Requiem - Lauren Oliver

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

Synopsis: 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.

I've got to be honest and admit that I wasn't as smitten with this series as everyone else seems to be. I loved the premise of love being considered a contagious disease. It got me really excited to read Delirium. I think I just had a classic case of extremely high hopes, and they just weren't met. I won't go into detail about the particular things that rubbed me the wrong way, though, since I don't want to turn anyone off from reading these because Lauren Oliver is SO cool. She is awesome on Twitter, and I went to an author panel she was a part of, and she was by far my favorite. She just rocks. I wish I would have liked the Delirium series more.

Due to my loving Lauren Oliver and all the hype surrounding these books, I continued reading even after Delirium didn't rock my socks off. I also love all things dystopia, so I was rooting for Pandemonium to improve my feelings toward the series, which it definitely did. I've heard mixed reactions about book 2, but I liked it a lot. Lena finally grew a pair in my eyes. I liked her a lot more, so I enjoyed reading about her more--plus I have a major crush on Julian. Sorry! 

Requiem started out as my favorite of the trilogy. I'm a sucker for sticking it to "the man," and government vs. the people. Characters who want their freedom are automatically cooler than your average protagonist. I also enjoyed the varying points of view in this one, which was done SO well. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave you with what fell flat for me, just so you are warned. The ending of the book--and the series--leaves a lot open. I feel like I don't know what happened to several characters I was interested in. But by all means, please enjoy these books more than I did.

Top Ten Tuesday - Shut Up, I'm not Crying...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books That Turned Me Into a Sobbing Mess

1. If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

I haven't cried this hard over a book, possibly ever. And (un)luckily it was around my brother, who happens to laugh at me every time I cry. But still, this book is so powerful that it's hard not to sob.

2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I cried through the. whole. book. Every time I thought I could stop, something else just crashed into me.

3. Black City by Elizabeth Richards

This one sneak attacked me. All of a sudden, everything just built up and then whoa, waterworks.

4. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Still not sure what exactly it is about this book that presses my emotional buttons. Guess it just hits really close to home.

5. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

You go into this one knowing it's going to crush your soul. But you go through it because you know it will be beautiful.

6. In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Page one. Military funeral. Cue tears.

7. Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

I don't handle abuse well.

8. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Noah and Echo go through so much. It's hard not to get emotional watching them struggle.

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

When Harry goes into the woods. I couldn't even see the page.

10. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
 
So many military books right now. Every single one gets me. In this one, it was his mom. 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is: Top Ten Posts that would give the BEST picture of YOU (as a reader and a person)

I've been helping Hannah keep up her blog this summer and haven't actually made 10 blog posts altogether, so I'd actually like to share some of her blog posts that I've especially enjoyed and think really give a good picture of who she is...basically awesomeness! Ok, here goes, in alphabetical order:

1. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

2. Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

       

 

                                   3. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

       

5. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

6. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

       

7. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

8. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

      

9. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

10. Wildefire by Karsten Knight

      

All the book covers are linked to Hannah's post, instead of their page on Indiebound. Some of her reviews reflect my thoughts exactly, some do not. I've read some of these books, but not all. However, all of these posts will make you want to read every single one while giving a peak into Hannah's soul. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Let me know your thoughts!

Armchair BEA: Best of 2012 SO FAR and Giveaway!

I'm combining today's giveaway and best of 2012 post. I'm going to talk about my favorite books so far this year and then I'll give away one of them!

So let's start with the absolutely stunning debut of Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky. Absolutely brilliant - dystopia mixed with fantasy mixed with adventure mixed with Perry, add a strong heroine and squeeze in a few cannibals and some acid rain and you have yourself a fabulous book. It also helps that the writing is flawless.

This has also been an incredible year for contemporaries - four of my favorites are contemps. The first is the lyrical Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. The writing is exceptional and the story is so wonderful. It's a great, artistic book. And then of course, Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard. Amazing. Makes me want to drop everything and just be a global wanderer. Then there's M. Molly Backes debut, The Princesses of Iowa. I wasn't expecting a lot from this book and it totally shook my foundation. I've been pushing it on to everyone I can - especially my high school English teacher friends. I haven't reviewed it yet, but Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols, out in July, is another superb Echols novel. Her books are always quick to be my favorites and Such a Rush is second only to Going Too Far in my heart.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. Assassin nuns. 'Nuff said.

