Requiem (Delirium Trilogy, #3)

by Lauren Oliver

BONUS: read an exclusive short story about Alex, Lena's first love - only in the first hardcover printing.

The final instalment in the internationally bestselling Delirium trilogy.

It is the rule of the Wilds

You must be bigger, and stronger, and tougher.

A coldness radiates through me, a solid wall that is growing, piece by piece, in my chest. He doesn't love me

He never loved me.

It was all a lie.

'The old Lena is dead', I say, and then push past him. Each step is more difficult than the last; the heaviness fills me and turns my limbs to stone.

You must hurt, or be hurt.

Lena can build the walls, but what if there's no one left to take them down? The powerful, heartbreaking conclusion to one of the most eagerly awaited, talked-about series is here.

• ISBN10: 0062014536
• ISBN13: 9780062014535
• Publish Date: 5 March 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

Requiem I have such mixed opinions on this last book in the Delirium series. I have enjoyed the series, but the pacing and story in this one seemed to stall a little bit. And the ending... I just don't know how I feel about it!
 
I liked the back and forth POVs between Lena and Hana. Hana's character is so different now, almost a faded version of herself. The foundation is still there and there are still sparks of the Hana that we met in Delirium but the "cure" has dampened those parts of her that made her who she was. Yet another moment that makes you question just how much of a price is worth paying for a supposedly stable society. We also learn some secrets about Hana, things I had suspected but now we know for sure. That certainly added a twist to her character. Lena has struggles of her own and the changes her character has undergone between the first and this last book are pretty amazing. She is no longer the meek girl she once was.
 
However, there were times when it felt like this was more Hana's story than Lena's. It often seemed as if Lena's story just wasn't progressing very much. The dynamic between her and her relationships just seemed off, with neither of her love interests really pushing forward too much. There was just no real resolution there and I wish their had been.
 
The ending... I felt like it was too open-ended, too many questions left unanswered about the world, about Lena, about her mother, about Alex, about Julian. This was the last book and I feel like it ended with as many open questions as it started.
 
My Recommendation
 
As a standalone, I don't know that I would necessarily recommend this book. But if you have read the series, it is definitely a must read to get some resolution. 

[catiebug]

I was so excited to finish this series and see how it all came together. But I was also hesitant because I heard so many mixed things about how the series ended.

Now that I've read it, I can understand why some people didn't like it. I, however, loved it. It had such a powerful message and leaves you to be able to play out the after on your own. But I feel like it's all also obvious how things worked out.

I love Lena. I loved seeing her grow through out the series. She grow so much from the first book to the last that I felt like I was reading about a different character. She became so strong and learned so much about herself. She was so dependent on the world telling her who she was that she was too scared to question things and figure it out on her own. In the end, however, she did.

(show spoiler)[I'm so glad she ended up with Alex. While I loved Julian, I just feel he wasn't for her. I feel like her relationship with Julian was important for her to figure out more about herself and what she believed. But Alex and her have such a great relationship. For most of the book he was kind of a jerk, but it was understandable. He helped Lena get out, and he was busted for it. Thrown in the Crypts and treated badly. Then when he finally gets out and finds the girl he loves, the one thing that kept him going, he sees her with someone else. However, after he realizes that she does love him and that he doesn't want to lose her, the old Alex is back.] (hide spoiler)

I loved the ending the ending, but I'm so sad it's over. I will miss all the characters so much.

[neddieb]

WTF!!!! Did I miss something, like maybe a couple of more chapters, maybe the epilogue? Please tell me that I am! Please tell me that there is an ending to this whole story? Somebody, anybody???!!!! OMG- I am so f#%^*?g pissed right now!!! This has to be one of the worst ending to a series/trilogy that I have EVER read!!!! You know why, cause there is NO ENDING... I just got robbed! (You know, I went through this same incident once before, when I watched the finale of the Sopranos! What a disappointment.) Now we will never know what happened to Hana, Alex, Julian, Lena, and the resistance. I don't want to guess! Damn it I read this book with so much anticipation, it was such a well written and exciting book. There was so much going on near the end of the book, only to reach the end and literally find NO END! I deserve closure, I deserve an ENDING!!! The ending is what wraps up the story! You know - THE END!!! Okay im done ranting and raving, i am just getting more upset and more furious! I have nothing more to say, and to that this is my end - "The End".

[Vicki]

2.5 stars

[mbtc]

UG UG UG! Three books and it ends that way? Boo.

[Chelsea]

I was really looking forward to the ending of this series. I was hugely disappointed though. This was probably the worst ending to a book ever. It just ended. Right in the middle of the final war. We don’t know if anything gets resolved or if the characters even survive. We know nothing. An ending is supposed to tie up everything, maybe with some things not resolved but the major problem should be resolved. None of that happens in this book. The ending was stupid and lazy.

The plot was pretty bad as well. Lena can’t pick between either guys and when she does pick Julian all she does is try to make Alex jealous. You’re in the middle of a war girl! She became really whiny and annoying in this book. She wanted to leave behind this girl who was tortured because Alex talked to her. What kind of heroine are you? Not a very good one apparently. Hana was much better in this book. She actually grew and learned and whatnot like a real character is supposed to do. Julian was kind of just tossed aside in this book. His only purpose was making Alex jealous which didn’t even succeed. Alex is a big jerk which was really disappointing too. I liked him a lot in the first book, now I don’t like anyone.

This could have been such a good series and it just crashed and burned. Don’t even bother finishing it.

