Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Contemporary

Paperback: 470 Pages

Published: October 25, 2010

Series: None

Rating:★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

With this stunning debut novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver emerged as one of today's foremost authors of young adult fiction. Like Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Gayle Forman's If I Stay,Before I Fall raises thought-provoking questions about love, death, and how one person's life can affect so many others.

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

My Review:

I have heard many good things about this book so I decided to give it a shot. After reading I'm a little disappointed at the ending. I didn't expect the ending to turn out the way it did because I was hoping for more of a happy ending. But I guess the author had other things in mind.

Samantha is a young high school student who is a total bully. She is one of those popular girls who don't care about hurting others feelings and think they are the best since they are on the top of the pyramid. One day all of Sam's glory, popularity, and life is gone in the blink of an eye when she has a terrible accident. In the accident she dies, but when she wakes up the next morning alive and breathing she dismisses the accident as a dream. But when she realizes she's reliving her day, her reality suddenly changes. As she relives her day, she tries to change certain situations to prevent herself from dying that night. Instead she dies again and wakes up the next morning. This cycle continues for the next seven days until Sam learns her lesson and accomplishes what fate has planned for her.

Overall, this book was ok. Not amazing as I thought it would be and the hype for this book was over exaggerated. One thing that annoyed me was how I had to read about her day over and over again. Everyday it was the same and the story got really boring. It wasn't until the last few chapters where things started to pick up. However, the ending was bogus and I ended up not liking this book since it seemed like I wasted my time reading when I already knew how the book would end.

Requiem #3 by Lauren Oliver

Genre:Dystopian

Hardcover: 391 Pages

Published: March 5, 2013

Series: Delirium

            1. Delirium

            2. Pandemonium

            3. Requiem

Rating:★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has transformed. The nascent rebellion that was underway 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 infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.

As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena and Hana's points of view. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

My Review:

            I was extremely disappointed with this book. With the ending of Pandemonium, leaving me at a cliffhanger, I was super excited to read the final book. However, it didn't live up to my expectations. Here's what happened in one sentence: Lena leads Julian on to make Alex jealous. That's it. That's the whole book. Really!? I can't even...ahahajdhsdkjsh!

           

            What happened to Lena? She was such a strong independent force not to be reckoned with in the first book. She had a brain, she was smart, caring and had a good head on her shoulders. And now she goes and does something totally stupid, like leading on one guy in order for another to want her back. That was low I tell you! Very low! Oh and  Alex was a total JERK though out this book. He wanted to let Lena go so he decided to lie and hurt her every chance he got. Then when he was leaving he left a note for her saying he had to go, but he still loved her. Like what the heck!?

            Plot wise, I didn't think anything really changed. The rebellion was still going on, people were still dying, and we didn't find out if Lena survived. The ending was just stupid. I didn't know whether to throw the book across my room or to re-read the chapter again to see if I read it right. It seemed like the book ended with a cliff hanger, yet it seemed like there might be a spin off series. I don't know what happened with this series, but it wasn't what I expected. The first two books were good leading up to the climax, but the ending just killed this series for me. Plus there wasn't much character change from book 2 to book 3. 

Pandemonium #2 by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Dystopian

Hardcover: 329 Pages

Published: February 28, 2012

Series: Delirium

            1. Delirium

            2. Pandemonium

            3. Requiem

Rating:★★★★

Goodreads 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.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

My Review:

I loved Delirium as much as Lena loved Alex. And when the ending hit, my heart was split into two pieces. One, I wanted to push Lena into the woods and get her far away and second I wanted to jump into the book and throw Alex over the fence. It was a tragically sad ending, like Romeo and Juliet. I was anticipating a different end to Delirium. but I got something unexpected and I just wanted to throw my book across the room.

So what's happening now is...

       Lena is now living on her own in the Wilds, having a good feeling about being free. However, the loss of Alex weighs heavily on her heart. She doesn't know if he's alive or dead. Inside the walls, all hell is breaking loose and security is extra tight. While learning to live in the Wild, Lena becomes friends with the people who already live there. She has made new friends and even started to like a guy.

       This book takes place in "now'' and "then" which confused me a lot because  I was so excited to read the book that I never read the titles of the chapters. "Then" starts in August and shows Lena doing everything since she escaped and Alex was left behind. We get to see how heartbreaking it is for Lena to remember Alex. She is scared for his life and doesn't know what has happened to him. 

