire Series - Rachel CaineThe Bloody Chamber and Other Stories - Angela CarterEntangled - Cat ClarkeThe Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne CollinsMatched Trilogy - Ally CondieMatilda - Roald DahlBefore I Die - Jenny DownhamYou Against Me - Jenny DownhamHush, Hush Series - Becca FitzpatrickIf I Stay - Gayle FormanOnce/Then/Now/After - Morris GleitzmanGONE Seires - Michael GrantBZRK - Michael GrantEve and Adam - Michael Grant and Katherine ApplegateThe Fault In Our Stars - John GreenUnearthly Trilogy - Cynthia HandDiary of  a Wimpy Kid Series - Jeff KinneyLife On The Refrigerator Door - Alice KuipersMonument 14 - Emmy LaybourneWarm Bodies - Isaac MarionUndead - Kirsty McKayTwilight Saga - Stephenie MeyerChaos Walking Trilogy - Patrick NessMore Than This - Patrick NessThe Immortals Series - Alyson NoelDelirium Trilogy - Lauren OliverHis Dark Materials - Philip PullmanDivergent Trilogy - Veronica RothHarry Potter Series - J.K RowlingThe Forest of Hands and Teeth Trilogy - Carrie RyanWe Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel ShriverStargirl - Jerry SpinelliThe Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy - Maggie StiefvaterI Am Not A Serial Killer Trilogy - Dan WellsDustlands Trilogy - Moira Young

My Brother Simple - Maire-Aude Murail

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

Kleber has trouble searching for somewhere to live with his brother Simple who has learning difficulties giving him the IQ of a three year old.  Taking matters into his own hands, Kleber moves himself and Simple into a flat with some university students to show his father that Simple does not need to go back to the institution that frightens him.

Somehow the flat mates have to accept Simple and Kleber for who they are whilst dealing with the issues in their own lives.


My Review

This book is like nothing I've ever read before.  It was very strange at first.  It was written in the third person which I don't usually like because I find it difficult to connect with the characters.  But somehow this still felt personal.  I understood all the characters and wanted to know more about them.  Not at first however.  The flat mates took some getting used to as at first I hated them all.  But I think you're supposed to.

Getting back to the way it was written, it switched from point of view as do many third person novels, but unlike them, it was done without a break between characters.  We could be following Kleber and then all of a sudden we're following Simple without anything to tell us other than Murail's voice.  Even though it wasn't obvious when we were changing, it was still clear, if that makes any sense at all.  I always knew who was in the spotlight at which points and that is pure genius.  Murail really does have a talent for voice.

I don't really have much else to say.  It was odd.  It made me think.  I enjoyed reading it.

The only other thing I can think of is that I had no idea where the plot was going but not in a good way.  I was reading and there was no hook because I didn't know where it was going.  It almost felt like a sitcom and not a novel.  I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This will be the shortest review of all time because I'm still unsure what I really thought of this book.


Evaluation

Plot - 7/10 - very interesting idea

Way Plot Was Pursued - 6/10 - I wanted more to happen but maybe that's the beauty of this book - that it's so Simple

Characters - 7/10 - I liked them but that took time

Style - 8/10 - felt weird to read but the 'voice' was great.

Pace - 8/10 - nothing wrong with it but nothing to keep me reading


Would I recommend it? - Yes, especially if you're looking for something different.

Would I look up the author? - No.  This was a translation from French and maybe that was why I found it so odd.


My Brother Simple was heart-warming and special, there won't be much else like it.


Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly.looby@hotmail.com

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
Daisy is sent off to the English countryside to live with her Aunt and cousins she hasn't even met.  But when war breaks out Daisy will have to learn how to survive and cope alone with only her cousins for company.

