Delirium (Delirium #1)

Depressing at first but such a page turner when you reach the climax. . . Alex's sacrifice was hurtful, I felt hurt, I almost wanted to cry. . . I can't wait to grab a copy of PANDEMONIUM. . . ^_^

You won't be able to resist it, and it has a pretty cover!

This book was simply amazing. I picked it up because I loved "Before I fall" and once I did, I couldn't put it down. Her writing style is so easy to read and absorbing that you simply forget everything, except the story in front of you. I completely identified with Lena and fell in love with Alex. I loved watching Lena grow from a scared, young girl into a strong, independent woman in love. I should have known what was coming at the end, but I hoped that it wouldn't end that way. Still, I can't imagine the story being any different than it was. It was perfect.

My experience with Delirium was kind of like eating chocolate cake. It's delicious and while you're eating it, you think, well this might be the most wonderful thing I've ever eaten. You want to devour the whole thing, but savor each fabulous bite. You hope you never run out of the chocolate cake. But the thing is, Delirium trumps that chocolate cake by like three trillion. It's almost hard for me to sit here and write a review, because I feel like I could never do this book justice no matter how hard I try.


If I had only a limited amount of words I could use to describe this book (and thank the heavens I don't!), I'd have to say my top choices would be heart-breaking and tantalizing. Everything about this novel is utterly heart-breaking and gut-wrenching. The world, the belief systems, the relationships. Everything. Sometimes I wanted to step inside of the novel and shake some SENSE into the people. This story was tantalizing because even when there were the happiest scenes, I could still feel the enormous pressure of impending doom pressing down on the characters.


I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I had never once read a bad review of it, and I was agonizingly desperate to read it. The first 20 pages or so were kind of slow and I thought, Oh no. This is going to be just like Matched by Ally Condie. But then it picked up and I couldn't stop reading. I seriously could not. Oliver's writing is absolutely stunning and vivid and all together awe-inspiring. I get chills just thinking about it. I felt every emotion deep in my gut and it was so beautiful and simultaneously terrifying because I would never want to go through what Lena goes through.


This book isn't action-packed or particularly fast-paced, but it is still exciting. Gorgeous. Moving. It made me feel, made me think, made laugh, made me cry, made me shake my head, made me whoop with excitement. It got my hopes up, it tore me to pieces.


I'm hesitant to say that this is one of the best books I've read in 2011, but I'm pretty sure it fits. I know that this is a book I will never forget, a book that I will hold dear to me for a long time. A book that I will never get tired of reading. There are twists and turns and trouble and bittersweet moments.


This book shows that love can make people better, braver, stronger. It shows that love can make people blind and stupid while making everything clear and making people smarter at the same time. People can act foolishly and admirably. It can make people crazy while being the only thing that keeps them sane. Love is a risk, and this book proves that it is a risk worth taking.


Lena is strong and courageous, even when she doesn't realize it. Alex is...Alex is marvelous. Absolutely marvelous. No words can describe how much I fell in love with him throughout this novel. Hana and Gracie. Carol Rachel. They all brought something unique and special to the table that I can't even put into words.


Now, I'll say this: The last two pages of the book were emotionally the most difficult thing I have ever read. I sobbed and sniffled and it took me ten minutes to finish those last two pages because I couldn't read past my tears. Then, I read the summary for Pandemonium, the sequel, and I cried even harder. This book haunts me. I went to sleep thinking about it, I woke up thinking about it. I will be buying Pandemonium the day it is released. I can't even do a 'Reasons I liked it' section for this book, because I loved every little bit of it. Everything. This book has over 400 pages and I read it in less than twelve hours.

Delirium reminds me of other books like Matched by Ally Condie.
The writing is fluid Lauren Oliver writes beautifully. But the story is slow going and I had a very hard time believing that love could be a disease.

Oliver writes a story where love was seen as a dirty illness and yet its still so strong for these two young people Lena and Alex that they are willing to risk everything they have ever known to be together. In this world the chances of death as a punishment are very real.

I found the view of the government and the book of shh (a distorted view on the bible) disturbing..but the fight in the sympathizers & believers like Hannah like Lena like Alex even more brave.
This was a well thought out book filled with poems, rhymes, saying.. It was very impressive I cant praise Oliver enough.

