Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver | Review
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Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver Series: Delirium #2
Published by HarperTeen on February 28, 2012
Genres: Dystopian
Pages: 375
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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(Last Updated On: June 10, 2022)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. In this electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller Delirium, Lauren Oliver sets Lena on a dangerous course that hurtles through the unregulated Wilds and into the heart of a growing resistance movement. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.
If I’m being honest, Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver is even better than Delirium. Keep reading to find out why in this Pandemonium review!
Summary of Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
In Pandemonium, we follow Lena in both then and now. After deciding that she doesn’t want to get the cure, she has to go undercover now. She has to pretend to be a student at school and she goes to a huge meeting against the uncured.
She ends up getting caught with the very person that she has been told to keep a close eye on, Julien. Julien is the son of the mastermind behind the no uncured campaign. He has a sickness, and he was told that he could possibly die if he gets the procedure.
Because of who his father is, he decides that it’s the right thing to do anyway. After getting caught, Julien and Lena grow pretty close together, though they both have their secrets.
During then, we follow Lena as she tries to find a camp after escaping the city. She ends up in a village where a girl named Raven is in charge. Raven is really strong, and she decides to take Lena in as long as she works for it.
After something happens in the village, the story goes on as Raven, Lena, and the others escape and try to survive.
Pandemonium Characters
Lena really grew on me with this book. In the first book, she revolved as a character a lot. It’s even more true with Pandemonium. Lena has changed from the goody-two-shoes who follows the rules into a girl who is willing to do what she needs in order to survive and get by.
She is much stronger as well. She no longer relies on Alex, as we have no clue where in the world he is. We can definitely see the change in attitude that Lena has between then and now.
Julien was a great side character. He had quite a background, and we found that we definitely shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. He was really sweet though he had his reservations. I felt really bad for him because of who his father was. I mean, he got in trouble for reading books! That just shouldn’t happen.
Final Thoughts
Pandemonium was even better than Delirium. It was much more action-packed, and it wasn’t as sweet and bubbly as the first book was. It was more of an adventurous novel like most dystopians are. I highly suggest picking it up if you have or haven’t read the first one.
I also loved how Lauren wrote with both Then and Now. We got to see her a few months later (now) and how she came to find Raven and the crew (then). Plus, the ending was just crazy! I can’t wait for Requiem.
Notable Quotes:
“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you-sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.”
“But…books are so much more. Some of them are webs; you can feel your way along their threads, but just barely, into strange and dark corners. Some of them are balloons bobbing up through the sky: totally self-contained, and unreachable, but beautiful to watch. And some of them―the best ones―are doors.”
“That’s the thing: We didn’t really care. A world without love is also a world without stakes.”
Have you read this novel? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Totally agree!! I felt as if Lena really grew as a character is this one, she had some serious girl power going on 😀 Also, the action factor was something I really liked and Pandemonium was really on a complete different that Delirium. As for Julian I kind of had mixed feelings for him. Sometimes I found him way too annoying and too dependent on Lena but other times he was just so sweet. The cliffhanger was insane as you said, makes me want to have Requiem already 😀 Great review!
Pandemonium was amazing, but Requiem wasn't up to my expectations.