My Review
Funnily enough, I couldn't make this book sound good in my Spoiler Free Bit.  But the true blurb does sound good.  I guess that sums up my feelings for this book.  The rest of the world seemed to love it.  I hated it.  It was the most overrated book I've ever read before.  And I've read and hated Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
As you can imagine, this review is going to be the complete opposite from my last one which was just me going on about how much I loved The Fault In Our Stars.  This one is going to be me going on about how much I hated How I Live Now.
Where should I start . . . with the first thing that irritated me.  In chapter one, I might add.  The repetition of 'and'.  Christ.  And, and, and, was all that chapter one seemed to consist of.  I did this and then I did this and so-and-so did this with this and this and there was this and this and this.  You get the gist.  After three chapters of this I wanted to scratch my eyes out.  I wanted to scream.  I was wondering how long this incredibly short book would be if I took out all the 'ands'.
After I let this go, I found something just as annoying.  The Capitalisation Of Everything And Anything Possible.  I'm not exaggerating.  My favourite example is that Rosoff capitalised "Just In Case" and other such every day phrases as that.  They stuck out like a child's writing and every time my eyes drifted to one I wanted to groan aloud.  What is the need?  What does it add?  What does it prove?  Nothing.
As long term readers of this blog will know, I'm a character girl.  I'm in it for them and their journey, whatever the plot is.  During How I Live Now I learnt almost nothing about any of the characters.  There were a few bits and pieces on Daisy but that was it.  I never got any of their past or a hint of their dreams and motives.  I didn't understand them, I didn't know them, and consequently, didn't care about them even a tiny bit.  It could've been worse, I could've not liked them.  But I really didn't have enough information to hate them.  How bad it that?
Daisy.  Well.  Where do I even start with Daisy?  She has an issue with food and she was starving herself which made me incredibly angry because she didn't have anorexia.  I've read books with characters suffering from anorexia and Daisy was most certainly not suffering from it.  She just didn't eat.  Ever.  And was perfectly healthy and fine.  This is an insult.  At points it made being slim and not eating seem like the right thing to do which is a disgusting idea to put in a YA novel read by young girls.  
Also, she was supposed to be fifteen.  Her age was drilled into us again and again which was so irritating.  But it's probably because if you weren't reminded over and over you would forget because her 'voice' was not fifteen.  I was only fifteen four years ago and I can tell you I was more mature at fifteen than Daisy was.  My vocabulary was wider as was everyone's that I knew.  At fifteen you've started your GCSE's.  You are not naive.  You are not innocent.  Not really.  At most, Daisy was thirteen, at most.
The reported style didn't help at all.  I was an outsider at all times.  Uncomfortably distant.  I was just listening to a story that had happened long ago so all suspense was lost.  That and because I didn't care about the characters, I wasn't bothered about what happened to them anyway.
Rosoff repeatedly mentioned the 'magic' that was in the family but never went on to explain it in any detail.  In the end, there seemed to be not a lot of point for this at all.  And as a plot point stressed the whole way through, I felt as though I'd missed something when it turned out to be utterly useless.
And after all that, after everything that annoyed me during this book - which was everything - nothing even seemed to happen.  There was nothing going on that I was remotely interested in.  There was nothing drawing me to the page or even keeping me to the end of the sentence.  I read it to the end only because it was so short, but it never seemed to get going.  I have no idea where the draw was here.
It was critically acclaimed because it was a YA novel about the realities of war, nothing more.

Evaluation
Plot - 7/10 - a war story so it should've been better
Way Plot Was Pursued - 1/10 - for once, there's nothing good I can even try to say
Characters - 2/10 - they meant nothing to me and were nothing special
Style - 1/10 - boring and childish and repetitious
Pace - 8/10 - the pace wasn't bad.  Oh look, a good thing to say at last.

Would I recommend it? - No.  I would never recommend this book to anyone.
Would I look up the author? - No.  Not on your live.

How I Live Now was a horrible experience from start to finish.

Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly.looby@hotmail.com

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
I usually write my own blurbs in this section.  I don't actually use the published ones because I feel I can shorten them and give you the gist.  I'm not doing that this time.  I can't seem to find a way.  So this time, here's the real blurb!
Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis.  But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

