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This captivating digital original story set in the world of Lauren Oliver's New York Times bestselling Delirium series focuses on Alex, Lena's first love.

When Alex sacrificed himself to save Lena, he thought he was committing himself to certain death, but what he got was almost worse. Imprisoned and tortured by the guards, his mind forces him to relive a past he would rather forget. But in the dark he grows stronger. Both hopeful and terrified, he fights to find his way back to her and the love he still clings to.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will learn of Alex's time after the events of Delirium, as well as the dark past that he has tried to forget.

37 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2013

189 people are currently reading
16.5k people want to read

About the author

Lauren Oliver

57books118kfollowers
LaurenOliveris 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 andLauren's bestselling first novel, Before I Fall, were acquired by AwesomenessTV; Before I Fall is now a major motion picture and opened in theaters March of 2017. The sequel to Replica, titled Ringer, is her most recent novel and was released October 3rd, 2017.

Her novels for middle grade readers include The Spindlers, Liesl & Po, and the Curiosity House series, co-written with H. C. Chester. She has written one novel for adults, Rooms.

A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU's MFA program,LaurenOliver divides her time between New York, Connecticut, and a variety of airport lounges. You can visit her online at.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 871 reviews
Profile Image for MischaS_.
783 reviews1,449 followers
January 23, 2019
Blah. Blah. Blah. - Even though I love Alex this was about nothing. After reading Requiem I hoped for some answers. How did he find her? How did he feel about Lena and Julian? Where he went after he left them in the woods? What happened after the end of Requiem!
Maybe I can love Alex but this novel was needless.
Profile Image for Patricia Belsky.
3 reviews5 followers
September 2, 2013
I really liked where this was going. I loved the set up of it, and the way in which we got the story of how exactly he survived, and his escape from the Crypts.

However...

It definitely left me wanting more. In all, the series feels unfinished to me. Much like the end of , feels like the universe as a whole has a lot more story to tell. I think Lena is done with her story, but not everyone has had a say.

And I feel like the little bit at the end from Alex's point of view might be a set up for a series from his point of view. Not one starting from the beginning, of course, because that would be crazy and too much. I think it should follow his path until he finds Lena (much like it seemed to be doing in this short story) and then continue on from the point when he does find her. Because I really, desperately, want to see what he was feeling, thinking, the entire time. I want to know what happened from his point of view all through out and then I would love for it to continue on from the point where we were left off in that, and see how what happened in Portland really affected the state of the borders country-wide.

I really want a version from his point of view, starting where he sees Lena again, and carrying on from there.
Profile Image for Ninoska Goris.
272 reviews171 followers
October 3, 2018
Español - English

Esta novela debe leerse después de Pandemonium.

"Las personas hacen cosas terribles, a veces, por las mejores razones."

Pudo haber sido interesante porque es lo que le pasó a Alex cuando se pensaba que estaba muerto, pero esta muy mal escrito, no parece de la misma autora.

---

** spoiler alert ** This novel must be read after Pandemonium.

It could have been interesting because it's what happened to Alex when we thought he was dead, but it's very badly written, it doesn't look like is from the same author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Shar.
75 reviews33 followers
April 11, 2013
Okay, let me start off by saying that I was never taken by Alex. There was always something very off about him for me because he was portrayed as this "perfect" creature, and I have lots of troubles with characters that are portrayed that way. (I like rounded characters, not people without flaws).

I read "Alex" a few weeks after I had already read "Requiem", (let's not start with Requiem, such a mess), and to be honest, although Alex is not one of my favorites, at least I respected him a little bit more with this short story.

The story takes you back after "Delirium", and much like "Annabel", it cuts through time and tells you things about Alex's past. It was this light into Alex's past that made me appreciate him a little bit more, because he was a deeply troubled kid. He is a kid who is forced into "freedom" but never really experiences love and he likes to watch things burn, quite literally. And I liked that. Alex knows he is not perfect, (which is the antithesis of what Oliver sells you with Delirium) and I specifically liked the part in the story where he lies by omission when Lena asks to know what is his deep dark secret and he purposely avoids answering.

