Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Summary:
They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge. (from GoodReads)

Review:
When I read Pandemonium I was dying to finish the trilogy. That book left off on a huge cliffhanger and I had to see what happened next. The beginning of Requiem was amazing but the ending left me disappointed.

It was easy to get back into the world of Requiem. even though I haven't read these books in awhile. It pretty much begins were Pandemonium left off and Lena is still in the woods with the other Invalids.

I was surprised at the change in narration - Lena's friend Hana now gets chapters dedicated to her. I actually really liked them. Hana has had the operation but she still doesn't think or feel like the others. She is being forced to marry the soon-to-be mayor of Portland, Maine so she's always in the spotlight. Since Lena is mostly in the forest throughout Requiem, I actually enjoyed Hana's sections more. It's a nice change of pace and I loved seeing Hana try to figure out some mysteries surrounding her fiancé.

It's hard to discuss this book because I don't want to give anything away but there are some big revelations throughout Requiem and some issues will be resolved. However, as I was reading I got the sense that this could be a filler novel before the actual conclusion. When I finished Requiem, I was so disappointed because it just kind of ends. There's no meaningful resolution to the romance and we never find out what happens to the characters. That's not okay! I don't mind ambiguity but the reader is just left hanging. Is there another book? There really should be. I also enjoyed the short chapter from Alex's point-of-view but that's not enough!

It's so funny examining this trilogy as a whole because the second book, Pandemonium, is definitely my favorite and that never happens. Remember the middle book syndrome? I don't know what to think of this. I love the story so much and I wish we were given more resolution. I still love Lauren Oliver but I'm not satisfied!

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library.

2013/HarperCollins/391 pages.