My Review
I warn you now, this review is going to be me raving about how beautiful and perfect this book was.  I could find no fault with it.  None at all.  This is one of those rare books that will change you.  I put this book down and I wanted to pick it up again at once.  I could read this all day everyday over and over again, much as Hazel does with An Imperial Affliction during TFIOS.
I loved this book from the start.  From paragraph one.  From sentence one.  I knew from the first sentence that this book was something very special, and you can't often say that.
TFIOS was many things.  Tragic.  Honest.  Funny.  It was a perfect blend of all my emotions at once.  I was laughing one minute and wiping tears off my face the very next.  And then laughing again.
It was brutally honest.  And it needed to be.  That was why it was so funny sometimes.  Hazel and Augustus were so real to me.  They were the perfect mix of intelligence and teenagers that you never seem to get in YAs.  They said things you would say and did things you would do.  They screamed and cried and laughed and loved.  They were flawed, of course they were.  They were beautiful and I would've followed them to the ends of the earth.  They were the kind of characters you want to know in real life.  As sad as this is, I wanted to be their friends immediately.  I'm not even ashamed.
TFIOS gives you the harsh reality about cancer that many other books about it don't give.  It wasn't prettied up, shall we say.  We readers were not lied to.  Why should we be?  We know full well it's not going to be pretty when we pick up the book so I applaud John Green for not sugar-coating it for us.  It may be for teenagers, but teenagers can handle the truth.  I hate it when adults forget that.
Of course it wasn't just the harsh realities of caner that made this book stand out.  It was the other harsh realities too.  About illness and death and love and life and dreams.  So many subjects were covered and interlaced perfectly.  This book is the home to my soul now for so many reasons.
I devoured this book in no time.  I read it at every opportunity and willed it to be longer because I was sad I was going to finish it before I was half way through.  I read the second half of the book all in one day.  I cried a lot.  On the train into London.  On the streets of London.  I didn't even care.  I just couldn't get it out of my head or my heart - nor did I want to.
John Green is a beautiful writer.  There were so many lines I read and then had to share because keeping the book all to myself was a crime, and yet the most delicious thing in the world.
Evaluation
Plot - 10/10 - went places I didn't expect
Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - beautiful honesty
Characters - 10/10 - in love with them
Style - 10/10 - faultless
Pace - 10/10 - perfect

Would I recommend it? - Yes.  A thousand times over.  Grab a box of tissues, a cup of tea, some chocolate and give your soul to John Green.
Would I look up the author? -Yes, already done.  Planning to read everything this man's written.

The Fault In Our Stars will have a place in my heart for every day I remain on this earth.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly.looby@hotmail.com

Reached - Ally Condie

Watch out for 'Matched' and 'Crossed' spoilers!

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
Against all odds, after crossing the canyons and surviving, Ky and Cassia are back in the Society, waiting for the Pilot's voice to tell them it's time.Time for rebellion.  Time for what they've always longed for.A choice.

My Review
I needed a quick beginning.  I needed stuff to start happening almost immediately.  I remembered the slow start to 'Crossed' and I begged for 'Reached' to be different.  Obviously Ally Condie didn't hear me.  'Reached' took such a long time to get off the ground.  So long, in fact, if it wasn't the finale in a trilogy I would've put it down.  But as often do, I persevered, wanting stuff to happen now, not being motivated in the slightest to read it but still making myself.  when stuff started happening it was good.  It just took a long time to get to it.
While I'm on the negatives, the style was contrasting in places which struck me as being very bizarre.  Sometimes the writing was so beautiful and descriptive, the sentences flowing like they were born that way,  but other times it seemed too simple, child like even.  Both these styles are fine . . . but not together.  It clashed a bit for me.
I also found a typo.  I know some people find typos in every book they read but I don't, I'm a fast reader.  I don't linger long enough to notice mistakes.  But I saw this one.  It stuck out to me like it was in bold.  I even read it over a couple of times to make sure it wasn't just me not understanding.  I'm pretty sure it was a typo.  The reason it was such a big deal was that it took me out of the world and put me back in my own head.  And that's not something you want to happen while you're reading.
Now for my favourite things.  I loved that I got to- at last - see the world through Xander's eyes as well as Cassia's and Ky's.  I've always loved Xander as a character and I loved him even more knowing what he was thinking.  I understood him perfectly.  He was my favourite characters and narrator of all three.
I was amazed by the way that everything fit together so perfectly.  The trilogy must've been so thoroughly planned that Condie wouldn't have been surprised by anything she was writing.  Everything, and I mean everything, turned out to be important.  I applaud Condie's genius.  Never before have I read a series that made every tiny detail mean something in the end.
The end was so beautifully poetic and I felt it matched Casia's personality which was the perfect sign off by her.  Everything was complete and I felt soothed by the ending and content.

