Artemis
Written on Feb 18, 2016
Nice short companion piece
In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure.
At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart . . . In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought.
Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth.
- ISBN10 1444739921
- ISBN13 9781444739923
- Publish Date 19 December 2011
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher John Murray Press
- Imprint Two Roads
- Edition Digital original
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 62
- Language English
Reviews
Nice short companion piece
Kim Deister
Written on Dec 26, 2014
Hana becomes much more of a three-dimensional character in this book. We see much more than the fun-loving, rebellious girl that we met in the first book. I thought she was a bit superficial in the first book so it was nice to see that wasn't necessarily so. Even when she acts in ways that are not necessarily positive, it shows her passion, the same passion that is excised with the "cure."
My Recommendation
Although this novella is considered #1.5 in the series, I read it after the last book in the trilogy and I think that that is best. Otherwise, it could ruin a bit of the surprise of Requiem.
clementine
Written on Aug 8, 2012
Normally I would find this sort of thing gimmicky, but it kind of worked. I'm of two minds here, really - on the one hand, I think that Hana was a more interesting narrator than Lena, with more to offer (which I do realize contradicts what I said in my review of Delirium, but I did feel like this limited experience of Hana's POV was more poignant), but I also think that if you're going to write the same story from two different POVs, the voices better vary wildly, and they didn't. So, it fell a little short for me in that regard.
Hana was far more interesting in this book, because she comes across are much more vulnerable and confused, whereas in Delirium she was presented as this confident girl with a rebellious streak who knew what she was doing. The two sides of her meshed well, I think - I didn't feel like she was so completely different that Oliver failed to reconcile the two characters in a believable way.
But, yeah, it really threw me off how similarly she and Lena were written. Obviously Oliver has her own writing style - which, I must say, is quite a pleasure to read - but that works better in books set in totally different worlds. When she's recalling the same events in the same world through the voices of two characters who are best friends, it does NOT work.
Kelsenator
Written on Jun 22, 2012
This short story is set during the time when Lena and Hana aren’t talking to each other, shortly after Lena goes to her first party. It tells Hana’s view of things during that period of time. Since it is short, I won’t say too much about it, but Hana definitely has more worries in her life than I would have thought.
Hana is matched with Fred, an already cured boy whose family is very big in the city. Fred had a wife before, but there’s no saying what happened to her, which does worry Hana a bit. She feels so closed in and just wants to stretch out from her “perfect” life, and what everyone expects of her, especially her family. Which is another reason she goes to these parties held in secret at night. They let her feel free and she can experience something different and exhilarating before she gets cured.
I would suggest reading this after reading Delirium, or else you’ll probably be pretty lost as to what’s going on. Definitely the prefect things for me to read just before Pandemonium, since it’s been a while for the first book.
I liked this book, but am giving it a three, it didn’t blow me away but was a nice short read. Recommended for fans of the series, and anyone wanting to read a Dystopian book.
notajammiedodger
Written on Apr 12, 2012
Jo
Written on Mar 22, 2012
I am a huge fan of Lauren Oliver's Delirium series, so when I heard this short story eBook was being released just before Christmas last year, I had to get it. Anything set in this world - hell, anything written by this author is something I need to read. And wow! Complete shocker.
Hana is Lena's best friend, and this short story runs alongside the events of Delirium, telling certain events from Hana's point of view. In Delirium, Lena and Hana fall out when Hana is being too risky, going to underground illegal parties, and Lena worries about getting caught. This story takes place during that period where they are no longer talking, and shows us what Hana got up to while apart from Lena.
I found it fascinating! Hana is going to these illegal parties and experiencing attraction to boys for the first time. And there is a boy. But Hana is so unsure, it's hard to shake off what you have been taught your whole life, and no matter how good things feel, she is constantly questioning what is happening and what she feels, and worrying about what will eventually happen. And she is seriously missing Lena, and desperately wants to talk about everything she's feeling, but Lena seems to not want to know anymore.
I found it interesting to see how in this dystopian society lust and love can still be separate (as well as one, I suppose) before the cure. Teens are experimenting at these parties, and it was strangely surprising to see that these parties mostly fueled lust more than love. I just assumed there would be a lot more love appearing when it was so wrong.
Also, I loved how the question of how the people of this society thought/felt about gay people. It's just scary to think that the cure can remove so much, that you can go from being gay to feeling completely indifferent to the fact you will end up in a heterosexual relationship, when that is just not who you are. It's just wrong. It's sickening. It's like the cure isn't just stopping people from loving, it's also "fixing" them. It disgusts me that in this society, where love of any kind is wrong - familial love or romantic love - those who are gay are "Unnatural". Oh my gosh, it makes my blood boil. You would have thought that in a world where love is despised, everyone who loves, no matter what their sexuality is, is bad, but no, there are levels, and to love your own sex is even worse. That is wrong. I also want to point out that it's quite clear, through Hana's opinions, that these aren't the views of Oliver, it's the views of the awful society that these characters live in, and it's treated well. It's a very small section of this story, but my reaction was overwhelming, and I'm sure many people would react the same - the way Oliver intended.
The ending of Hana's story almost killed me! This story covers Hana and Lena's friendship getting back on track, and stops before the end of Delirium. But the end of this story is almost as shocking as the ending of Delirium! I literally gasped out loud! I would never have guessed what was to come. I cannot BELIEVE what I read. It has changed my entire view on Hana! It's just... wow. I seriously hope we see Hana in Requiem, the third book in the series, because it would be incredible! It's going to be anyway, but with Hana back in the picture, it would be unbelievable! Oh, I am so excited for the third book! Fans of this series, you definitely have to read this story, because the twist... you need to read it! Brilliant story! Highly recommended to fans!
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Feb 15, 2012