Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver

Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 375
Age Group: Young Adult (13-18)
Recommended For Fans Of: Suzanne Collins, Lauren Oliver, Gabrielle Zevin
Rating: 4 Stars

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. (GoodReads)

Pandemonium starts right after Lena leaves the inside for a life in the Wilds. The story alternates between 'then': her time surviving in this raw, new world, and 'now', as one of the Resistance's inside peeps. It might take a little while to get into it, but Lauren Oliver's winning prose and simple voice take a whirlwind spin on Lena's story as she tries to deal with the ache of losing Alex and the new and most very different love interest. 

And woah. He is a great love interest, let me just tell you. Julian is just a Fine Man. *Wink Wink*

Lena comes again stronger and even more determined that when we met her in Delirium. Though we miss the magic and intrigue that she had while living inside the border, Oliver manages to intertwine and entertain even as we move into a very different setting. There's a new set of characters: Raven, the stoic girl who leads their ragtag band; Sarah, talkative and ravaged by the Resistance; Tack, a guy whose got a bit of an emo/angry side. 

At first I was hesitant to read Pandemonium: as you can see, I've waited many many months to finally get my hands on it. But I never regretted it, especially when we got to the ending. That ending is explosive, man. You might just have to read it to get to the end. And don't you dare catch my turningtothelastpagebecausethispartisboring-itis. It will burn your eyeballs. :)