I've always loved Robin Hood stories, but Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is my new favorite. Will Scarlet will never be a man in my mind ever again. And that portrayal of Robin is pretty dang dreamy. \

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (which happens to be hitting shelves today) is high fantasy at its best. This book was so beautiful and so vivid. It's hard to believe that this world doesn't exist somewhere.

Finally, this is a year for the second book. Lots of sequels out - some have lived up to the first book - but these two surpassed the introduction and have earned their place in my favorites. The first is Timepiece by Myra McEntire. I loved Emerson's voice in Hourglass so I was worried about the POV switch. But that risk just made this series unique and that much stronger. Finally, Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver was an exceptional sequel. Delirium was good, not great. Pandemonium was superb.

OH and let's not forget The Selection by Kiera Cass. I may or may not be mildly obsessed with this book...

So there you go. My top books of 2012 so far. Now, I'll be giving away one of these books - if you win, you get to choose. Any listed above are up for grabs. Must be 13 to enter and it's international as long as Book Depository ships to you. This is going to be a quick contest and it will be closed to entries at 12:01 AM on Sunday, June 10. I'll contact the winner by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours or I wil choose a new winner.

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March Top 5

March was a busy month for me. I worked a ton and spent quite a bit of time working on applications and searching for a future. Compared to February, I've read so little. But there were some really amazing books in there. If you want to see my list of books read this month you can click on the "Read in 2012" tab - but here are the ones I've chosen as my top five reads for this month.

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass

I'm obsessed. OBSESSED. I read the book and then spent the rest of the day looking at pictures from the cast and the set. I so hope the CW picks up this show because I need fuel for my obsession. I'm just so in love with these characters. I'll have a review up soon - and the book will be released on April 24 and I HIGHLY recommend that you pick it up!

2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Oh my gosh. Delirium was great, but Pandemonium blew me away. It was so good, so intense, and if possible this ending was way more cruel than the first book, which, who knew that was even possible? Read my review here. 

3. A Touch Morbid by Leah Clifford

Same thing with the Delirium series. I really liked A Touch Mortal, but in A Touch Morbid, Leah Clifford really upped her game. Plus, the Luke-Kristen story that develops here - um, I'd like more of that please. Read my review here. 

4. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

I've travelled quite a bit and this book just captures the magic of discovering new places perfectly. It makes you want to get up and go find friends, see awesome things, gather experiences. Read my review here. 

5. Dreamless by Josephine Angelini 

Well, this isn't out until the end of May, but once I had a copy, no way was I waiting. And holy wow, it was just as epic as Starcrossed. I'm so in awe of this series. Awesome awesome awesome. I'll have a review up in a couple weeks.

And my honorable mentions (because these books rocked my face off too).

 

What were your top reads this month?

Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

Synopsis: I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, 
pushing aside thoughts of Alex, 
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, 
push, 
push, 
push, 
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. (From Goodreads)

Seven pages in and I started crying. 360 pages later, I was still crying. The day after I finished reading I was running into Delirium and Pandemonium things all over Twitter and Tumblr - and every single time I started to tear up. By the end of the day I was pretty sure I was broken. That's the only explanation - Lauren Oliver broke me.

But that's okay, because it's so worth it. Delirium was amazing, but Pandemonium absolutely blew me away. After being completely shattered by Delirium, I was a little anxious to pick this one up. Even after I started reading, I had to go through it slowly and put it down frequently because a lot of it was really hard and intense (and you guys, I'm not joking, I'm tearing up AGAIN writing this and thinking about it). I was mostly impressed with the way the book was narrated. It alternated from what happened to Lena right after Delirium ended and where she ended up - or what she's doing at the current moment. It took a few pages to catch on to where she was and what she was doing but once I did, it was really rich to read the result of her transformation along with the actual transformation.

I wasn't completely thrilled with the new characters that were introduced, they kind of fell to the wayside for me. But really this book is so Lena-focused that it didn't bother me too much. I did find it hard to like Julian, but I do think that Lauren Oliver did a wonderful job writing his character. I had a preconceived notion about the way this book would go down, but every thought I had was instantly shattered and surpassed. Now, I'm at a total loss to even guess where book three will go - I can only imagine it will be somewhere dark, heart-wrenching, and incredible.

I'm going to stop before I start giving things away. I will say this - if you've read it PLEASE email me or DM me on Twitter because I'm dying here. I need to talk about things or cry on someone's shoulder...