    "Now" is in March and takes place in New York. Lena has joined the resistance, has a fake identity and is living among the cured. She is attending Deliria-Free America (DFA) in order to keep an eye on the son of the head of the movement, Julian Fineman. During this crazy rally they both end up being kidnapped. Lena becomes very brave, strong, and fights for her life in order to live another day. There are many twists and turns during the kidnapping and Lena is strong through it all. 

      I loved the action and adventure that Oliver created. It was captivating and entertaining to read. However, the only issue I had with this book was the love triangle. I loved Delirium because the love between Alex and Lena felt real and believable. They made so many sacrifices to be together only to have another guy jump in to try to steal Lena's heart. Umm...No. I don't like love triangles and that's why this book fell a little short for me.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Dystopian

Paperback: 441 Pages

Published: February 7, 2012

Series: Delirium

            1. Delirium

            2. Pandemonium

            3. Requiem

Rating:★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

My Review:

This is one of those books where your eyes second guess what they are reading. Because how can anyone write such a wonderful story. It is filled with heart warming advice, love and friendship.

The story revolves around a girl named Lena who lives in a society where love is considered a disease--amor deliria nervosa. Ummm Say What!? I don't think I can ever imagine a life without love. Love is in so many things. It keeps people together and gives a reason for people to live. I will admit this story is very unsettling and tragic. I am completely awed at Oliver's creation of the plot, the characters, and most of all the politics that surround this society. This society will lay the smackdown on anyone who is in love. When teens reach a certain age the society brings them together and injects them with a serum that causes them to lose the emotion of love. Then the teens are programmed into the computer to pick the perfect match for them to marry.

Lena is next in line for this serum and she is scared out of her mind. She doesn't understand the politics behind this situation and she is stuck in the middle. Before her day arrives for the serum injection, she meets Alex. Ohh Man! Alexxxxxx! He is posing as a security guard in order to smuggle things out of the grounds and over the fence. He is an outsider and when Lena discovers this she is scared and intrigued. As there interactions continue they start to fall for each other. Lena discovers this disease called "love" isn't bad after all. She doesn't understand why she has to get rid of these feelings. But when the society finds out that there are outsiders posing as insiders all hell breaks lose. Lena and Alex must find a way to get over the fence before they both are hunted and trapped.

 Overall, a very fascinating topic to read. Oliver created a wonderful world with an intense topic. I mean they are literally going to remove LOVE from her brain. It is just so scary and disturbing that something like this can ever happen. The characters were fun to connect with and I enjoyed reading how their story unfolded.

Forsaken by Jana Oliver

Genre: Demons

Paperback: 422 Pages

Published: December 13, 2010

Series: The Demon Trapper's Daughter

            1. Forsaken

            2. Forbidden

            3. Forgiven

            4. Foretold

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

            Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on...

          Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get—even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.
          But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart—and her life?

My Review:     

          Forsaken is a really solid book. Seldom did I find anything not interesting or confusing in this book. It's fast paced, with great world building, and clever characters. The writing style was creative and it introduced the concept of demons beautifully. The imagery was very vivid and it let your imagination run wild. One of the things I really liked about this book was the creation of the characters. The female lead, Riley was strong, didn't have a cocky know-it-all attitude and wasn't afraid to admit she made mistakes. She's a fighter and wants to prove she can be one hell of a demon hunter, like her dad. I respect that in a character and can't wait to see how each one grows.

          My favorite character is Beck. He's a lot older for a YA book, but he's hilarious and sarcastic with an easy-going attitude. Which I happen to love in male characters. Who wants a male lead to be arrogant and cocky? And Denver Beck is anything, but cocky. Riley and Becks relationship starts off a little ruff. Beck is morally obligated to look after Riley after her fathers death. He takes it upon himself to make sure she has enough money and is safe (how sweet is that). He keeps away from Riley as much as he can unless when she needs help, but Riley is determined to tell him how she feels. Out of respect for his former mentor, Riley's father, Beck forces himself to suppress his feelings for Riley. By doing so, there is major tension created between Riley and Beck throughout the series. 

          The plot itself was very rich and new. This was my first demon novel so I found the idea of demons intriguing. My favorite part of the book was how all the demons were categorized by rank on how dangerous they are (1 being harmful  and 5 being deadly). Plus adding names to the numerous demons made the story more fun to read. My favorite was the Klepto-Fiends with their little bags and how they're attracted to shiny objects. I definitely recommend this series if you are looking for something cool to read.