Requiem Buddy Read!

[Reymart]

I haven't read any of the short stories either. Even though I love the trilogy, I know there could be a lot of explanations in the short ones. But I'll try reading them since I finished the trilogy.

[Dalu]

Reymart wrote: "I haven't read any of the short stories either. Even though I love the trilogy, I know there could be a lot of explanations in the short ones. But I'll try reading them since I finished the trilogy."

You'd realize there are so many things you'd understad after reading them, specilly Raven

[Reymart]

Yes, I'm actually on it right now. My review will be after reading Anabel in a short while. And there is for Alex too but not yet available.


Dalu wrote: "Reymart wrote: "I haven't read any of the short stories either. Even though I love the trilogy, I know there could be a lot of explanations in the short ones. But I'll try reading them since I fini..."

[Dalu]

Reymart wrote: "Yes, I'm actually on it right now. My review will be after reading Anabel in a short while. And there is for Alex too but not yet available.


Dalu wrote: "Reymart wrote: "I haven't read any of th..."

Try looking for Alex online, i read it in Spanish, i dont think that'll work for you lol

[Reymart]

Dalu wrote: "Reymart wrote: "Yes, I'm actually on it right now. My review will be after reading Anabel in a short while. And there is for Alex too but not yet available.


Dalu wrote: "Reymart wrote: "I haven'..."

Definitely, it won't work for me. I don't speak spanish. haha!

[Brooke]

if u can get a first edition of the hard cover, Alex's POV is at the end. I went to my local B&N and read it there since I have a review copy. didnt clear much up for me tho

[Reymart]

Oh, I have a review copy of Requiem too that's why Alex wasn't there. But it's okay. :)

[Simone]

Should I read the Alex portion during or after reading Requiem?

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I have the hardback copy, so Alex is in the back of my book. Can't wait to read it!

[Reymart]

Jenny wrote: "I have the hardback copy, so Alex is in the back of my book. Can't wait to read it!"

Haha! Lucky you Jenny. :)

[Reymart]

Annabel should have a whole book of her own. My sympathies toward her are great. I just love the way her story is written.

[Karen’s Library]

Holy moly, I go work for 13 hours and when I check back in, I find this thread went nuts! Hahahahah... I have some catching up to do! I read 4 pages this morning while making my cup of coffee! ;-P. Thanks everyone for using spoilers!

I haven't read any of the short stories but really sounds like I need to!

[Jen]

For those of us who are unhappy with the ending, here is Lauren Oliver explaining why she ended the series the way she did:
http://lauren-oliver.tumblr.com/post/...

BTW, I love her, appreciate what she says, but her explanation is just like the book ending - no closure!

[Reymart]

Jen wrote: "For those of us who are unhappy with the ending, here is Lauren Oliver explaining why she ended the series the way she did:
http://lauren-oliver.tumblr.com/post/......"

Oh em gee!! This is what I am waiting!! Thanks a lot Jen!! :)

[Brooke]

Jen wrote: "For those of us who are unhappy with the ending, here is Lauren Oliver explaining why she ended the series the way she did:
http://lauren-oliver.tumblr.com/post/......"

I do love her, I have to say. I never fault an author for needing to end something the way they do, but I'm still disappointed. I love her explanation and completely give her credit for being brave enough to take it where she wanted to take it. I say this all the time about Cremer and Bloodrose. People HATED that book, but I totally appreciated why she went in that direction and was brave enough to do it. Same with Mockingjay, I hated the ending, but I'm not the author. So I might lower my stars b/c of it, but I still appreciate it.

[Reymart]

It's truly understandable, but you can rarely see a brave author do what she did.

The Cover Contessa wrote: "Jen wrote: "For those of us who are unhappy with the ending, here is Lauren Oliver explaining why she ended the series the way she did:
http://lauren-oliver.tumblr.com/post/......"

[Brooke]

Reymart wrote: "It's truly understandable, but you can rarely see a brave author do what she did.

The Cover Contessa wrote: "Jen wrote: "For those of us who are unhappy with the ending, here is Lauren Oliver expl..."

On the contrary, we did see it with the two authors I listed. I have to say that I am seeing it more and more and, despite the fact that might disagree or be disappointed, I do give them credit for it. However, I just feel in this case there could have been just a bit more. I hear her wanting others to extrapolate for themselves, but I am not a writer so at times I really like the author to give me direction. It doesn't have to be wrapped up in a nice bow, mon the contrary I like when authors take risks. But this one just left so much unsaid that I felt like it didn't end, more just dropped off. This is my opinion, of course, and there are others who loved this book and rated it much higher than I did. Everyone will have their own opinions. Most of my friends gave Bloodrose very low ratings, I gave it 5 stars. Different strokes, I suppose.

