Delirium (Delirium #1)

One of the best YA/Dystopian books out there that everyone should read

I cried a ton!

In a word: Yes. Yes to everything about this book. Yes to the characters, to the premise, to the world, to the story. I was a little wary, because I had just read Under the Never Sky and was a bit disappointed considering how hyped that book had been, but Delirium just blew me away. I love how each chapter begins with a piece of history in this new world: we’re given excerpts from fake textbooks and news articles and even nursery rhymes. It all made it much easier to believe the premise, that love has been ruled dangerous and everyone is “cured” of love at the age of eighteen.

I really liked all the characters in the story, which I think is really what pushes this book from good to great for me. Lena is a likable main character who has both believable strengths and weaknesses. Her motivations for actions always made sense to me. Hana, Lena’s friend, is a great character as well and adds a lot to the story–perhaps a little more than she should, since at times Hana is the more interesting character. Alex is a believable love interest who I was drawn to right away, and I really enjoyed all the secondary characters as well, including Lena’s guardians.

The best part about this book is that while it is a “Love story”, per say, it is not just a love story, at least not a romantic one. It’s Lena’s romantic interest that finally pushes her to see that she wants love, but throughout the book we see what happens when love is taken away, not just in romantic relationships but in friendships and families as well. Actually, as devastating as the whole romantic development is, I think the most terrifying part of Delirium is when we see families that operate without love.

The writing is beautiful, but I also really loved this book because it’s written in a way that assumes some intelligence from the reader. Aspects such as the family relationships aren’t completely spelled out, but they are insinuated. I love world-building, and it’s here, but in bits and pieces through out the book, which in my opinion, contributes to a much stronger book by the last page.

Final Impression: Such a solid book with a world that at times is truly terrifying. Ever character is perfect for their designated roles and the stakes always felt high.

Lauren Oliver's unique plot, capturing storytelling and amazing characters has taken the dystopian genre to a whole other level... the thought of the government claiming that having any type of feelings of love - which causes hate, jealousy, depression and more - is the main cause of all of our problems (crimes, mental illnesses, suicides... just to name a few) seems so realistic. The first half of this book really made me question whether or not it was truly a possibility that 'amor deliria nervosa' may exist...

Lena has had a hard life already and all she wants to do is follow the rules and get cured. Cured from a disease that she doesn't even have yet. But, falling in love, having all of those raging emotions, can be fatal. She knows it. She's seen it. And she wants to be 'cured' before it happens to her... before she is exposed to the deliria... before she meets Alex.

Alex is everything that Lena has been taught to fear her whole entire life. A resistor. An invalid. But she feels some truth in the things that he says. And she compares these things to her childhood, to how her mother used to be... before she died, because of the disease.
Though confused, Lena decides to think outside the box and explore her feelings and new knowledge. As the story moves along, Lena grows and accepts that not all things are what they seem. And that maybe, just maybe, everything that she has been taught to do and say is wrong.

Everything about Delirium completely captured me:
The concept and plot is so original, who would have ever thought that all things pertaining to love could be a disease! A disease that can be cured; where all you have to do is have an operation and you will never have any deep feelings for anything ever again. You will never feel love, anger, passion, sympathy, bitterness... nothing. How upsetting!
Isn't it better to have love than to have never loved at all??? Heartache and all.

The characters are so engaging and memorable! Lena, at first, is just trying to get by and then realizes that there is more out there than she ever knew. As things moved along, she grew stronger and stronger and was determined to figure things out for herself. Alex was charming - he never pushed and was understanding, to a point. He had his flaws and wasn't perfect - that's what made him even more charming to me. Lena's best friend was so full of life - I loved how she balanced Lena out.

This is my 2nd Lauren Oliver book (my first was The Spindlers, which I absolutely loved!) - I knew that her writing would sweep me away into Lena's world. And I know that I am probably one of the last to read the Delirium trilogy, but I would still recommend this and will definitely re-read in the near future!

I absolutely loved this book!!! It definitely ranks up there with Divergent and The Hunger Games, although not quite as good in my opinion (Divergent is definitely the best post-dystopian-type book I've read so far) I love the love story and the female lead. Strong female leads always make a book better to me. I'm in my mid-twenties and I thought this book had a great story. I couldn't put it down! I was so upset to learn the last in the series wouldn't be coming out until March. Pandemonium wasn't as good as Delirium, but this review is based on Delirium, so... Anyway, this book kept me on edge throughout the whole thing. I love that Lauren Oliver has 3 novellas (Hana, Annabel, and Raven) to help tie readers over until the long-awaited Requiem comes out. The ending is a major cliffhanger that will leave you in denial... Through the whole second book, you are wishing the ending of the first book didn't happen! I wouldn't say this is a bad thing, it does make the book a good read, but it's bad in the sense that I hated how it ended. That's usually how the best books are, though...

