Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The Synopsis:
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:
So it seems that I'm really late getting to this series.  It looked good, but if you've been hanging around this blog for a while, you'd know that I wasn't too enraptured by dystopian/apacolyptic books.  It really was one of those 'It's not you it's me' kind of situations.  It wasn't the book that was holding me back from enjoying the story; it was me.  But, since I have this philosophy to give all books a shot, no matter their genre, I've been reading more dystopia and stuff.  I can tell you right now that I'm getting there.  I'm still a little uncomfortable with trying all of these books, but I'm noticing that I'm enjoying a lot of them, Delirium not being an exception.

Lena cannot wait for her birthday.  Because, come birthday time, she'll be able to get the cure.  She'll be free of the delirium.  It's what fuels every child's nightmares.  But things change when she meets a boy that flips Lena's world upside down.  He introduces her to a life she never knew about, feelings she never knew she had the capability to express, lies that were told by her own government.  Now she's beginning to realize her life isn't so black and white.  But the question is, What is she going to do now?

This book would have been extra awesome and amazing if more would have went on throughout the book.  Don't jump to conclusions, though, because I really enjoyed this book.  The writing was fabulous and talented.  I was hooked to the story from almost the very start and I was dying to know what would happen in the end. 

I enjoyed how very independent Lena was.  She was hardened by the fact that she was never loved.  My only problem with her is that she goes from Miss Goody-Goody to regular rule breaker from 0-6 seconds.  I didn't think that her reckless behavior was very believable at times and it didn't exactly bother me, but I thought it was one of those inconsistencies that you pick out in a book.

Overall, the story was something I loved.  Being taught from a young age that everybody should be treated with respect and equality, I found myself angry at the government in here that would make loving people illegal.  I would get frustrated and would frown at the page thinking, 'But that's not fair!'  It was a childlike thought, almost, but it was true.  How could somebody take away love?

Anyway, it was a great book and I cannot wait to read the next installment to the series because the idea is original and the writing is noteworthy.

Happy reading!