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Lol I'm reading all your words and wishing I knew what the heck you were talking about! Hehe 84% now but have to start writing for a few hours so won't finish until later :( omg (view spoiler)[ Pippa saving 400 people by hiding them under dead bodies? Blech! So brave!

And Lena's mom! Glad they had some tender moments before it all went down. I still don't understand why the electrified fence was replaced with a wall. Perhaps make it a wall with electrified fencing at the top. Seemed too easy for them to get back in.

Hana's car just hit someone eep! And where the heck is Alex? Jana thought she saw him. Is he going to try to assassinate Fred? (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

David wrote: "Lol I'm reading all your words and wishing I knew what the heck you were talking about! Hehe 84% now but have to start writing for a few hours so won't finish until later :( omg Pippa saving 400 p..."

Your flying through it, tho!

[Karen’s Library]

Ugh, I hate that work is getting in the way! I managed to get to 36% last night before falling asleep with Nook in hand. Another 14 hour day today. :-( I suck as a reading buddy this week! I'll catch up in a day or two. I have another long work day tomorrow and then back to a couple normal 10 hour days to finish the week! ;-)

[Reymart]

David wrote: "Lol I'm reading all your words and wishing I knew what the heck you were talking about! Hehe 84% now but have to start writing for a few hours so won't finish until later :( ..."

Resolution is coming, and just prepare yourself in the ending. It's pretty awesome...

[Dalu]

i dont know if this happened to any of you but I couldnt sleep last night! i has the whole book in my mind and keep remembering it over and over! LOL

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Karen wrote: "Ugh, I hate that work is getting in the way! I managed to get to 36% last night before falling asleep with Nook in hand. Another 14 hour day today. :-( I suck as a reading buddy this week! I'l..."

That's ok Karen! We'll be glad to hear your comments whenever you finish!

[Dalu]

Hey everyone i was just litening to Paramore's new song called:"still into you" and the chorus reminds me so much of requiem:

I should be over all the butterflies
But I’m into you (I’m in to you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I’m into you (I’m into you)
Let em wonder how we got this far
Cause I don’t really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time
I’m still into you

What do you think?

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Ooh yes, love it! And love Paramore!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Brooke for following along with us, I went back and read ALL the spoilers, and had a great time with them! Fun to hear everyone's perspectives, that's why I LOVE buddy reads :)

OK, all that being said, here are my final thoughts (I actually LOVED the ending) (view spoiler)[ Wow, so much action and things happening near the end. I was definitely frustrated by Alex the most. Although he FINALLY admitted he still loved Lena, he outright lied about it very early on in the book when she actually TRIED very hard to tell him how she felt (in a most beautiful fashion as only Lauren Oliver could write it I might add), and he blew her off (I know, I know, this is the third time I've harped on this!).

Lena on the other hand, she was so MEAN to Julian with every time she was nice to him and let him comfort her, she was taking advantage of him. I hated that.

However, I was actually very pleased with the ending. I'm ECSTATIC that they finally told each other the truth and that the ending was positive, albeit messy with Hana and Lena. And I LOVE that Hana let Fred get blown to bits (eek, I sound really evil there, but that's the truth, I HATED him with a passion).

Although the ending came swiftly and with little finality, I liked that it was different and that at least we know that Lena and Alex will end up together. I didn't need any more than that and I like being able to use my imagination for the rest of it. But that's just me :) (hide spoiler)]

The biggest thanks to my fellow buddy readers, Jenny, Karen and Simone, I can't wait to hear your thoughts once you've finished!! Eeep!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Woot, woot, David beat me! LOL ;)
I will finish tonight! Can't wait to read this mysterious ending!

Had a busy day, we did an all day cooking workshop for our 4H club, then we got to eat all our yummy food! just got home from a LONG day! Ready to read now!

[Karen’s Library]

I have a few minutes before heading off to another meeting. :). Can't wait to read all the spoilers! Thanks everyone for an amazing buddy read discussion! I won't have any more weeks like this for a very long time so can keep up with the next buddy read!

David, we still need to do one of these days!

[Jen]

David, give it a couple of days and then see if you feel the same way. Jenny, I'm so interested to hear your thoughts. Here's what I thought, after a couple of weeks: (view spoiler)[ I know Alex blew up at Lena, but I think he was entitled to one angry, teenaged outburst, saying things he didn't mean in his anger. He felt betrayed and he'd been through a lot - when we are that hurt, we want to hurt back. So in my eyes, he gets a pass. What I absolutely hated was the way Lena ran right into Julian's arms. She turned around, having apologised to Alex for the betrayal, and betrayed him all over again. She said she didn't believe him. Where was the cool-off period where they get past all that anger and learn to go from there? My least favourite line in the book was when she said she cried the last tears she would ever cry over the boy she once loved. My heart broke.