I loved this book, it was beautiful and thought provoking.

I was really excited to read this because not only did the premise interest me, but it is set sometime in the future in the town where I now live – Portland, Maine. Lauren Oliver’s tale of the heartbreak and excitement that love can provoke painted a picture of an eerie dystopian Portland which to be honest, unsettled me a bit, especially because I could picture it so well in my head.­ While reading it, I really felt Lena’s fear as she constantly looked over her shoulder as she walked through the streets of my town.

I love books like this because even though the assertion that the government could “ban” love and treat it as a disease sounds farfetched, it truly makes you reflect on history and you realize the crazy things some governments have already done in the name of protecting its people. The quotes from the Book of Shhh (The Safety, Health and Happiness Handbook which serves as a kind of new bible for society) at the beginning of each chapter really gave me insight into the ways the government has really brainwashed the minds of Lena and her family.

The great thing about Delirium is that you can see how this decision has changed society and Lena is a product of her environment. But even though Lena has never known a world any different, she somehow senses something isn’t right and deep down she pines for something more. I, as the reader, wanted so desperately for her to understand and have that epiphany with Alex so she could break out of her world and I ended up really caring about the characters.

Overall, Delirium was a great dystopian love story and after the exciting ending, I’m really looking forward to the next in the series.

Reader reviewed by iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

In a futuristic world, everything is perfect, happy, and clean. All threats have been removed, including the biggest of all: amor deliria nervosa. Love. At the age of 18, everybody receives the cure for this disease and they are safe for the rest of their lives. Lena can't wait to be cured. She'll have a match, and a perfect and happy future all set out for her. But everything changes when she meets a boy. And falls in love.This is a breathtaking, mesmerizing book that I couldn't close. The whole thing had me intrigued from the front cover all the way until the very last page, and I still wanted more.Lena is a very likable character. At first, I was a little annoyed with her stubbornness - but the cure was all she was taught from a very young age, right? She didn't know better. Eventually, she grew and discovered the true meaning of life and love, developing a strong and fierce personality completely different from the one in the beginning. She was presented with many challenges in which she would have to overcome all the lessons she learned since the beginning and use her new strength to defeat the government and keep her love.Hana was a favorite of mine from the beginning. She was a dedicated best friend, a little on the wild side, and just like somebody I would love to hang out with. She really pulls through in the end to help Lena. Her story makes me a little sad, and I hope she will eventually find true happiness.And Alex - Alex was amazing. I loved his personality, his character, the colors he was described with: amber, honey, sunlight. I can't talk too much about him without giving away though, so moving on...The theme of this novel fascinated me from the moment I read the blurb. Love being the enemy. And it made complete sense. (Not that I'd want the cure for myself.) It's wonderful when the author presents a challenge that seems to have no answer. It seems the protagonists are doomed from the beginning. I was lost in the world Oliver created, and I had no idea where she would take us next. Twists, turns, more twisting... I held my breath until the very last sentence.If you love a science-fiction romance that won't let you stop thinking, your heart pounding, and provides a delicious jaw-dropper full of surprises, you'll love this book.

Reader reviewed by Courtney

This was a great book by author Lauren Oliver! It is a story about love! In the story they consider love a disease that infects everything you do so they feel they have a cure. The cure is surgery and once you've been cured you no longer love, not even your family or children, no love for anything. Lena is scheduled to have the surgery on her 18th birthday. This story has you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens next! My only complaint is that the is a few times the characters curse, and I feel like the author could have left that out and this would be perfect, but again, that is only my opinion and most people probaly won't be bothered by that!! What a great book though! Loved it!

Reader reviewed by Lia

Lena can't wait for her procedure to cure love to be over. She wants to live a happy, predictable life without the fear of succumbing to the disease, love, as her mother did. Lena's mother died rather than giving up her love, and Lena never wants to end up like her.

Delirium, is not what I was expecting at all. It wasn't much about the resistance movement against a supposedly perfect government. It was more about Lena, a girl who completed trusts the govenrment, and their procedure to cure love. She comes to believe otherwise when she experiences love herself. I enjoyed reading this book, though at times it was a bit slow. The ending totally caught me off guard, I was not expecting it to end the way it did. The ending was heart-breaking, but totally fit the story.