The truth is Alex was never a "human" character in the previous books. Since you're only looking at Alex through Lena's perspective, it's really hard to envision him as a real person and not as this god-like creature in a pedestal that is really surreal. And while this story does have its flaws and I very much would've preferred to have a Pandemonium-Alex story, I really think I understand Alex's drive to be with Lena a bit more. It got him through one of the hardest experiences ever, and it honestly shows you why he has the mindset he has in Requiem. Lena was his hope, and he feels betrayed by her when they reunite.

So yeah, what I'm trying to say is that "Alex" was written in such a way that it allowed me to see this paper-thin character as a semi-rounded character and allowed me to understand some of his drives and needs.
Profile Image for Ellis.
442 reviews228 followers
August 4, 2016
Edit: So some of you have been asking where you can find this story. It is an extra that comes with first editions of . It's printed at the back. I have no idea if it will be released separately, but I genuinely hope so.


How weird was it to read this after everything else in the series? This took place right after Delirium and it really took some effort on my part to get back into that mindset of Alex still being completely in love with Lena, while she had already completed her story arc and was much more conflicted.

I can't help but think a lot of potential was lost here and I think it's because we get Requiem Alex and not Pandemonium Alex. Honestly, the image of Alex at the end of Pandemonium is dark and I was hoping for some seriously disturbing shit to be revealed, but it seems like Oliver quickly got that over with so we could focus on the love aspect again.

I get it. She probably wants to send out a message of hope and the things that make us keep hope even in the darkest of circumstances but I think it would have added a level of depth to both Requiem and Alex if we actually saw him dealing with his torture, because seriously, , I repeatedly tried to imagine that and it was horror - but good horror. Not to be masochistic here, but I wish Lauren had given more of that. Sorry Alex, nothing against you, I'm just creepy like that.

What I think Oliver does very well is the little moments that make the characters and relationships come across authentic. In Delirium it was Hana shouting Lena's full name when trying to reprimand her and Alex's cute reaction of "Your middle name is Ella?". In Pandemonium it was Julian's curiosity when Lena was taking a shower, although that came across a bit creepy, but Julian was so innocent at the time that I think it was genuine curiosity. Now, in Alex it's the small things he remembers of his time with Lena. Her burping the alphabet for example. Me thinks someone has to be quite a bit in love with you for that to come across as charming, but apparently Alex is that someone.

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to accept that he will forever be obsessed with that one Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

And now someone has to make an awesome fancover for this story, because the beige/brown rectangle is seriously bothering me. Obviously, autumn leaves are a given, because 1. Alex's signature and 2. They tie in with Pandemonium's colour scheme, so time-frame wise they would match.


Edit: something weird is going on with the records of this short story on goodreads. To be safe, I've added this to my review.
Profile Image for Clara.
232 reviews
July 27, 2016
"Déjame decirte algo sobre morir: no es tan malo como dicen. Es traer de vuelta a la vida partes que hieren."

Sigo preguntándome por qué rayos no había puesto como leído este libro. ¿Dónde he tenido mi cabeza en los últimos cinco meses? Ni idea. (Ni siquiera sé qué fecha poner).
Bueno, para recompensar mi distracción e inutilidad, sí, haré una mini-reseña que no es reseña, wu.

Cuando leí esta precuela realmente no imaginé lo que vendría en ella. Alex. POR TODA LA PERFECCIÓN, Alex. De ese chico tendría que estar orgullosa Lauren. Debió de haber sacado un libro con la perspectiva de él. EN SERIO. Alex se coloca entre los 10 primeros personajes ficticios que ocupan mi corazón y... aquí me lo rompió. Ver la manera en la que sufrió después de haber sido encerrado en las criptas, como poco a poco fue recuperando la consciencia de quién era él y quién era Lena. Y que después de ahí, fuera cada vez peor su encierro y sufrimiento.
"Eventualmente, ella llegó. Después de eso, yo no podía pensar en otra cosa."

