Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Steph’s Rating: 4 stars

Dani’s Rating: 4 stars

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Format: e-Book

Publication Date: February 1th, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 441

Goodreads Synopsis:

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Steph’s Review:

Okay, so I have a confession to make. You know how Requiem, book 3 of this series is already out? It’s okay if you didn’t. Let’s just say I completely forgot about this series until one of my friends showed up at school with Requiem in hand, and I saw “Lauren Oliver” printed on the cover and thought it looked familiar. So I flipped through the book, saw the Delirium stuff, and I basically banged my head on the table because I couldn’t believe I forgot to play catch-up on this series. I read Delirium around when it came out...and then I don’t know what happened. I just never read Pandemonium, and I don’t know what I was thinking when I skipped over it. I decided to be a good girl and give Delirium a re-read first before moving on, so here are my thoughts.

This was a really solid beginning to this series. It is a romance-dystopia, and in this world, love is considered a disease. It’s the most deadly one of all, that was the cause of other diseases such as depression, cancer, etc. Through tech advancements, they have been able to surgically alter the brain, and thus cure all people 18 years and older of “amor deliria nervosa”, or love. Lena is just one of the everyday people taught to believe this, but her family holds a secret: her mother was infected, and the cure didn’t work on her no matter how many time administered. It is their greatest shame and embarrassment, and they try to keep quiet about it as much as possible. Lena can’t wait to get cured, because all her troubles will end. Well, enter Alex to the scene.

Hot, gorgeous, and downright swoony, he makes Lena question everything she once believed. She really refuses to acknowledge her intrigue about him, having been taught to stay away from the boys at a young age. Thats the thing about love though right? You can’t just ignore it and push it away, no matter how hard you try. I always love reading the moments when the protagonist of a dystopic book has that sparkling realization. When they figure out that everything their society tells them is horribly twisted and full of lies. I feel like this is when a character really blooms into a hero/heroine, and when the true plot of a dystopia series begins. Delirium is no exception, and when Lena realizes that love is the only thing that is right in her life, her character is completely changed into a true lovable protagonist.

Delirium was very well written. Lauren Oliver’s writing is weaved wonderfully in this book, which is probably one of the most enrapturing points. I admit I did not like Lena at first, because I felt like she was just blind. Maybe it’s because we live in a world where love is held high, but she honestly annoyed me with all her crap about detesting love and wanting the cure. Once she opens up with Alex though, I loved her--being all rebel and sneaking in the corners. Alex. LOVE. HIM. I wish he were real, seriously, I want him to read poetry to me or something (and that’s really weird because I unfortunately don’t quite have an appreciation for poetry...). Delirium is a little lacking in action until the end of the book, but just watching Lena be resculpted was enough to keep me engrossed.

The ending broke my heart omg. It’s one of those endings where you can’t believe what’s happening. It’s like HUGE PLOT TWIST--The End. It took me awhile to come to terms with it, even though it was my second time reading it, and somehow I feel really thankful this series has been completely written. Reading Pandemonium next, which I should have a review up for soon! I absolutely have to finish this series, and find out the fate of Lena, Alex, and this society.