Requiem For A Dream

"How can someone have the power to shatter you to dust

--and also to make you feel so whole?"

--Lauren Oliver, Requiem

Genre: YA Dystopian

Publisher: HarperTeen, 400 pages

Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Source: ARC won from Epic Reads

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Goodreads Description

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. 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

My Thoughts

*WARNING* PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DELIRIUM OR PANDEMONIUM, SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THOSE BOOKS

Oofta. Not gonna lie. I did my re-read of Delirium and Pandemonium in prep for Requiem. I am so happy I did! I absolutely was obsessed with re-living Lena's story and all the emotions were still there if not accentuated. It was lovely. But it also didn't make it any easier. The agony of the heart-wrenching situations were just as poignant and painful the second time around. Call me a masochist but I loved it. Every heart pounding second of it. 

So. Requiem. This book is a beautiful final piece to the Delirium puzzle. I refuse to really delve too much into the plot because I do not want to ruin any moment or aspect of this book to the huge following that these books have. The only thing I will say, which the synopsis says, is that it is told in alternating perspectives of Hana and Lena. This was amazing. It was so clever to give us an insight into the mind of Hana and what was going on since Lena left. That is all. Shortly, I absolutely loved it. It had every single element of a dystopian book that I look for. The heart pounding urgency of the situation at hand. The 'down with the man' attitude of the characters that make them stand up for what they believe in. The sacrifices the characters make in order to give everything they have to rebel against the oppression that they face. The fight. The despair. The hopelessness. But ultimately...the love. This books highlights the ugly truth and the blinding beauty that love encompasses. 

The writing, again, is breathtaking. The inner monologues of the characters always tend to have these deep, profound passages that I find myself reading over and over again. When I find these, it's almost like a little treasure hidden within the text of the book. It makes the journey that much more meaningful. Everything in this book just felt so real. The war is real. The hopelessness of the situations felt so real. The emotions were raw. The actions were honest. The characters get even better if you can even imagine that. The depth and emotions the characters were feeling had me right alongside them the entire time. My chest hurt. My heart pounded. My eyes cried. I was a wreck in such a good way. Brilliant writing does that to you. It takes you away and transfers you right into the story. Their pain is your pain. Their happiness, your happiness. I cannot get enough of books like this. Brilliance. 

The book in it's entirety is amazing. Our characters go through so much. They fight so hard for love and what they believe it, it is inspiring. I know this is a shorter review than normal and I feel like it's not my best work but seeing as it is the final book and is hasn't come out yet, I just cannot talk in more detail because I just could not be okay with myself if I took away any of the story from those who haven't read it. It was an phenomenal end to this breathtaking story...I only wish I had a little more time with these characters. :)