What I wish had happened was this:
She does her crying thing, then resolves that she doesn't want to hurt anymore, that she wants to be cured and rid of all this emotional pain. She decides she can be a sympathizer and help the resistance without having to suffer anymore. "An icy fist closes around her heart." She remembers Alex's words, "Don't cry. No more crying." She dries her eyes, packs up and leaves the camp. She copes in the wilderness alone. She runs into her mom. They reconcile. Alex, meanwhile, has gone after her and finds her. They spend the rest of the book with Annabelle's group, working through their relationship, and then have the big raid-on-Portland thing at the end. Lena, at the end, explains to Julian that she always loved Alex, and Julian forgives her, says he always knew anyway. End of story.

THAT would have been the book I wanted. As it is, at least we did get the resolution of Alex and Lena having some kind of future. All that angst between them, Lena being the one to constantly take care of Julian - that just irritated me. Julian seemed like such a weak follower. If Oliver was going to make him Lena's love interest, he could have at least been a strong leader and stepped up to really take care of her. (hide spoiler)]

Now I'm ready to move on. I think I may re-read Under the Never Sky. I didn't like it the first time, and I want to give it another try since everyone loves it.

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Lol this is such a great book for a buddy read as it is somewhat controversial and brings out such strong emotions. I won't dispute anything either side has said but I will say I understand why the story was told the way it was. I'll give it a few days though and see if my views change at all :) And sorry Jen, but I still won't accept Alex's reaction to Lena's first attempt at reconciliation. If I loved her, I would have eaten it up regardless of how angry I was! But I do definitely agree with everything you said about what Lena did after that :)

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Jenny wrote: "Woot, woot, David beat me! LOL ;)
I will finish tonight! Can't wait to read this mysterious ending!

Had a busy day, we did an all day cooking workshop for our 4H club, then we got to eat all o..."

Ooh yummy!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Karen wrote: "I have a few minutes before heading off to another meeting. :). Can't wait to read all the spoilers! Thanks everyone for an amazing buddy read discussion! I won't have any more weeks like this f..."

Yes! We'll read that together very soon!

[Brooke]

David wrote: "Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Brooke for following along with u..."

See, you enjoyed it! So glad. I knew you would make up your own mind and told you not to worry! LOL!

[Dalu]

i had to write this againg because the website told me that it wasnt posted correctly or smth so here it goes again:
David, first of all thank you so much for allowing me be a part of this lovely group and join this buddy reads! i had a great time :)
I agree 100% with everything you said. (view spoiler)[ I loved the ending and that Lena and Alex are together, also i felt bad for Julian, Lena was so mean letting him fall in love with her and then going back to Alex. Loved everything ralating to Hana and Fred, about Hana letting Fred die in the explotion! i was like YEAHHH YOU DESERVE IT!
The only thing i didnt like was the part where Raven dies, i was so sad!, i blame Pippa! also i felt really bad for Tack!
The ending in general was pretty good, it satisfyied everyithing i expected, although it made me have some questions like: What happened to Tack? Did Fred actually died? Did Hana got to a safe place? Did Julian ever found love? did Lena told him about she prefering Alex over him? DID TACK NEW ABOUT RAVEN BEING PREGNANT?
Today i saw this video by Lauren Oliver which left me suuuuuuper pleased because she said that this ending was suppose to let our imagintation fly, and keeeping us living in this dream/universe we create in our imagination (L) (hide spoiler)] Hope you everyone enjoyed it!

[Reymart]

David wrote: "Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Brooke for following along with u..."

hash tag POW!! I'm wondering what book this group will read next. Well, anyways. I agree with all you said about Lena and Julian. Advantage there. A great deal about Hana and Lena tho, I just take the fact that Hana is "c"d and in my own opinion Hana would consider things that happened between them "past tense" even after the Resistance won. The ending, for me, is huge. We are left to hope them for the best.

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

The Cover Contessa wrote: "David wrote: "Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Brooke for followin..."

Hehe, you were so right!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Dalu wrote: "i had to write this againg because the website told me that it wasnt posted correctly or smth so here it goes again:
David, first of all thank you so much for allowing me be a part of this lovely g..."

That's weird, I definitely read this post earlier so I'm not sure why it said though. Oh well, it's a great post so twice is good! Thanks for joining us Dalu!!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Reymart wrote: "David wrote: "Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Brooke for followin..."

