Purposeful Pandemonium

5 out of 5 gnomes

Wow, what a sequel.  If you thought things were crazy in the first book, wait until you read this one.  Everything just plays out so intricately with all of the pieces coming together. 

This book shows more of what happens in the Wilds.  Lena essentially has the role of Alex in this book because she leaves the old Lena behind and has to survive in this foreign environment.  After the heart-breaking conclusion of the first book Lena has a lot to recover from.  This is no easy recovery either; she did a lot of damage to herself in the escape attempt and has much to grieve for. 

I think the format of the story is done very well because through most of the book the chapters alternate between Then and Now.  This allows you to see how exactly Lena became the person that she now is.  She slowly but surely becomes a real member of the group and the Resistance.  It's great to get a better glimpse of how exactly the Resistance operates. 

The leader of the group that finds her and takes her in is Raven.  Raven is a real hard-boiled woman who tries her hardest to keep everyone safe, together, and help them forget about the past.  Their commune type living arrangement shows Lena how hard it is out in the Wilds but also leads her to learn more of what exactly they are striving and fighting for.  I liked the characters of this group because they added some nice touches to the story and will undoubtedly play a larger role in the next book.

I love that Lena's character learns so much and is much more competent about the world.  The new assignment she has is not as easy as she first thinks and leads to a slew of complications.  These complications though help the reader see how much she has changed and leaned from her experiences. 

I like the mystery of it all because just when I thought I had a twist figured out, it turns out that I was wrong and there's actually much more to it than I imagined.  My only issue with Lena's character is that she seems to get knocked unconscious an awful lot.  Though head injuries aside I guess this actually adds to the air of confusion that Lena feels as the story unfolds.

Nothing in this world is as cut and dry as it first appears and once again Lena finds this out the hard way.  She is right in the middle of plans that are bigger then she even realizes.  In the midst of this plan though it seems that Lena may just have found love again and if I may paraphrase the great singer Meatloaf, Lena would do anything for love. 

Love, betrayal, and an ending that may just leave you cursing means that this book is a definite must read/buy/build a shrine for kind of experience.  I for one so cannot wait to see how this series ends because if the ending is any indication there is going to be some serious turmoil ahead for Lena and everyone that she loves.