Requiem: Book three of the Delirium trilogy

   After reading Delirium and Pandemonium, the first two books in Lauren Oliver's trilogy, I was so anticipating the finale, Requiem. Though the story line of this third novel was excellent, the anticipation high and well written, I have to admit to being extremely disappointed with the ending. Too many strings were left untied, too many questions left unanswered. In short, I felt as if the ending was very much rushed. I did not feel a sense of closure AT ALL with the end of the trilogy. And to be honest, that in itself made me feel as if I'd wasted time, and money, on reading this last book. What is the point of reading frantically to get to the end when there essentially is no end? SPOILER


SPOILER


     I was so excited to read some of the story from Hana's POV, and I love how Oliver showed the change the cure initiates, but how Hana wasn't fully cured, that she still held on to a piece of her old self. Now, whether or not Oliver was trying to show, when Lena and Hana finally see each other again, how Hana is different in her mind but can't show that on the outside, I don't know. But let me say this: Hana's last chapter was a complete rip off! I felt cheated out of all Hana had worked to uncover about herself when she was just walking down the street, with no closure to her story except that she let Fred die. Even worse, there was no closure between Lena and Hana! Just a "Thanks for saving my life, I've decided to tell you there's a bomb in your house so maybe you won't die!" They were BEST FRIENDS for goodness sake, you don't end that kind of storyline with something as cheap as simple partings.
     I also felt very cheated out of the Alex and Lena story. The basis of this story started around Lena AND Alex, and the fact that he got pretty much ignored throughout this novel, one we FINALLY have him back, kind of pissed me off. There were moments, yes, when Alex and Lena were alone together with strong emotions, but NOTHING like I wanted it to be. And the ending between them? That was about at cheap as it gets! "I never stopped loving you, but I have to go help tear down this wall now, find me later?" So NOT how I expected their reconnection to be like.
     Basically, the whole story EXCEPT the ending was excellent! Unfortunately, the ending of a book can make or break it, and I felt as if this one broke, not only the book, but the entire trilogy. This was an ending you MAYBE expect to see in a book that isn't concluding a series, but even if it wasn't, I would have a hard time referring Requiem to another reader. And that sucks, because I absolutely loved Delirium and Pandemonium! Maybe Oliver will surprise us with a continuation of the trilogy? It's a long shot, I know, but surely she won't leave her fans so disappointed!