Pandemonium Review

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Date of Publication: February 28, 2012

Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, E-Book

Synopsis: After escaping into the wilds and leaving Alex behind Lena struggles to adjust to life on the Outside. Slowly with the help of a group of fellow Invalids, Lena begins to move on from her life with Alex and starts to find purpose in joining the Resistance. When Lena gets kidnapped with Julian, son of the president of the DFA (Delira-Free America), they must work together to escape and slowly they begin to fall in love. On their journey Lena learns more about her mother and what really happened to her, as well as secrets about her kidnapping, leaving her questioning who she can trust and questioning her part in the Resistance.

My Review:

In most cases sequels following books as fantastic as Delirium are a bit of a letdown, nothing ever quite matching the magic of the first book. Pandemonium is no exception, while I absolutely loved Delirium this novel most definitely paled in comparison. That's not to say it wasn't a great novel, because it was, full of action and surprising twists and turns Pandemonium is by no means a dull novel, it just didn't live up to the first one.

While Julian wasn't a bad character I had a hard time making myself care about him, after Lena and Alex's heart stopping romance and watching him give his life for Lena to escape I just couldn't accept Julian. Lena is a very different character than in the first novel, not necessarily in a bad way but the death of Alex and living on the Outside has made Lena into a hard and stoic character. Lena's change in character and the addition of Julian made it harder for me to relate to her.

However I adored the plot of this novel. Full of twists and turns I never saw coming and intense action, the pacing of the novel was absolutely perfect. I loved how the novel switched between the current Lena, working for the Resistance, and old Lena, surviving in the Outside with the rest of the Invalids. The cryptic ending of the novel leaves me wishing the final book in the trilogy was out! I'm interested to see how Oliver wraps this series up.

I didn't hate Pandemonium but I did find myself a little disappointed. Lauren Oliver is a fantastic author and I love her writing but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I'm still excited to see how the next book plays out and hopefully that one will bring back some of the magic of Delirium.

3/5