Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Pages: 441

Intended Audience: Teens and up

Genre: Science Fiction / Romance

Notes for Parents: Contains some mature scenes.

The Back Cover

In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn’t about to make the same mistake.

With ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the Wilds who lives under the government’s radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in a trilogy.

What’s good?

The concept is interesting, the characters are likable, and there are some beautifully written moments. The pace is slow for the first half, but picks up considerably for the second half. The end was exciting.

Best part: Hana.

What isn’t good?

How do you create a world without love? I just couldn’t buy into the idea that people voluntarily get what amounts to a lobotomy to rid themselves of emotions. If there’s no love, there’s no passion, no nurturing, no comfort. There wasn’t enough world-building to make the scenario believable. A world full of indifferent people wouldn’t care about anything, including a sixteen-year-old in love, or a bunch of people living in the wild. There were gaps and inconsistencies that were just too much to dismiss. Hopefully the premise is more thoroughly explored in the other two books in the trilogy.

Worst part: The Book of Shhh

Recommendation ☺☺☻☻☻ (2/5)

I’m sorry, but I just didn’t like it. I was intrigued by the book’s description, but that was it. I couldn’t help but constantly compare this to Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, a story way more dynamic and interesting. Delirium has its good moments, but overall, I found myself saying “that doesn’t make sense” a lot.

Oliver, Lauren. Delirium. New York: Harper, 2011.