There was one sentence that I can remember from the book. "...his eyes are literally dancing with light, burning as though on fire." Emphasis on the literally. Now, I'm pretty sure the image I got in my mind was NOT the image that Oliver hoped to convey. It was funny, but eyes on fire might not be the first image you want of the perfect guy. I'm not usually a stickler for grammar, just thought I'd mention it because I remember it.

In Lena's world, America has finally identified love as the disease it really is. Now the scientists have finally found a cure, and America's borders are closed from the outside world so they can't get infected. (I know, it seems a bit extreme).

Lena is an orphan who lives with her aunt and uncle. Her mother commited suicide, and she barely knew her dad, so she cannot wait until she is cured of amora deliria nervosa, more commonly known as love. She can't wait to be rid of the risk of contracting the fatal disease, and she can't wait for the fresh start that is offered with it. Lena sees herself as a plain, good, rule-following citizen, who ca't wait for the procedure. Her friend Hana is a different story. While Lena stresses about her Match, whom she will marry, Hana is listening to illegal music and going to illegal parties after curfew. She questions everything about the procedure and life. Then comes Alex, who happens to see Lena during an unfortunate incident at her Evaluation, and since then she has been seeing him around a lot. She runs into him a couple more times and during that time starts to question the only life she's ever known.

Lena knows she's contracting the disease. And she doesn't care.

(SPOILER) I think it was a bit corny the way Alex got shot at the end. But it did make it more interesting. He could have followed her over the damn fence and stayed alive, but instead he chose to just STAND THERE and get shot. He might as well have painted on his back "I don't care about my life, I only care about Lena. Please just shoot me." Please. (END SPOILER)

It had a great concept, this book. I mean, love, a disease?! Who would have ever thought? Stupid us.

I definitely recommend it to those who like a good dystopian and are curious to see what would happen to the world - to US - if love was considered a disease. Interesting... can't wait to read Pandemonium.

Ok this is the best book ever! I don't understand how anyone could dislike this!

Lauren Oliver is an impressive author I've only read two of her books so far and she is already heading up to my favorite authors list. At first when I started reading the first chapter I thought it was kind of wierd; which made me want to read more and see what it was about. (btw it got better and better)

This novel is about how a girl Lena who falls in love. And that is bad. Why? Because this book takes place in a world with a cure to stop love because it is supposedly dangerous and deadly.

To sum it all up I would highly reccomended this book. I think it is different and certainly unique. I waited a while to read this and I don't understand why, so you should not wait any longer if you have not read this.

For those who have not yet had the privilege to dive into Lauren Oliver's fabulous book, I promise you that there will be no spoilers here. If there is one thing that drives me crazy, it is having a book spoiled for me before I get a chance to devour it. So, I'll be mostly dealing with how the book affected me personally and leaving things mostly vague. Sound good?

Let's tackle the characters first. I love Lena with all my heart. She is a perfect example of how a brainwashed society can affect young people, but also of what happens when they start to question. Lena falls in love when she least expects it, and ends up torn between two worlds. The safety of her current life calls to her, but the unknown does as well. It is this very human dilemma that drew me to Lena. She is flawed in such a realistic way. The other characters in the book revolve around her, but she is the true star of Delirium.

I must admit that this book did terrify me a bit, because of how set in their ways these people are. Since the government has told them that love - deliria - is a disease, they commit themselves to a life without love. No love means no heartbreak later. Watching the people in Lena's life walk around like automatons reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games to be honest. A government that can have complete control is based on people who do what they are told with detached indifference.

This review must end here so that I don't spoil anything. I even made sure to leave out Lena's love interest, since I really want you to experience that for yourself! Suffice it to say that this book is fantastic. In fact that word doesn't even describe it well enough. Delirium is beautiful in it's own way, and you'll find yourself falling in love with it.

I finished the book a couple of days ago, and went right into the sequel. The imagery in the book is amazing, and the storyline is well written and heartbreaking. I absolutely love Lena, Alex, and Hanna. The character development was great. When I read the ending, I knew I had to read the sequel and picked it up instantly. Great book!

Can you imagine? To live in a world without love! Without love there is nothing to live for.. That is why when I put myself in Lena's position I think I would have killed myself because I am not brave enough to do the things she did! This book made me think really hard! What if you woke up the next morning and you felt no love for the ones you have loved for years? Sure.. It causes less violence && caos, but would you rather live in a world with love && violence or no love && no violence when there is no point in stopping violence if we don't care less if it causes harm to anyone! The romance between Lena && Alex was just amazing! Lauren Oliver really made me believe they were meant for each other from the start! I really wish we could have spent more time with Hana! She seemed really fun && crazy! Can't wait to read Lauren Oliver's next book && Her short book on Hana!