Lol! Hmm we'll have to have another buddy read soon! Karen and I are considering reading soon :) I also wouldn't mind buddy reading Boundless at some point if anyone else likes that series and hasn't read it yet ;) I'm also always open to suggestions!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I'm in for Boundless!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

David wrote: "Dalu wrote: "The Cover Contessa wrote: "Dalu wrote: "The Cover Contessa wrote: "Dalu wrote: "The Cover Contessa wrote: "Dalu wrote: "The Cover Contessa wrote: "Dalu wrote: "The Cover Contessa ..."

Hurry up and read Shatter Me, David! I still have Unravel Me sitting on my shelf waiting to be read!

[Reymart]

David wrote: "Reymart wrote: "David wrote: "Finished! OK, first off, thanks to Dalu for joining us in the middle of the buddy read, I really enjoyed reading your comments :) Also, thanks to Reymart, Jen, and Bro..."

OH EM GEE!! Gone series is great. Just collected them and (nuh, still in plastic,ahaha) I'm soooo excited to read them. This is Euphoria!! I'll probably stay in this discussion every after reading a chapter. ahaha.

[Reymart]

Shatter Me, too. Wanna read it.

[Reymart]

And whooops!! How about . . I love the books.

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Okay, so I have finished! I also read Raven and Alex. The story about Alex didn't really give me a lot of insight into him at all, so I was a little disappointed with it. Raven--(view spoiler)[ OMG!!!!! She was PREGNANT???? That just makes the end of Requiem so much sadder! Raven and Tack were becoming my favorite characters! (hide spoiler)]
Raven was the best short story IMO

My thoughts on Requiem--hopefully I don't ramble on too much here! (view spoiler)[ Overall, I really loved the book. The writing was really, really good. I felt I connected more with Lena in this story than the previous two.
The big bummer for me was Alex. I defended him earlier, and I still will somewhat, but I can't believe what a jerk he was through most of the book. I think it was kind of funny that it was Coral that straightened Lena and Alex out!
I'm really glad Annabel made an appearance, and she and Lena were able to somewhat reconcile. I really didn't expect that.
Hana--this one was the hardest for me to make sense of. I can't believe Hana's actions towards the end of the book. She seems to be coming around for most of the story, then she's threatened, and BAM--becomes a meek little mouse. She does come through in the end--and I'm glad she was able to figure out a way to get rid of Fred! What an abckgeos***!
I wasn't all that surprised, but the hardest part of the story for me was when Raven died. We don't know what happened to Tack, but I'd like to believe he died with her...I can't see any other way for him. If you haven't read the short story, Raven, you REALLY NEED TO READ IT!!!! That's all I'll say, because I'm tearing up...
JULIAN. Poor, poor Julian. He is most definitely the character who really lost it all. I'm really glad Lena and Alex are together, but it just all around sucks. I really liked Julian.
I'm with David, I really liked the ending. The last page was beautiful. One of the best things I've ever read in a YA novel. It made me think of the Berlin Wall. I also thought of when the Republicans were campaigning a few years ago, and focusing on illegal immigration, and they wanted to put up a fence on the south border. I actually knew a few people who were for that idiocy! Fences are NOT for people!!! Lena says it perfectly!
I just really wish we had gotten a little more closure with a few of the characters first before that last page. Especially with Hana, Tack, and Julian. That's my only complaint.
Otherwise, loved the book! I gave it 4 stars, but as I'm thinking on it, I might bump it to 4.5 (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

I have a whole bunch of books I need to read, I'll just list them here quick in case anyone wants to buddy up



There's more, but those are the ones that come to mind first...

[Jen]

And here is the beauty of discussion - I see where you all are coming from about Alex! And I have to concede that (view spoiler)[ he did have quite a long time to come around and chose instead to be bitter and brooding. Jerk! (hide spoiler)]I still didn't like Julian, though. And while the whole Hana thing added tremendously to the story, I just didn't care about her. I'd rather have had someone else's point of view. And Raven! I just read her short story yesterday. Wow.
Jenny, I love your list! I'm up for or as buddy reads!

[Jenny, Always smiling! :-D]

Awesome! I think Karen was ready for Unravel Me, soon as well! We'll see when everyone else is ready, I could probably do it this weekend!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Lol I love you guys :) I know, I know, I'm a sap, but Truly, you all mean a lot to me and make my life more enriched than it would be if I didn't know you.

Always up for a buddy read with any of you.

Jenny, I greatly enjoyed your final comments :)

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Reymart wrote: "And whooops!! How about . . I love the books."

Love this series!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Jenny wrote: "I have a whole bunch of books I need to read, I'll just list them here quick in case anyone wants to buddy up

[bookcover:Breaking Poin..."

Definitely Boundless and maybe the Rise of Nine, still trying to come to grips with whether I want to read it after reading a scathing article about how the series was "manufactured". But I did love the first two books!