Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

May 07, 2012 jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012, audiobook-d, yaf, ladyish

My strongest reaction upon finishing this book is Holy Cliffhanger, Batman. It was a predictable cliffhanger, but still emotionally manipulative!

This is the sequel to Delirium. I listened to the audio book which is also read by Sarah Drew, thank goodness. It's another generous helping of dystopian YAF. The story is a continuation of Delirium, picking up at almost the exact moment where the previous book ended. There is stronger world-building and character development here. Lena is well-travele My strongest reaction upon finishing this book is Holy Cliffhanger, Batman. It was a predictable cliffhanger, but still emotionally manipulative!

This is the sequel to Delirium. I listened to the audio book which is also read by Sarah Drew, thank goodness. It's another generous helping of dystopian YAF. The story is a continuation of Delirium, picking up at almost the exact moment where the previous book ended. There is stronger world-building and character development here. Lena is well-traveled and knowledgeable now. Where the first book felt very small, reflecting the scope of Lena's limited life experience, this book feels sprawling and frenetic, and maybe a little bit flailing around.

The storytelling is a little confusing -- it alternates between "NOW"/"THEN" chapters, with "NOW" being Lena's new life in NYC as an infiltrator member of the DFA (Delirium Free America), while "THEN" is the time she spent in the wilds before the city with a ragtag band of young people who call themselves "homesteaders." It is disorienting for the reader, no doubt at least as disorienting as it was for Lena, but the jumping around does make it tough to follow the story at first.

I love the kids in the wilds for their hard luck and self-reliance and clever post-apocalyptic survival mechanisms. Lena sure has a talent for befriending beguiling, interesting ladies (Hana in book one, Raven here). Raven is a role model for the ages. Also, I'm pretty sure one of the homesteader kids is Unnatural (a queer)! The reference was subtle, but I was looking for it so hard after the straight-washing of Book 1 it stood out like a beacon of gayness to me. I read in this interview that L.O.'s editor made her cut out the gayness of the guy because it was purely political. I'm kind of offended by that (what about this book is not political?) but whatever.

At least in some regards Lena is a much improved person now. She does a lot of rescuing this time around. She's helpful, clever and sometimes self-reliant. She's grown up a lot in the wilds and the pampered, brainless, self-absorbed Lena is a distant memory. You can feel her coming of age.

My biggest problem with book #1 was Lena's development as an active resister. Lauren Oliver doesn't really answer for that in this book. Lena is a lot more involved in the resistance, but she is passive for most of this book - the resistance is something that's happening to/around her. She's swept up in it because of her friends and context, but she's not making any decisions or fulfilling her own agenda. Near the end, she finally has this shining "fuck it" moment where she decides to do what's best for her, friends and freedom fighters be damned. I can't wait to see how Lena evolves in #3. ...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Leslie rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012-reads

Fun read, but really, I am so sick of love triangles. Seems like you just can't get a good ol' dystopian YA trilogy without one these days. ...more

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May 21, 2012 Jen Ifer's Inklings rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio-books, dystopia, 5-star-reads

OMG- that is a killer cliffhanger! I can't believe I'll have to wait at least a year to see how it's going to turn out! ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Marcy Jo rated it really liked it

Okay. It's time to devour that last book now! ...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Chelsea rated it really liked it

Shelves: series-not-all-pub

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh Fabulous! I liked Pandemonium much, much better than Delirium!

As far as these YA dystopian novels go, Delirium has a well developed world, which I appreciate. The DFA, who attempt to eradicate 'the disease' (love) from the entire population, and preach their ideals through The Book of Shh.., is a very vivid imagine in my mind, orderly and emotionless. Lana, however, meets Alex in book 1, Delirium, who passes on the 'disease' to her. They fall in love and eventually escape to the Wilds at the Oh Fabulous! I liked Pandemonium much, much better than Delirium!

As far as these YA dystopian novels go, Delirium has a well developed world, which I appreciate. The DFA, who attempt to eradicate 'the disease' (love) from the entire population, and preach their ideals through The Book of Shh.., is a very vivid imagine in my mind, orderly and emotionless. Lana, however, meets Alex in book 1, Delirium, who passes on the 'disease' to her. They fall in love and eventually escape to the Wilds at the end. Alex is not as lucky as Lana to make it across the border. Lana believes him to be dead, killed by the regulators, and she must make a life for herself in the Wilds. She is taken in by a rag-tag group part of the resistance. Lana meets Raven and is chosen to serve an important purpose within the boarder of the society. She attends a large demonstration led by the youth leader of the DFA, Julian Fineman. Lana is told to follow him throughout the day, no matter what happens. A group capture him and hold him captive in a dungeon, where Lana is now trapped also. Here they get to know each other, even though Julian is of the opposing viewpoint of Lana about the cure and is very upset about the 'Invalids'. The two get to know each other, and through their experiences helping each other, come to love one another. A very touching moment happens as Julian admits he would like to become infected by Lana. Of course, the next morning, a group of regulators come to arrest them. A woman (dressed as a regulator) tows Lana out to a different looking van. As readers later discover, this woman is part of the resistance and saved Lana from the regulators and prison. Julian isn't so lucky, and once returned home, is sentenced to death. Lana figures out that the whole ordeal she suffered alongside Julian was actually a set up by the resistance, a setup she was not told about. Lana is angry and leaves Raven and the rest of the members to see Julian one last time before he is put to death. Lana sneaks into the Fineman's house and discovers a thick book which lists all prisoners names from prisons who are part of the resistance movement. Of course, Lana searches for her mother's name and finds it beside a number, the same number which was tattooed on the woman who saved her from the regulators. She realizes this woman was her mother and feels abandoned and saddened that her mother wouldn't reveal herself to Lana. She then discovers the address at which Julian is being put to death and races there. Raven and other members of the resistance are also planning to go there to rescue Julian after they discover Lana's disappearance. Lana, along with other resisters are able to sneak into the hospital and kill doctors, etc and get Julian out alive. Lana and Julian are triumphant and reach the other side of the border. The ~~extreme shocker~~ is that ALEX! has actually been alive the whole time, in prison, as is face to face with Lana once again! Ahh! The madness! I love them both. Alas, another teenage love triangle. Who will Lana pick??!!! Of course, we will have some angst in book 3, of which I do not yet know the title. But I will be reading it. ...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Amanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian, 4-stars

I remember this book was so hard, and so gritty, like dirt and sand in your teeth, after getting punched into the ground. And how hard it was to stand back up, to move forward, making a new life in a new world, with a new family, having to earn every single inch of who you could be from the tatters of who you were. Having no choice at all, while being ripped apart.

This book was like a shot in the heart, perfectly placed after what happened in book one, and then, of then, those last pages happen ...more

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