Evaluation
Plot - 8/10 - back in the Society and life isn't pretty
Way Plot Was Pursued - 8/10 - three points of view made this book
Characters - 9/10 - few new ones and the old ones were built on.  I understood them so much more this time around
Style - 7/10 - clash of styles
Pace - 6/10 - too slow to start

Would I recommend it? - Yes.  but only if you've read and liked 'Matched' and 'Crossed'.

Would I look up the author? No.  Didn't love it enough.


'Reached' contented me with its ending but didn't blow me away.

Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

Rebel Heart - Moria Young

Haven't read 'Blood Red Road' yet?  What're you waiting for?  It's awesome!  Watch out, this review may contain 'Blood Red Rad' spoiler.


A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

After defeating Vicar Pinch, Saba, Lugh, Emmi and Tommo are heading to the Big Water.  And that's where they'll meet Jack.

But it's not that simple.  Traumatised after Epona's death, Saba's not her normal self.  And to top it all off, the Angel of Death has a price on her head.


My Review

'Blood Red Road' was one of my favourite books of 2013, only really being beaten by 'Divergent'.  So I was really excited about reading the second in the 'Dustlands Trilogy' and I wasn't disappointed.  I know many people were but I wasn't one of them.

Although the first part of the book written in third person following Jack did throw me off a bit and took me a while to get into.  But I'm the kind of reader who can't get enough of Jack so I was quite happy learning more about him and seeing what he was up to.  It was a strange kind of way of throwing me back into the series but I think it was clever.  It just made me hungrier for the rest of the novel.

Once back in Saba's first person point of view I was home.  I fell back into I as thought I'd finished 'Blood Red Road' and picked up 'Rebel Heart' straight away.  Saba was a little different this time around but I found that to be realistic.  The things she went through in 'Blood Red Road' would change a person.

My only criticism is that it took a while to get going.  It didn't take forever like far too many books I've read, but compared to the pace of 'Blood Red Road' it was a little slower.  But never fear, once it got going it got going!

There were a few new characters I liked as well as a few of the ones cropping up again.  Young did a good job of reminding me who all the characters were without me consciously being aware that I was being reminded.  And fans of DeMalo (like me) won't be disappointed!  You just wait.

I must dedicate a paragraph to Molly.  I loved her.  She did my name proud just as Molly Weasley in 'Harry Potter' and Molly Hooper in 'Sherlock' have.  The addition of Molly in 'Rebel Heart' made it all the more enjoyable.  She was a no-nonsense, excellent character and I enjoyed every part she was in.  Other than my obvious main character favourites, Molly was the best.

'Rebel Heart' surprised me in places and a little shock is always good.  I'm not surprised nearly enough by YAs anymore so it was awesome.  If you've read 'Rebel Heart' you'll probably know which bit I'm referring to and my question to you is did you expect that?


Evaluation

Plot - 9/10 - heading to the Big Water, another long journey story

Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - liked all the steps on the journey

Characters - 10/10 - go Molly!

Style - 10/10 - love the narration and that it's written in Saba's dialect

Pace - 9/10 - Slower than 'Blood Red Road'


Would I recommend it? - Yes, I'm loving this trilogy

Would I look up the author? - Yes.  I definitely would.


Everything I loved about 'Blood Red Road' I loved about'Rebel Heart'.  Bring on 'Raging Star'!


Molly Looby

Author / Reviewer / Blogger / Editor / Movellian / ZA Ready

Requiem - Lauren Oliver

This review contains spoilers from 'Delirium' and 'Pandemonium'.  If you're interested in reading the trilogy I would avoid this review.


A Spoiler Free Bit About the Book
Alex is alive.  Just when Lena was trying to move on with Julian.  But there are more important things happening in Lena's world.A rebellion.

My Review
I enjoyed 'Requiem' more than 'Pandemonium' but again it was no where near meeting the brilliance of 'Delirium'.
Like 'Pandemonium', I felt 'Requiem' had a very slow start.  but not only that, I couldn't understand why it took so long to get going.  I felt that some of the build up was unnecessary.  I just wanted to get to it.  Fast.  Much faster than 'Requiem' allowed.

The dual perspective didn't shock me as a lot of YA novels (including some of mine) use this.  But it did shock me who had the second perspective.  It was a twist on the norm and it was fantastic.

