Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Hardcover, 375 pages

Published February 28th 2012 by Harper Teen (first published February 1st 2012)

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.
  (Compliments of GoodReads)

My first sequel review! Huzzah!

I had to go through a grieving process before I could read this book after Delirium. Anyway! Honestly and simply, I didn't like Pandemonium as much as it's predecessor, Delirium. This isn't that surprising since I rarely like the sequel more than the first. Pandemonium is faster paced and grittier, but I prefer the world building and almost dreaminess of Delirium.

Pandemonium is told by jumping back and forth between her new life as a resistance member in New York City and her time in the Wilds since we last saw her in Delirium. In NYC, we follow Lena as she adjusts to her new life and the...unique challenges it brings. Her time in the Wilds starts off right where Delirium left off, and from there we see how the Lena we knew becomes Lena: Warrior Princess of Manhattan. The sheltered girl is gone and replaced with a bad ass.

We meet many new characters along the way who are interesting, have depth, motivations all their own, and weave so much more into the web that is Delirium. Pandemonium is definitely worth a read and an excellent addition to the Delirium world. Because I pride myself on a lack of spoilers in my reviews, I'm going to stop here. Giving anything away about this story in particular would be a crime.

Viva la resistance!

Final Thought: 56 out of 59 toadstools

Ugh...now I'm stuck waiting for Requiem to come out March 5th, 2013

This review is also posted on GoodReads