Alex es un chico muy fuerte. Es increíble que haya sido capaz de pasar por todo ese dolor por la chica que ama (Y mientras ella enamorándose y besuqueándose con otro tipo).
"¿Cómo la amé? Déjame contar las maneras. Las pecas en su nariz, como la sombra de una sombra; La forma en que ella se mordía el labio inferior cuando estaba pensando, la forma en que su cola de caballo se balanceaba cuando caminaba. Y cómo cuando corría se veía como si hubiera nacido para ir rápido, cómo encajaba perfectamente contra mi pecho. Su olor y el tacto de sus labios y su piel, que estaba siempre cálida, y cómo ella sonreía. Como si tuviera un secreto. Cómo inventaba siempre palabras durante el Scrabble. Hyddyn (música secreta). Grof (comida de cafetería). Quaw (El sonido de un pato bebé). Como eructó a su manera el alfabeto una vez, y me reí tanto que escupí refresco por la nariz. Y cómo me miraba como si pudiera salvarla de todo lo malo en el mundo. Esta era mi secreto: Ella fue la que me salvó."

Lloré mucho por la forma en que me recordó sus primeros encuentros con Lena, sus citas a escondidas, la forma tan hermosa en que la recordaba y... lo triste que estaba por pensar en que ella tal vez un día encontrara a alguien más a quien amar, o si estuviera muerta. Él ni siquiera podía cerciorarse de eso ahí metido. Lo cual era peor, leer como batallaba. ¿Por qué más lloré? Por la forma en que lo torturaban. Sigo diciendo que este chico, hombre, es más fuerte que nada. Creo que la única cosa que lo mantuvo con vida fue Lena, el pensar que en algún momento, tal vez, podría escapar y encontrarla. Aunque fuera con otro. No le creas. No le creas. Porque él arriesgó todo, aunque no tenía ni siquiera nada, por ella. ¿Cómo puedo decir que nada? ¡Le dio su enorme corazón! Lo dejó en sus manos ese día en la alambrada, prometiéndole que volvería por él. Tal vez no pronto, pero lo haría. Para estar con ella. Aunque fuera en esa vida "salvaje". Para luchar.
"Soy un mentiroso. Siempre estuve mintiendo. Ella se merecía un ángel, y yo quería serlo por ella."

Después de terminar de leer este libro me imaginaba que en Requiem encontraría algo más espectacular. Ya que me gustó demasiado la forma que tomó éste, pero me decepcionó. Mucho. Lauren quedó corta con ese final, pero nos dejó estos para recordar. Por lo menos escribió uno donde pudiéramos conocer más a este chico increíble, claro, con la advertencia de un corazón roto y muchas lágrimas, ¿verdad? Es que, es que... Si tan sólo pudiéramos florar, como la nieve.

Delirium y Alex fueron los mejores, para mí. Siempre.
"Tal vez sería mejor si no pudiéramos amar. Si no pudiéramos perdernos. Si no pudieran pisotear nuestros corazones, destrozarlos; si no tuviéramos que remendarlo como monstruos Frankenstein, todo cosido junto y ligado por no ser qué."

Profile Image for Booknut 101.
849 reviews997 followers
September 28, 2013
Hmph.

Well...it wasn't bad. It just wasn't very exciting, either. The only way I can describe it was like reading an unfinished fanfiction - I kept waiting for something to grab me, for something to happen, or for something to show me that this novella belonged to its series...that it had that same spark.

Instead, you're given a speedy first-person narration of events over 27 pages that lacks the luster of the Delirium series. Sure, I perked up at the mention of Lena. But this book did nothing to further the series. It was a little disappointing. It felt like a third limb that didn't quite connect with, or add to, the great series the novella is meant to stem from.

