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Annabel
Annabel
Annabel
Ebook63 pages54 minutes

Annabel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateDec 26, 2012
ISBN9780062237385
Annabel
Author

Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver is the cofounder of media and content development company Glasstown Entertainment, where she serves as the President of Production. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of the YA novels Replica, Vanishing Girls, Panic, and the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. The film rights to both Replica and Lauren's bestselling first novel, Before I Fall, were acquired by Awesomeness Films. Before I Fall was adapted into a major motion picture starring Zoey Deutch. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, garnering a wide release from Open Road Films that year. Oliver is a 2012 E. B. White Read-Aloud Award nominee for her middle-grade novel Liesl & Po, as well as author of the middle-grade fantasy novel The Spindlers and The Curiosity House series, co-written with H.C. Chester. She has written one novel for adults, Rooms. Oliver co-founded Glasstown Entertainment with poet and author Lexa Hillyer. Since 2010, the company has developed and sold more than fifty-five novels for adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. Some of its recent titles include the New York Times bestseller Everless, by Sara Holland; the critically acclaimed Bonfire, authored by the actress Krysten Ritter; and The Hunger by Alma Katsu, which received multiple starred reviews and was praised by Stephen King as “disturbing, hard to put down” and “not recommended…after dark.” Oliver is a narrative consultant for Illumination Entertainment and is writing features and TV shows for a number of production companies and studios. Oliver received an academic scholarship to the University of Chicago, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. www.laurenoliverbooks.com.

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Rating: 3.779069792248062 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really liked!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.ebook, 50 pagesPublished December 26th 2012 by HarperCollins
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a great perspective piece to understand Annabel better. I read it between chapters 22 & 23 of "Delirium". It fits nicely there if you're reading thses short stories chronologically.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Picked this to the first instead of the first book in the series. Best to start off with the first book instead of I guess. Maybe I'll reread it again to have a better understanding of the series
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a short story set in the “Delirium” dystopian series. It follows the mother of Rachel and Leah who is in prison for some reason. Despite how short the story is, it flashes back and forth in time to when Annabel is “cured” (nothing really explains what she is cured of – love, I think? There are hints, and my vague memory of other books in the series), then is matched with her husband. As noted in the summary, I don’t remember much of the rest of the series, and this one is so short, it’s hard to fill in the blanks with anything to refresh my awful memory. Overall the story was ok, but I would have liked to be able to fit it in with the rest of the series better. Plus, it didn’t really end, but this was meant to be .5 in the series, so set before the first book, so maybe the first book followed up? I don’t recall.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great short story, I enjoyed learning about Lena's mothers past.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I can't explain why but I LOVE Annabel. :)

    Okay. Since I got my sleep, I think I could explain now as to why I love Annabel. She is one strong woman. Even the THEN, she's strong and she do what she wants and believes in. Guess that's it. :) I don't know what to say. LOL.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    SPOILERS FOR DELIRIUM BELOWThis short story (it took me about ten minutes to read it) details two things, both in Annabel's perspective: how Annabel met Lena's father, Conrad (then) and how Annabel escaped from the Crypts (now). It's extremely short, too short, really; I want to read so much more from Annabel's perspective, because she's an awesome character, and there's so much I want to learn. How did her marriage with Conrad work (those who have read this story know what I mean)? Still, this is a good addition to the Delirium world, and I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm giving this one a 3.5, honestly.

    Annabell --

    There is so much going on here. I wanted so much more, and that was with devouring every single inch of extra we got. I love Lena's mom, and how much more of her we got to see. All the little defined pieces. I wish we'd gotten more, and I wish I knew already where it was going to go in the next book. I'm just. Yes. More. Please. The woman/mother who could not be stopped, who loved her children with every single fierce beat of her heart and had sock-dance parties. Tell me everything ever about her.


    Requiem Preview --

    I want to throw my hands up and flail them about so much. Lena. Alex. Hana. Joshua. Babies! I can't wait to see what happens to you, and I'm predicting so much bout what comes from this one, especially now that the two most important people in Lena's life have been Cured. Guh. More please? More please, now?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked that this character's point of view was explained. As Lena's mother, you want to know what was going through her head while she was trapped in the Crypts.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I like to read things in chronological rather than publication order, so I'm likely reading this series in a different order than most of the fans of the series have read it. This is the first book I've read, so I don't know anything about the world that Oliver has created...because of that I was a little lost as to what was going on. Since this book was obviously published after the first book, perhaps if I'd read it in that order I'd know more what was happening. I wish that the author had considered people who might read the series in this order and perhaps included a little more detail into the dystopian world she's created. That aside, I did like this short novella telling about what I've gathered is going to be the main character's mother and what happened to her. It did seem a bit of a cliffhanger, but I assume we will learn what happened next in the reading of the rest of the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    First of all, I read this book before I read Requiem, meaning I did not have to wait before I was able to read the last book of the series.

    This book was short but sweet but after I've read Requiem I realized there were so may things she (Lauren Oliver) touched upon in Annabel but made me have even more questions.

    For one. Beware Spoiler!!

    We learn that she ends up with the man she fancied. The man who she met only for a few seconds. In Requiem we discovered this man was cured.
    I would have loved to learn more about their relationship. What happened. How does it go when one of the couple is not cured and the other is.

    Lena's mum has been a source through all the books and I really wanted to know more. I do not understand why we got the story about the stolen purse which made me curious and then nothing at all.

