Pandemonium

Of all the dystopian YA novels I’ve read (which is probably more than a 32 year old should admit to having read), I think that Delirium was my least favorite.  Yet, I still found myself wanting to read the sequel, which I suppose means that the first wasn’t awful.  (You can read my review of it here.)

First of all, my inner high schooler loves the cover.  Whoever this model is really embodies the spirit of Lena in this book.  She’s still a little unsure of herself, but she’s beginning to understand more about herself, her family, the society, and this “disease” known as deliria, which we all know as “love”.

Secondly, I love how this book was written.  Usually I don’t like when authors go back and forth in time throughout the book, but Oliver does just that and it really works with this plot.  Each chapter alternates between “then” and “now”, essentially giving the book two separate plotlines, which converge at the very end.  (The “then” meets up with the “now”.)

Thirdly, the character development and story lines are much much more developed in this sequel than in the first book.  I found myself actually connecting with Lena in a way that I wasn’t in the first.  Maybe because she’s matured.  The new characters are also much more developed and I could more easily relate to them.  Overall, it seemed like a more grown up version of the first, without losing the YA feel.

I only have two complaints.  The first is very minor – the beginning was very slow.  VERY.  I actually put this book down when I got another book to read, and almost didn’t return to it.  But when I did, I finished the last 250 pages in just a couple days.  The second complaint is bigger, but I have to be vague.  I HATED the end.  It is a major cliffhanger (not the bad part); an obvious cliffhanger that strikes me as a bit of a cop-out.

Will I read the third (and last) book when it comes out?  Yes.