Scan barcode
A review by photogcourt
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
3.0
I could probably go with 3.5, but I didn't feel as if I enjoyed it quite as much as Delirium, and even Pandemonium. For me a lot of this had to do with the POV switching between Hana and Lena. I felt that Hana would best be suited in a novella or a companion. I mean, it did make sense, especially towards the end with the Still, since Hana was never a POV in either of the books, I didn't have that connection with Hana that I had with Lena and found a lot of her sections to be a little underwhelming.
I also felt that the Alex, Julian, Lena triangle was kind of underwhelming. A lot of this for me had to do with the interaction between Alex and Lena because frankly It felt very disconnected and unlike them, and I really did not understand why she wrote it this way because obviously her feelings for Julian aren't overpowering like they are for Alex.
My last complaint was the end. It didn't feel finished. Requiem could have easily been split into two books, the first being the group being together, her tangled feelings between Alex and Julian, time spent plotting and dodging forces. But that's not how it was- I felt like there was a lot of action and it was always fast moving, which is good, but when the end goal was achieved it just like stopped and left a lot of questions.
Since Oliver didn't have the end in mind when she started this trilogy, I think it kind of worked against her a little bit at the end of this. It felt hanging and unfinished, and perhaps that's the point, but when you're writing in dystopian and a revolution is going on, readers like to know the results. You go on this journey with the characters, you live the uprising with them, but when you don't get to know how it will eventually play out long term, it is kind of unfair and cruel....
Spoiler
bomb and everything.I also felt that the Alex, Julian, Lena triangle was kind of underwhelming. A lot of this for me had to do with the interaction between Alex and Lena because frankly
Spoiler
there really wasn't any. They had like one emotionally charged conversation, if you could even call it that, then they never even spoke and hardly looked at each other for days. To me it didn't make a lot of sense because after all this time wouldn't Alex want to KNOW what had happened to her. At least want to know what the deal was with her and Julian... like hello.My last complaint was the end. It didn't feel finished. Requiem could have easily been split into two books, the first being the group being together, her tangled feelings between Alex and Julian, time spent plotting and dodging forces. But that's not how it was- I felt like there was a lot of action and it was always fast moving, which is good, but when the end goal was achieved it just like stopped and left a lot of questions.
Spoiler
Like okay yeah she finds Gracie and her mother which is AWESOME, and her and Alex say they love eachother... but it doesn't give us how they will overcome the whole country's government, not just Portland's. It also doesn't tell us where the rest of Lena's family is. It doesn't give Lena and Alex a chance to actually have a long conversation (something they so desperately need) and then there is Julian, who is basically being left in the dust... and I really do like Julian, and I don't want him treated as such. And just to add in, the fact that Raven died was not okay. Out of anyone I think she should have been allowed to live.Since Oliver didn't have the end in mind when she started this trilogy, I think it kind of worked against her a little bit at the end of this. It felt hanging and unfinished, and perhaps that's the point, but when you're writing in dystopian and a revolution is going on, readers like to know the results. You go on this journey with the characters, you live the uprising with them, but when you don't get to know how it will eventually play out long term, it is kind of unfair and cruel....