Review Detail

This is one of my favorite dystopian books. I thought it was really interesting and creative the format of the book. The chapters alternated between events that happened "Now" and "Then". "Then" was the time right after Adam's death and her escape, and "Now" was the new version of herself and the new life she created. While it may have been slightly confusing in the beginning, I thought that after just two or three chapters, I had gotten into the pattern and seriously enjoyed it.

The character development and the new Lena were so much better than "Delirium". I feel like she was a lot stronger and independent in the book, which made me like her so much more. The side characters were also very likable, with more dimension than meets the eye.

The description of the novel sounded very depressing and heart-rending, but then when I started reading it, I realized that it was more empowering than anything else. I felt proud for Lena, and I just loved everything she was doing. I agreed with most of her actions and thoughts, and I thought that the way she thought about and missed Alex was just the ideal amount. I wasn't annoyed that maybe she wasn't worrying about him enough, or that she was thinking about him TOO much. It was just the perfect degree. There was the best combination of action, suspense and romance that was extremely thrilling.

The plot was fantastic, unbelievably exciting, and unlike the first novel, there was actually a main conflict and twisting, unexpected roads. I had anticipated the ending, the sort of conclusion I hoped for and wished extremely hard that it occurred - AND IT DID!