However, I think that anyone who has read all three books in the series should give Alex a read and form their own opinions for themselves :)
Profile Image for Anjie.
821 reviews42 followers
January 3, 2015
My favorite short story of the Delirium trilogy. I thought it was the best written from all the short stories. I loved being able to see more of Alex's childhood even if it wasn't a lot. We got to love him more. I decided to read it before reading Requiem, which I felt was a right choice because it helped me sympathize with him in Requiem. I know that after Requiem there was an overwhelming amount of hate towards Alex because of how he treated Lena and honestly, I think it's justified and his short story further exemplified that for me. I also think that if the same thing happened to me, I would act the way Alex did but probably more vindictive. I've gotten into many arguments about Alex in Requiem and I still stand by them haha. I think what Alex went through in the short story was the same thing Lena went through in Pandemonium (albeit Alex had less details but a little bit more gruesome). By this I mean, both not knowing the other person's fate, if they were alive or dead. I can really go on and on and defend Alex until the death of me but I will spare you haha.
Profile Image for Nickyjen.
136 reviews31 followers
May 2, 2015
It was an OK read, however, it didn't add much to the story..
We get to know all the bad things he experienced, how he regrets some of the things he did to find Lena and his thoughts on her.
It was way too short!
Profile Image for Chesca (thecrownedpages).
320 reviews165 followers
December 22, 2016
“You think you want to know, but you don’t .�


Alex is a short story of love and sacrifice that took place . It tells the story of

If you’ve read the Delirium trilogy or are planning to, make sure that you pick up Alex as well. You could disregard the other novellas, although Annabel was also worth reading, but not this one.

Told in his perspective, Alex poured out his pain, longing, and hope. It was a walk through darkness guided by a little, flickering light in his chest.

I was not really planning on rereading this, but it was included in my copy of Requiem and it kept calling out to me. So I picked it up in the wee hours of the morning and I felt like I was drenched in ice-cold water.

This story was very eye-opening. I never fully knew Alex in the main books of the series, but this one made up for it. He was two different sides of a coin in , and those lacked his transition stage. This would show you what he’d been through, also tackling some scenes from his childhood and how he felt in those important times.

I don’t know why I didn’t appreciate it this much before. I remember being bored to death by it, but now I could say that I loved it. For that, I would like to apologize to Alex.

It amazed me what a few pages could bring me. I was sobbing because it felt too real. It was painful and thought-provoking how much he could love Lena. Where could I find someone like this? Alex’s love is too pure to exist in this world, surpassing all boundaries, breaking through cages, and crumbling down walls.

This is definitely a must-read.
Profile Image for Veronica Alvarez.
337 reviews20 followers
May 13, 2021
It was a good read overall
I personally think it's a little long therefore some parts were not as entertaining as others, I absolutely love Alex so it was nice to give him a voice even though it could be better
We just watch him between those two books and to be honest there's not so much information as I would like, I think if you really want to everything you should give it a try, but I must say that some parts were really good
Profile Image for Denisse.
531 reviews303 followers
July 29, 2015
EL LIBRO ESTA ESCRITO DE LA MISMA POÉTICA Y BELLA MANERA DE LAUREN OLIVER pero Alex me cae tan mal. Es un idiota. Así que odie su voz XD

Me gusto la historia, pero no es algo necesario, de hecho no tiene sentido Alex debió morir por sus heridas, ni se las atendieron, así que esta vivo solo para avivar la llama del triangulo amoroso. Hip Hip BUUUUUU! *hace sonido de un pedo* VIVA JULIAN! bye.



