Delirium review

Description: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

My thoughts: This book, along with Divergent were the two books I’d been scared to read. They both just sounded to good to be true. But I was wrong about Divergent, and I was (definitely) wrong about Delirium. I was sick this past weekend, and oddly enough, Delirium was the only book I could reach from my bookshelf. I never want to be that sick again, but I’m glad it led my to this book.

I went from the first page to the last page in a matter of hours because it was so good. And the thing is, any good author could write a dystopian. Or a love story, or write good. But what stood out was that I couldn’t say Lauren Oliver’s writing was deeply elegant or sweet and simple. It was somewhere in the middle. She was poetic when she needed to be, and straight to the point at other times. I still can’t really explain it.

And on top of the writing, having a world where love was a disease really struck me. I know love is important, but seeing the lack of it in Delirium had me really assessing how vital it is in our lives. It was sad because those who’d been cured didn’t just not fall in love anymore, they treated their family differently. They didn’t even see their friends the way they used to. I just couldn’t imagine not remembering my first love, even with all the pain the love came with. And I couldn’t bear feeling indifferent about all the special moments I had with my friends in the past. So for me, the description of this kind of world just tugged at my heartstrings.

On top of that, the main characters are just so adorable. I don’t know why but Lena getting to know Alex was just so cute, and simple and right. And the love between Lena and her best friend was good to. Because I like that it proves that love isn’t just for the guy or girl you’re in love with, it’s for everyone you care about. And I actually really liked the awkwardness that happened in the story with their relationship. Because even when Lena and her best friend were fighting it reminded me that I’d rather be awkward and fight with someone I loved than to forget I even cared about them.

And as far as the ending, I just need to know what happened! I had some guesses about what would be in Pandemonium, then I read the description for Pandemonium, and now I don’t know what the hec to think. But it doesn’t matter. I just want to know what else happens in this world Lauren Oliver has seen fit to create.

Additional notes: I’d say that this book was broken up in to three parts. 1. Lena is like all the other people who don’t question what’s happening to her society but then she meets Alex. 2. Then there’s growth and acceptance that love is good. 3. And then there’s the fight to escape from those who want to take love from them. I two thirds of this book better than the remaining one third, but when I read the last two pages of this book, none of that mattered. If Lauren Oliver had written Delirium and it had only consisted of the last chapter (with those last two pages) I STILL would have loved this book (well novella if it was only a couple of pages).