    I still enjoyed it so 3 stars for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this peak into the Delirium world much more than I have some of the other "extras" being released. Annabel is a fascinating character to learn more about since we only see glimpses of her through Lena in the novels. In this short story (it's only about 35 pages), we learn about how Annabel met Lena's father and how she escaped. Very excited for Requiem!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Annabel's story is very similar to the way Pandemonium was told in that it takes place in the present - Annabel's time in the crypts and her escape - and then flashes back to the past - when Annabel fell in love and then was cured, and then how she continued to love - to help us understand why Annabel was the way she was, what she went through for love, and freedom. Annabel's story is filled with such sadness. And after all the things that she has gone through, Annabel still believes and will fight for the right to choose, for the right to be able to love freely. The similarities between Annabel and Lena's story to survive and thrive really surprised me. It was amazing to see how much Lena's personality coincided with her mothers; although Annabel did seem a but more innocent and naive, even though she had more street experience than Lena. It was great to get to know Lena's mother more. It helped me understand why she did the things she did throughout the series. I suggest that Annabel be read after Delirium. I'm glad that I did because everything just made more sense.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a fascinating look at Lena's mother and how she came to be in the Crypts. I ended up reading this after I read Delirium. I am glad that I didn't read it before reading Delirium because I feel it might have spoiled the story some.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I love Delirium. I really do. I haven't read the sequel yet but its in my TBR pile, waiting patiently. I also really love these add-on stories that author's have taken to releasng digitally. I love seeing the worlds expand, or getting behind the scenes sneak peeks, or views from other characters. However this story was super short. The story also tells how Lena's mother escaped her prison from Annabel's own perspective. The story alternates chapters based on what is happening currently (the break out plan) and the past (how Annabel met Conrad, Lean's father). There isn't a ton of detail and the plot doesn't add much of anything new. I am glad to have read it; it was entertaining and well written. My gripe is more with the price they are asking. $2.99 for a story this short is pretty insane, especially since you can easily enjoy the regular series without reading this. This book should have been .99. I wouldn't have gripped at $1.99 but you can get full legnth novels for $2.99 on Amazon quite frequently.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the story of Lana’s mother, Annabel, and her eventual imprisonment. I loved learning how she fell in love with Lana’s father. Even if their story was a bit far-fetched, I still liked it. It gave a great depth to the character we only glimpse in Delirium and Pandemonium. I hope Annabel plays a bigger role in the final book.  
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.ebook, 50 pagesPublished December 26th 2012 by HarperCollins

Book preview

Annabel - Lauren Oliver

Contents

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Excerpt from Requiem

Lena

Hana

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About the Author

Books by Lauren Oliver

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

now

When I was a girl, it snowed for a whole summer.

Every day, the sun rose smudgy behind a smoke-gray sky and hovered behind its haze; in the evenings, it sank, orange and defeated, like the glowing embers of a dying flame.

And the flakes came down and down—not cold to touch, but with their own peculiar sting—as the wind brought smells of burning.

Every night, my mother and father sat us down to watch the news. All the pictures were the same: towns neatly evacuated, cities enclosed, grateful citizens waving from the windows of big, shiny buses as they were carted off to a new future, a life of perfect happiness. A life of painlessness.

See? my mother would say, smiling at me and my sister, Carol, in turn. We live in the greatest country on earth. See how lucky we are?

And yet the ash continued swirling down, and the smells of death came through the windows, crept under the door, hung in our carpets and curtains, and screamed of her lie.

Is it possible to tell the truth in a society of lies? Or must you always, of necessity, become a liar?

And if you lie to a liar, is the sin somehow negated or reversed?

These are the kinds of questions I ask myself now: in these dark, watery hours, when night and day are interchangeable. No. Not true. During the day the guards come, to deliver food and take the bucket; and at night the others moan and scream. They are the lucky ones. They are the ones who still believe that sound, that voice, will do any good. The rest of us know better, and have learned to live in silence.

I wonder what Lena is doing now. I always wonder what Lena is doing. Rachel, too: both my girls, my beautiful, big-eyed girls. But I worry about Rachel less. Rachel was always harder than Lena, somehow. More defiant, more stubborn, less feeling. Even as a girl, she frightened me—fierce and fiery-eyed, with a temper like my father’s once was.

But Lena . . . little darling Lena, with her tangle of dark hair and her flushed, chubby cheeks. She used to rescue spiders from the pavement to keep them from getting squashed; quiet, thoughtful Lena, with the sweetest lisp to break your heart. To break my heart: my wild, uncured, erratic, incomprehensible heart. I wonder whether her front teeth still overlap; whether she still confuses the words pretzel and pencil occasionally; whether the wispy brown hair grew straight and long, or began to curl.

I wonder whether she believes the lies they told her.

I, too, am a liar now. I’ve become one, of necessity. I lie when I smile and return an empty tray. I lie when I ask for The Book of Shhh, pretending to have repented.

I lie just by being here, on my cot, in the dark.

Soon, it will be over. Soon, I will escape.

And then the lies will end.

then

The first time I saw Rachel and Lena’s father I knew: knew I would marry him, knew I would fall in love with him. Knew he would never love me back, and I wouldn’t care.

Picture me: seventeen, skinny, scared. Wearing a too-big, beat-up denim jacket I’d bought from a thrift store and a hand-knitted scarf, not even close to warm enough to immunize me from the frigid December wind, which came howling across the Charles River, blew the snow sideways, stripped people in the streets of all their color so they walked, white as ghosts, heads bowed against the fury.

That was the night Misha took me to

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