¿Pero como alguien que ha visto el verano...elegiría la nieve?
Profile Image for Ferdy.
944 reviews1,271 followers
January 1, 2015
Mildly interesting to get Alex's POV about his time in the crypts and his escape from them. His story would have been far more enjoyable though if he hadn't sounded like a male version of Lena, both of them were so boring and angsty.
Profile Image for Ands.
124 reviews15 followers
January 7, 2022
3/5

Fue interesante, no aporta gran cosa porque ni siquiera se sabe mucho sobre su estancia en las criptas, aporta poquísimo a la historia. Alex me cae mejor que Julián tho
Profile Image for Rose.
42 reviews11 followers
July 16, 2013
Usually, I am not a fan of in-between novels but this one was great! Alex, has always been my favourite character in the Delirium series, and having a book in his perspective was a dream come true for me. It tells the story of what happened to Alex after he, supposedly died at the end of Delirium and also shows hints of his past. His hard and painful journey as well as dark past is shown in a way we could never have imagined. In Delirium we hardly get a look into Alex's past and his character is shown as the perfect, beautiful and romantic person who any reader would instantly like, but this one shows a completely different side of him. We see a much darker Alex who has made some serious mistakes, and being from the Wilds to the Crypts and back to the Wilds his story gets darker and darker with glimpses of an Alex we never knew. None the less, we see that his love for Lena never wavers and the Alex we know and fell in love with in Delirium still exists somewhere. Overall, it was great reading this, after the not-so-great Requiem and I do recommend every Delirium fan to read it as it gives us a chance, one more time to get into the mind of an amazing character and sadly, for the ever last time.
Profile Image for Garima.
228 reviews26 followers
June 30, 2015
The Delirium series is officially over, and I'm now heartbroken. I seriously don't know what to do with myself anymore. Although, his book should have definitely been 2.6 or something, because it ended right before the ending of Pandemonium.

Anyways, this book was written so beautifully, like all of Lauren Oliver's books. It was really nice to get a story in Alex's POV, and it makes kind of wish the whole series was in his POV. He's such an interesting and complex character with a bit of a darker past. I really liked the bits of childhood flashbacks that Oliver provided for us. They were fit into the story well and helped give us more of an understanding of Alex.

My favorite part of this book was all the comparisons that Lauren Oliver made. They described everything perfectly. I loved how she used some of Alex's flashbacks to describe his current emotions. The beginning section really drew me into the story immediately.

The only thing that I found lacking in this short story was Alex's transition from Delirium to Requiem. In Requiem, Lena mentions that Alex has changed, and the reader definitely sees a darker and more harder side of him. I was kind hoping that we'd be able to see more of what made him like that.

Other than that, this was a beautiful story.
Profile Image for Millaray Acuña.
141 reviews19 followers
January 21, 2016
Siempre quise saber como fue que Alex se 'escapo' y esta mini historia la cuenta, es totalmente tierna ya que todo lo que hizo, paso, supero fue por Lena. Tan lindo Alex <3

Esta era mi secreto: Ella fue la que me salvó.
Profile Image for Christina's Library.
1,240 reviews32 followers
May 23, 2024
This is a shirt Delirium Novella. I was hoping for a bit more info on Alex. He's well *swoon*
Profile Image for Sunny.
473 reviews108 followers
May 11, 2013
I haven't read the other short-stories in the Delirium series, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But, half-way through Requiem I was itching to know what Alex did when he left Lena and Julian in the middle of the night.

Dammit, this book still didn't answer that question.

It tells Alex's story - from his own POV - during the period between being caught at the end of Delirium but before he meets up with Lena at the end of Pandemonium.j

In 27 pages. At the end of my copy of Requium.

