Delirium [Kindle Edition]

Delirium is a book about a dystopia in the not-too-far-away future. It's based around the whole idea that love is a disease that will ultimately kill you. To save you from `amor deliria nervosa', as it is known, on your 18th birthday, you are `cured', in what is effectively a lobotomy. Our heroine, Lena, is excited, counting down the days until her cure, since her mother died because of the disease, and her sister had been infected by it as well. But everything is not perfect, in this society; there are the Wilds, where the Invalids, the uncured live. There are people who get around the censors, who hold parties where uncured boys and girls illegally mix, the sympathisers, and the Invalids who live in society. Then one day, Lena meets Alex, and her whole life is turned upside-down.

The characters are strong, no-one feels, how do I put this, plastic, fake, like they were rushed up when they were needed, just because. Everyone fit, even the minor characters had a back story. The three characters, especially Hana and Lena, are extremely well developed. Their personalities are really strong, that you feel you understand them, even when it gets flipped upside-down, you feel you know them, and above all you know why. Not many books I've read have done this so well.

If you're looking for a fast action-filled book, this is not your kind of book. It's the first of three books, so works more on character development than all out action, which I'm grateful for; I don't think it would work as a stand-alone book. I myself am a young teenager, but this doesn't make my review any less worthy, in fact, I'm the target audience, so if anything, my review should count just as much as anyone else's. I've learnt patience, and am an avid reader, although I read mainly fiction. I think for many people my age, especially those that aren't as confident with reading, or aren't fast or just don't have enough patience, the book will be cast aside and probably not touched again, because of the pace it moves at. If you are considering buying this as a present, I would think it over very carefully, make sure that they love reading and preferably have patience, otherwise, I'd look else where. This book isn't for them.

It's not slow-moving, and it's not fast-paced either, it's a rubber duck, floating in a river. But don't think it's boring, there's no way it can be in my mind, sure there are bits that are slightly predictable, but there are parts that you won't guess. I'm not a crier, but it did bring tears to my eyes at parts, it's a love story, in a time where love is banned. Family love, laughing too loud, dancing, crying, listening to music too loudly, saying certain words, are condemned. They can get you killed, or worse. The end is heart-wrenching, leaving you begging for more, to find out what happens next, to know that everything will be all right. But in this story, you can't know that, it's impossible to know.

The writing, to me, is amost perfect. I would say pefect, but then again, nothing is ever perfect, but it's good enough to me. To me, comparing it to the Hunger Games (the first book), it manages to pull on your heart strings more successfully. For me, in the Hunger Games some deaths weren't as tragic as it could be, since you didn't get to know the characters as well, but here, even when it wasn't a death, it still hurt.

The curious thing here, is that, unlike most dystopia's that you read in fiction, where the controlling power controls the physical aspects of your life, while this is present to an extent, this is more about controlling your mind. At the start of every chapter is an excerpt from a book that is published in that world, which is propaganda, basically brainwashing you into thinking that the cure is almighty, that it fixes everything, that your life will be perfect, when in fact, you slowly come to realise, that the cure is worse, it is a fate worse than death. Lena slowly comes to realise this, and finally tries to make her mistake.

For those who love books about dystopia, I recommend this book very highly. It's great for me. People who know more than me about syntax and punctuation, and all of those kind of things, obviously will find more things to criticise, but at the moment, my only criticism, is that the second book can't come fast enough.

I absolutely love the idea of love as a disease because I think we've all been there, haven't we? We've all had someone get under our skin and fester there feverishly like some kind of viral invader. We've all felt breathless, got a case of clammy hands and cotton-mouth. We've all had trouble sleeping, felt the lethargy, had trouble eating or focusing all because of that crazy li'l thing called love. So love as a disease? Yeah, I can buy that.

What bothered me about the book (and it's a teeny niggle because overall I liked it) was the lack of real control that the society really had over its subjects. It uses lies and fear as any Big Brother should, but there was only minor evidence that they were anything more than just a menacing bogeyman used to keep the kids in line. I found that Lena and Alex (the boy she falls in love with) got away with far too much in a society which had supposedly battened down the hatches in order to guard against the big bad wolf which is love.

Those of you who read my review of Oliver's first novel, Before I Fall, (read it here) will know that I had a problem with the protagonist of that book. Well, the same goes for Lena in Delirium. Once again I began the book despising the voice of the story. She was weak, frightened, controlled and kind of a pain in the ass! But Oliver makes you sympathise with Lena, just as she made you warm to Sam in Before I Fall. If the personal, emotional journey that characters go on is the most important part of a tale, then Oliver is damned good at spinning a yarn. In both of her books now, the character you begin the book hating, grows up, changes and learns from the conflicts thrown at them. You may not grow to love them, but you certainly grow to admire them, to sympathise with them and to cheer them on. And I like that. It's far more realistic than the overly-admirable characters of too many YA books.

Overall, Delirium is a book which justifies the current trend for dystopian fiction. It is the first part of a trilogy and. as such, ends on a painful cliffhanger which left me feeling desperate for the next installment.

I recommend this read. It is gripping and absolutely beautifully written. Oliver's writing is almost breathtaking at times and the sophistication of her prose says a lot for how much she respects her young audience.

Now to sit back, chew unattractively on my fingernails and wait for book two...

After reading Lauren Oliver's debut YA novel Before I Fall - and loving it - I was extremely excited to find that she was bringing out a second book this year. And, to make matters even more exciting for me, the book was going to be a dystopian YA novel. As you can probably imagine, there were various happy dances, lots of childish laughter and multiple instances in which I ran around the house telling anyone who would listen.

Shortly after, I decided to have a look on NetGalley and was absolutely amazed to find that they offered a galley of Delirium for review. Yes. I was in heaven. So I requested the galley, received it, and here we are.

I started reading as soon as I could, and found that - as with Before I Fall - I just couldn't put this book down. Not that I tried that hard, mind you.

The book begins with our main protagonist, Lena, introducing us to her world. It quickly becomes known - and by quickly, I mean in the first couple of lines - that in this world, love is considered a disease and must be cured at all costs. We immediately get a feel for what this world is like, and then as Lena and her best friend Hana prepare for their evaluation we learn even more. And what an interesting world it is.

The plot takes off immediately, and doesn't stop. At no point did I find that I was forcing myself to read this book, as the non stop action and events kept me going. The characters were brilliant as well.

Lena is an interesting main character, with a complex back story thrown in. Her views on relationships and love somewhat annoyed me to begin with, but I did understand that this was the way that she had been raised. And if I had been brought up in that society, I would be hesitant to get too close to anyone as well!

Lena's best friend is a funny, bold girl named Hana. I really loved her, and although she wasn't in the book that much, each scene she was in she was pretty much the star. Until Alex came along, that is.

I won't say too much about Alex, because I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I truly loved his character. He was cheeky, clever and also rather sneaky (you'll understand when you read it), and this made him a brilliant and attractive character.

The ending... what can I say about the ending other than it's gripping, action-packed, and left me wanting so much more due to the unexpected cliffhanger! And what a cliffhanger it was. Normally, I would be annoyed at this, but as Delirium is the first book of a trilogy, I really don't mind. I'm just so psyched to read the next book, Pandemonium, already!

There is one instance of mild language, but it's only one time, and I feel that it suited the situation. I'm not one to condone vile language, so you can trust me on this one.

I highly recommend this book to just about anyone. Those who are interested in dystopian fiction, definitely pick it up, but if you're one of those who likes a good romance, then this would also be a good book for you! Delirium definitely deserves all the hype it has been surrounded by.