More reviews here!
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[KitsuneBae]

For the full review, please visit Thoughts and Pens

Lauren Oliver’s last book for the Delirium Trilogy was aptly titled as I literally lamented over this joke of a book. I am a die-hard fan of Lauren ever since I’ve read Before I Fall and Delirium. I have fallen inlove with the way she make poetry out of these books, so deep and poignant that you’d just want to lie down and relive the moments in your mind. But Requiem made me howl in rage. How did that beautiful poem turned into an insensible haiku? It was as if Lauren didn’t know how to end the story gracefully like she was somehow lost in limbo.

Pandemonium had ended in a thrilling cliffhanger when Lena discovered that Alex is still alive. And that ending made me expect a lot from this book. The days that I pondered on how it would be delivered was like I was on a pilgrimage. Only to realize in the end, that my whole purpose was for nothing.
More than anything else, Requiem’s plot was so shallow and dragging. Almost two thirds of the book was dedicated to either Lena’s musing about Alex or hers and the Invalids’ journey to this and that. I don’t have any problem if they need to undertake journeys as long it’s not overly done that it becomes boring. And I had had enough of that in the second book, thanks by the way.
And as if that wasn’t enough of a torture, we were also given unessential accounts of Hanna’s life like it was wholly important to the cause of the Invalids. Mind you, Lauren even failed to describe how Hanna should behave after her cure from amor deliria nervosa was unsuccessful.

Requiem’s character development was also stunted like things did not recover from the pandemonium that had taken place in book 2. Alex became a background character that without the nudges from the author, you’d forget that he was the one who set things in motion in Delirium. What about Julian Fineman, our hero in the second book? Well, since Requiem is all about Lena and Hanna, he was also reduced to a wallflower. And that goes the same for the other characters, disposable summer decorations.
To complement the boring character development, aside from being shallow and dragging, the plot was totally predictable. Well, there were twists planted along the way but I think these were done in a last attempt to save the whole thing from crumbling into pieces. Most unfortunately, Requiem is far from salvation as it ended with a striking disappointment. Yeah, open ending. As in literally, with plenty of unanswered questions, you know what I mean. It was like you endured all those to-die for heartaches, persevered the hardships and fought all those battles in books 1 and 2 for a BIG NOTHING. Nada.
There’s only one thing that I liked about this book and that was how Lena and her mother finally made up. At least, there was a bit of a drama there.

In an overall note, Requiem epically failed to deliver. And I hope Lauren would take time to ponder on things that make this book a major flop and not make the same mistake on her new book. Otherwise, I might settle for fan fictions which I think would make a far better conclusion to what should have been a grand series.

[Angie]

Well…that was a disappointment. Requiem is another unsatisfying conclusion to an otherwise great series. I fell in love with Delirium, and still enjoyed Pandemonium, although not nearly as much. I was hoping that the ending would return me to that initial love stage, but it didn’t. Honestly, all three books are extremely different. If it weren’t for the fact that they are the same series, I wouldn’t know that they are, since they each read totally different.

The POV once again has changed. This time it alternates between Lena out in the Wilds and Hana back in Portland. I oddly found Hana’s chapters more interesting. I use to think that the cured people would be robotic, but after reading Hana’s POV, I see that’s not entirely the case. They still have thoughts and feelings, but they seem more…detached, but aware. It’s almost like they know something is off, but convince themselves that it’s clarity. It’s hard to explain, but it’s just strange. But, then again, Hana may not be a typical cured.

Out in the Wilds, Lena and her companions just keep running into crisis after crisis. There’s no shortage of action, something completely missing from the first book, but it gets super repetitive. They reach a new homestead or safe house, regulators show up shooting, people die, then they move on to a new homestead or safe house. Lather, rinse, repeat. All the while Lena is using Julian for comfort while pining after Alex who seems to be bonding with another girl in their group. It was all very blah. Everything I loved about Delirium has just been lost.

The ending was probably the worst part of the finale, which makes it worse. I had to read the last few pages twice, because I thought I had missed something. There’s war and chaos and death everywhere, and then it just ends. It feels like a cliffhanger with the promise of a fourth book rather than an open ending. Absolutely nothing is resolved. It just ends. Did the Resistance overthrow the DFA? Who’s in charge now? Is Lena going to form a relationship with her mom? Does she end up with Julian, Alex, or neither? How are the cureds and uncureds going to live together? What happened to Hana? I have no idea!

It makes me so sad when a series starts out strong and leaves me with a feeling of utter excitement only to steadily head down hill and fizzle out. Requiem was almost three stars for me, but then that abrupt ending happened. I don’t mind open endings, but this one just feels unfinished.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

SPOILER ALERT

I loved this book!!!! I just loved it, the characters the way Lena felt and everything....except for the end, I read one page and everything until I get to the words "break down the walls", I read them, I turn the page...."Acknowledgements" my reaction:



then: WHAT?!



then: noooo!!!!



then: THIS CAN'T BE THE END!



finally: ok, I'll just try not to cry



and now I am like:



But I still loved the book, though I would have love to know with who Lena stays with.

[Amber]

While I don't think that Requiem is the strongest book in the series - that title goes to Pandemonium - I still really liked it and I am more than happy with the way things wrapped up. I think that Requiem could have been much more exciting if a few things had been adjusted, but overall it was a fantastic book! And yes, I cried.

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2013/02/requiem-by-lauren-oliver.html