Sunday, March 11, 2012

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

There are a bunch of reasons that could have warranted 4 stars on this book. Oliver's writing is beautiful. It's a really interactive read with a lot of emotion and action - much more, I think than Delirium (Book 1). I think that if this story were a Book 1 or if I'd skipped right to this one I wouldn't have just "liked it." 

Unfortunately, it is a Book 2 and I didn't skip the first book.

There were a lot of things that bothered me about Pandemonium. 

I've heard a few people complain about the "now" and "then" of the book. This, if I'm being honest, did really bug me at first. I wanted to shoot through all of the thens to get back to the nows. I found myself scanning the pages at one point to get the gist of what was going on and continue with the story. However, it must have been a more seamless transition than I'd thought reading it, because I can't recall when it stopped. For those of you just picking this one up, it does stop. 

While the new characters introduced in Pandemonium added some richness to the story, I REALLY missed Hana and Alex. I felt as though I had invested too much of my time in Delirium to them for them to be removed from the story line for this ENTIRE book. 

Also, since I was so obsessed with Alex, I had a really difficult time connecting with Julian in this book. He came off as sort of bratty and helpless in so much of it. The connection built between he and Lena felt similar to that of Katniss and Peeta (terrible things happen to them that bring them together). However, unlike Peeta (total love of my life) it isn't until the end of the book that I feel like Julian is swoonworthy in the least - definitely not when the last guy you kissed was a major winner. 

Like Delirium, Pandemonium ends with this crazy cliffhanger. I hope that Book 3 can put some of my crazy disapointment at ease! 

While this review is a total emotional rant about all of the things that make me want to throw things while reading it, the book was very well-written. It's (almost)always a good sign when an author can make you want to damage your own property in a fit of rage. I'll definitely be counting down the days to see what comes next!

11 comments:

  1. I've heard similar things about how there wasn't that much Alex in this book. (I usually wait to read reviews of a book I know I'm reading soon, but every once in awhile I can't resist!) I had mixed feelings about the first one although I liked it overall, so it sounds like I may feel similarly about this one, too.

    Thanks for the honest review. :)

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

    ReplyDelete
  2. Usually I wait to read the reviews as well, but I stumbled upon your review and read it. I'm nervous about reading this one. I so badly want it to be awesome. Thanks for sharing! New Follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Ashley,

    I need to jump back on the Lauren Oliver band-wagon and read this series. I've only read Before I Fall by her and loved it. Wonderful review BTW.

    Since I enjoy your blog, I bestowed you with the Liebster blog Award.

    Check it out here: http://bookstoburyyourselfin.blogspot.com/2012/04/libster-blog-award.html

    Cheers,
    Johanna

    ReplyDelete
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    I've been writing and publishing for twenty years--more than one hundred stories and two novels--and Ugly To Start With is my best work.

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    My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. "The Scratchboard Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.

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    At this point, my small publisher is out of available review copies, so I hope and politely ask that you consider the PDF.

    I would be very grateful.

    Thank you so much.

    John Michael Cummings

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