I loved getting some of the old characters back as I missed them so much in 'Pandemonium'.  But I found I  cared less and less for Julian who I never particularly liked in the first place, which probably didn't help.

Again, as always, there were beautiful turns of phrase and description, something I expect with Oliver now.

The ending, once I got there at long last, was excellent.  I felt the sting of betrayal as though it was my own.  I got to the point where I had my hand permanently over my mouth, heart pounding, terrified with every chapter I was going to let characters die by reading but I couldn't put it down.

The final paragraph was one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've ever come across.  I read it over and over and had to share it with my best friend.  It took my breath away, cleansed my soul and altogether tore me apart.

Unfortunately there was a particularly huge loose end left over that was never resolved.  I was disappointed it wasn't fully solved and felt a little cheated.


Evaluation

Plot - 6/10 - YA fiction's full of rebellions, nothing new here.

Way Plot Was Pursued - 7/10 - The two perspectives were a great new way to look at the world.

Characters - 8/10 - I couldn't have been happier to see the old ones again.

Style -7/10 - Usual Oliver style, no disappointments there.

Pace - 6/10 - too slow, far too slow.


Would I recommend it? - No.  I'm still of the opinion that you should just read 'Delirium' and leave it there.

Would I look up the author? - Yes.  I'm intrigued about the excerpt in the back for Oliver's new book which I will look up.


'Requiem' was okay.  But again, it wasn't 'Delirium'.


Molly Looby
Author / Reviewer / Editor / Movellain / Wrimo / ZA Ready

Contact me about all things book here: molly.looby@hotmail.com

Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

This is the sequel to 'Delirium' so if you haven't read 'Delirium' and you plan to I wouldn't read on past here.  This review doesn't have spoilers from 'Pandemonium' though.

A Spoiler Free Bit About the Book
After escaping Portland, Lena must live in the Wilds and learn fast how to make a life there.  But how can she do that without the reason she escaped in the first place?  How can she do that without Alex?

My Review
If you've read my review of 'Delirium' you'll know just how much I adored it, the whole idea that love was a disease was fascinating.  But 'Pandemonium' wasn't about that.  It was about a group who didn't believe in the disease or the cure and who wanted to fight for love.
'Pandemonium' was such a disappointment as I loved 'Delirium' so much.
In comparison, 'Pandemonium' felt very slow.  I didn't know where it was going but I wasn't hooked so I had to make myself read it, which is never a good thing.  Also, as it went on I found that I didn't like where it was going anyway.
But it wasn't all bad.  I liked the separation between 'Now' and 'Then' and the way that shaped the story with the back and forth between them.  I liked learning about how they lived in the Wilds and how different it was there.  Also, little things surprised me and as in 'Delirium', Oliver included some beautiful phrases.
The new characters were great.  I connected with them and wanted to know more about them but that didn't mean they could compare to the characters we left behind in 'Delirium'.  I spent a lot of 'Pandemonium' pining for the old characters as much as Lena was.  Or perhaps that was the point.
The twist at the end in my opinion, was so predictable.  I knew  it was coming through most of the book.  I don't think that's a negative on Oliver's part as it wasn't hinted at too much or anything.  It was just one of those things that had to happen and I was very aware of that.

Evaluation

Plot - 6/10 - The plot wasn't really gripping enough for my liking.
Way Plot Was Pursued - 7/10 - I liked the 'Then' and 'Now'.
Characters - 7/10 - Not as loveable as the characters in 'Delirium'.
Style - 7/10 - Oliver's style is beautiful but I wanted more action.
Plot - 6/10 - It started slow and seemed slow most of the way through.  I expected something to speed it up and it didn't.

Would I recommend it? - No.  To feel the real power behind 'Delirium' it's probably best not to read 'Pandemonium' if like me you need a faster pace and more urgency in a novel.
Would I look up the author? - Yes.  I'm still interested in Oliver's 'Before I Fall' and look forward to reading it at some point.

'Pandemonium' was okay.  I doubted anything could top 'Delirium' anyway.

Molly LoobyAuthor / Reviewer / Blogger / Editor / Movellian / Wrimo / ZA Ready
Contact me about reading, writing, books and anything here:  molly.looby@homail.com