Review for Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Warning 
This is a review for the final book in the Delirium Trilogy and so contains spoilers from the previous books.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver 
Publisher: Hodder
Release: 21st March 2013
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, YA
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review






Goodreads Summary:
"Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever...

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Lena and her best friend Hana, Requiem brings the Delirium trilogy to an exhilarating end and showcases Lauren Oliver at the height of her writing powers - emotionally powerful and utterly enthralling."

Review 
Lauren Oliver manages to break my heart every time with the endings to her books and after the HUGE cliff-hanger at the end of Pandemonium with Alex’s return I was so anxious to read this final instalment to the trilogy and find out who Lena decides to be with and how it all ends.

Requiem is told in a dual narrative between Lena and Hana. The book picks up only a few days having passed since the events in Pandemonium and so things are still unresolved between Lena and Alex who have avoided one another since. I really enjoyed reading from two perspectives and thought that it worked really well for this book. Lena and the invalids are in the Wilds plotting a rebellion and Hana is in Portland soon to be married to the Mayor – a powerful and sadistic man. Surprisingly I actually preferred reading Hana’s chapters the most, I’ve always loved her as a character and it was great to be back in Portland to find out what has happened to the people Lena left behind. Hana’s storyline was also really interesting and intense to read as she discovers the skeletons in her future husbands closet and finds herself in even more danger when it seems as though her procedure might not have left her cured after all.

Like all of the books in the Delirium trilogy Requiem broke my heart. Early on in the book Alex and Lena have the talk they so desperately need and it hurt my heart to find out what had happened to Alex and to see how hardened he had become. Lena spends most of this book caught between both boys and although I’m firmly Team Alex I do love Julian and my heart went out to both of them in this impossible situation.

A lot of Requiem is slow moving and it’s not until the last 70 or so pages that things really kick off with the rebellion and at times I felt like Hana’s chapters were all that kept the pace moving. It’s within the last few chapters that Lena and Hana’s stories finally collide and the girl’s reunion was beautiful and brought a tear to my eye. The ending to this book is left very open and I know a few people who’ve been annoyed by that but enough was resolved to leave me satisfied and I found the way it ended reflected the message of the story about taking a leap of faith, not being able to predict where life will take us, all we have is now.

The final paragraph has Lena talking directly to us the reader and what she said really resounded with me and once again left me in tears. Overall I think that Requiem is a final book that readers are either going to love or hate but I found it in theme with the message at the heart of this series making it a moving and beautiful conclusion.