It was fun. It was decent. But it didn't answer my question.
Profile Image for Arielle ✨ Chelsea's Nebular Ally and Team Orion ✨.
600 reviews132 followers
December 7, 2017
Ugh reading this after already having read the other two books is hard because you KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. I'm glad I'm reading these again after a few years though because I am in an entirely different place in my life and I think that I will have a very different perspective on things (still in a good and probably more thoughtful way). Four stars because of my love for Alex, of course.
Profile Image for Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου.
Author6 books382 followers
April 6, 2019
Δεν ήταν κ��κό, αλλά δεν ήταν και αυτό που περίμενα... ή αυτό που χρειαζόμουν. Θα ήθελα ορισμένες λεπτομέρειες παραπάνω που θα με έκαναν να κατανοήσω κάποια πράγματα που κινήθηκαν μέσα σε ένα θολό πλαίσιο, απαντώντας μου σε ερωτήματα που έμειναν στον αέρα.
Profile Image for ❶.
175 reviews43 followers
November 24, 2020
I love Alex's POV! It made me smile alot how he just describes Lena.
Profile Image for Shannon A.
696 reviews523 followers
December 7, 2014
Really good! I just wanted a bit more but overall I really enjoyed it and enjoyed better a bit more of Lauren's writing :)
Profile Image for Sofi.
71 reviews113 followers
October 7, 2014
Este libro fue hermoso, corto pero hermoso. Vemos lo que le paso a Alex cuando estuvo en las criptas y que hizo cuando pudo escapar, también nos cuenta sobre el pasado de Alex cuando estaba en la Tierra Salvaje.

Aunque fue algo horrendo saber que le hicieron a Alex en las criptas, hizo que entendiera de alguna manera a su personaje en Requiem. . Me hubiera gustado leer sobre el final de Pandemonium y partes de Requiem desde su punto de vista, pero esta corta historia no fue escrita para sacarte dudas de esos acontecimientos. No, es algo más simple lo que Lauren Oliver quiso transmitir, en mi opinión. Es sobre la esperanza y el amor, y que la vida no es fácil pero esos dos sentimientos pueden lograr mucho.

Obviamente, esta historia está escrita impecablemente como es de esperarse de la autora. Su estilo de escritura es algo que te atrapa y es el factor más importante que define la puntuación de este libro para mí. Muy poética y elegante hasta para decir cosas feas.

Todavía estoy indecisa si es mejor leérsela antes de Requiem o después... yo me la leí después y pienso que me hubiera confundido el Alex de Requiem si lo hubiera leído antes pero el final de Requiem hubiera sido un poco más lindo si hubiera sabido con certeza cuales son los sentimientos de Alex hacia Lena.

Definitivamente me gustó mucho pero para que me encante (osea, tenga 5 estrellas) tendría que haber sido más largo y abarcar ciertas situaciones de Requiem.
Profile Image for Leah.
430 reviews64 followers
April 14, 2013
*May contain spoilers*


This was a short story which was only available in the first print runs of Lauren Oliver's Requiem. I'm hoping that it is reprinted for everyone who has yet to read it so that you can all enjoy it. The short story gives us a glimpse into the childhood of Alex, the torture he underwent in the Crypts, how he escaped and his slow path towards reuniting with Lena once again.

I really enjoyed this. It was fascinating to see how he grew up in The Wilds and how he developed some pyromaniac tendencies. His shock at his 'new' life in Portland - sleeping on the floor over the bed - and the horrendous torture he underwent. It was gruesome to read some of the details featured and it made me appreciate his character and strength so much more.

It was great to read the bombing and mass breakout of The Crypts from the point of view of a prisoner and to read how he succeeded in escaping. The language and world building was once again flawless - I've come to expect nothing less from Ms. Oliver. Definitely one of the best authors I've come across in awhile.

Another plus was seeing how in love with Lena Alex is. She is always on his mind and is what keeps him going through the torture. Once he is back in The Wilds he is single mindedly motivated in tracking down Lena. It was infuriating to see him wishing her well and to move on... completely different from the Alex we meet at the end of Pandemonium! This once again ends before Requiem begins, leaving a big gap in the narrative. Very frustrating but still a very, very enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
482 reviews56 followers
January 19, 2016
I read the Delirium trilogy years ago, I read this novella but didn't remember it.. I also never marked it on ŷ� I've read it now though!! It was really good. I liked reading from Alex's POV. We didn't really get to see what happened to him after the events that happened in the trilogy. I enjoyed this novella.
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