De wereld waarin Lena (18, ik-figuur) opgroeit, ziet liefde als een ziekte. Lena heeft de leiding van het verzet op zich genomen. Haar tegenstandster blijkt haar vroegere vriendin Hana te zijn. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.
I liked the book pretty well. What I didn't like was that there wasn't a real ending as far as the love triangle, which was one of my main reasons for reading the book. Julian kept saving Lena over and over again, and when Alex finally became less of a prick and said that he loved her, and would find her again, the book ended. Sort of made me wonder if there was going to be another book in the series. I did like the trilogy, and would read it again. I still like the Matched Trilogy best, as far as name adult trilogies that have to do with dystopia and love.
I love the alternating points of view from Lena to Hana. The juxtaposition of the war Lena is fighting, with all the danger and narrow escapes, against the silent struggle Hana has as a cured, paired, soon-to-be wife, heightens the sense of urgency and necessity for rebellion and revolution. Of course, I was hoping throughout that they would meet up and somehow reconcile. And we sort of get that - but it's much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Because Hana is cured, after all, but the hints of her not being totally cured and the horrors that she is uncovering mean that her choices are not all according to the rules. I love that she is instrumental in the final battle. After seeing her struggle every second chapter, that little bit of fight means so much.
But as for Lena - her tragic love story continues, and only …
I love the alternating points of view from Lena to Hana. The juxtaposition of the war Lena is fighting, with all the danger and narrow escapes, against the silent struggle Hana has as a cured, paired, soon-to-be wife, heightens the sense of urgency and necessity for rebellion and revolution. Of course, I was hoping throughout that they would meet up and somehow reconcile. And we sort of get that - but it's much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Because Hana is cured, after all, but the hints of her not being totally cured and the horrors that she is uncovering mean that her choices are not all according to the rules. I love that she is instrumental in the final battle. After seeing her struggle every second chapter, that little bit of fight means so much.
But as for Lena - her tragic love story continues, and only gets more tragic as Alex reappears in her life after she thought he was gone, after she found another love. And worse, Alex seems to hate her now. She wants to go back to Alex, but she doesn't want to hurt Julian, and Alex doesn't seem to want her anyway. She struggles to find her place in this new and shifting territory, to suppress her seemingly doomed love for Alex, and I love the way the interactions between the two boys mirror her inner struggle. There are a lot of symbolic gestures in this plotline, and when it finally comes to a conclusion, I was relieved that Lena could find peace and love, and that she felt that as she was fighting for the right to choose, she was able to be happy with the choices she was allowed to make.
The rest of the story - the fighting and danger - is beautifully written. It feels so immediate, every time the characters go into battle. Twice, people are carrying bombs to be detonated at a certain point, and Lena worries that the bomb will go off in the carrier's bag. I think that's symbolic of how the whole story goes - they plan things, but with all the variables and the danger, they never know when the whole thing will blow up in their faces - and not just in terms of the fighting but also in terms of all the relationships. Some of the people we've grown to love end up dying, and the others are left to cope with these expected but still shocking losses.
Definitely a thrilling conclusion to a really great trilogy!
