Review by Booklist Review
Following Delirium (2011) and Pandemonium (2012), this trilogy ender changes things up by splitting the narrative into two first-person perspectives: Lena, who continues to fight for freedom with the Invalids in the Wilds, and Hana, Lena's old best friend, who was cured of amor deliria nervosa (aka love) and is closing in on her arranged marriage to the city's rotten new mayor. Lena's story grinds through the motions a bit, with a somewhat forced love triangle (or square?) alternating with various resistance maneuvers starring our band of scrappy heroes. Hana's story line, though, is a winner, bringing back to the fore what was so inspired about the first volume the idea that longing is in itself something important to long for. This is one of the premier preoccupations of paranormal romance, and no one has distilled it as cannily as Oliver. The happy/angry, wealthy/poor balance of both plotlines is satisfying, as is their final collision. And is there a theme more perfect for YA readers than choosing what you want from life rather than being told what to do? HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This hugely successful trilogy should go out with a sizable bang, including advertising, appearances, a mobile campaign, and plenty of good old-fashioned chatter.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
In the final book in the trilogy (Delirium, rev. 3/11; Pandemonium, rev. 3/12), fighting between the resistance and the regulators escalates to the brink of war. Within the walled cities, officials consolidate power over the "cured" population with even greater restrictions. Outside in the Wilds, the resistance builds among those who escaped the cure, the procedure that prevents amor deliria nervosa: love. Oliver deftly portrays both worlds through the parallel stories of Lena and her best friend, Hana. Struggling for food and shelter and hiding from the deadly regulators, Lena and her friends make the dangerous trek north to join with other refugees in the sharply drawn setting of the Wilds. Lena also wrestles with her feelings for her first, passionate love, Alex, miraculously returned yet deeply damaged, and for gentle, patient Julian, now at her side. Back in Portland, Hana prepares for her wedding to soon-to-be-mayor Fred Hargrove in the polished but empty society of the cured. Hana worries that the cure hasn't worked perfectly for her; her feelings are "not eradicated completely...but like shadows," and she cannot forget her worst memory -- that she betrayed Lena and Alex. Tension builds as Oliver drives both narratives inexorably toward both the climactic battle and a dramatic meeting of the two girls. Fans of the trilogy will be rewarded. lauren adams (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fraught with high-stakes action and gripping emotion, the final chapters of Lena Haloway's journey will have readers breathlessly turning the pages. But it is not Lena's story alone this time around. Her story alternates with that of Hana, Lena's "cured" best friend, lending depth and intrigue to the novel through the latter's firsthand account of life in a world vaccinated against the destructive powers of love. Hana struggles to come to terms with both her role in Lena's disappearance and her own upcoming marriage to a powerful and increasingly frightening young man. Having fled to the Wilds with a band of resistance fighters that includes the only two men she's ever loved, Lena is faced with struggles of her own. Now that the government can no longer deny the existence of the Invalids, revolution is inevitable, and Lena must reconcile her passion for the rebel cause with her deeply conflicted heart if she hopes to survive. A soldier, a lover, a cousin and a friend, Lena is a rich and achingly human heroine whose strength and vulnerability will earn her a permanent place in readers' hearts. Before starting, readers should turn off their cellphones and wipe their schedules clean, because once they open the book, they won't be able to stop. A dystopian tour de force. (Dystopian romance. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
