Forever Obsession: Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

ISBN: 978-0-06-172682-8

Pages: 441

Appearance:

Summary:

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

(Back cover)

They say that the cure for LOVE will make me happy FOREVER. And I always believed them until now.

Now everything has changed. Now I'd rather be INFECTED with love for the tiniest SLIVER of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a LIE.

Hey guys! Welcome to my first BOOK review! TPOEMD was a short story and first review and Vampire Academy was a graphic novel and this is a book book review! XD I made no sense, but that is okay. Anyway, I chose this book to be my MP2 English “extra” and I have to say, it hooked me in right away! I finished this all in one sitting, homework completely ignored. That’s how hooked I was. So let’s get into the review!

My first impression of Lena was: Does this girl have no mind of her own?

I guess that's the problem with totalitarian-ish societies. They take over your brain and force you to think like them. It's all an illusion.

Anyway, Lena lives in a society where love is absolutely forbidden. Once a person turns 18 they are given an examination and then date of when they will be surgically cured of the ability to love. Then they are given options of who the government believes is a good match, get married, pop babies, and live an emotionless life. The perfect life. What drew me first to this loveless society was the very idea that love was the mother of all diseases and that these people believed if love was removed from everyone, it'd be a perfect world. Nowadays, that idea is probably absurd. Love is preached in music, literature, life. It'd be horrifying to live in a world that prohibits it, to live in her world.

Lena's best friend Hana was probably my favorite character while Lena lurked in her world of "listen to the government." Hana wasn't afraid to go and try the slightly illegal things, listening to music from illegal sites and going to parties with BOYS. Oh no, the horrified other gender. While Lena stubbornly refused to join, Hana was learning and exploring the parameters of her confined world.

As the story continues, Lena does grow and becomes a more 3D round and relatable character. How? She meets Alex. Ohhh, romance! Alex is a guard for the government. Their first encounter occurs during Lena's examination when a herd of cattle stampede through the building. Slowly, he begins to build her trust until he reveals that he was never cured. The "marks" of his cure were self created so he could blend in. Lena pushes him away and desperately clings to the ideas of society, but unbeknownst to her, she has already fallen a teensy bit in love with him. As she grows and revels in the power of love, she becomes 10x more likable and interesting.

One of the dangers of love is becoming reckless. Alex and Lena explore their new relationship and Alex shows her the world outside the wires and walls of New Orleans. Sadly, a story can't be complete without something bad happening. They get caught. (SPOILER!) With Lena now "infected with deliria" her surgery date has been moved forward so she that she can be cured and saved before going to far. And from there, it all spirals out of control.

The ending, I think all my posts have like "the ending" paragraph freak out. Anyway, THE ENDING. Total crazy cliff hanger that had me crying for more and a resolution. Being the nerd that I am, I searched and read the summaries for the rest of the series. It sounds like a lot of typical boy drama and love triangles and it discouraged me a bit. I'm still really hooked and interested and the ending still kills, but I'm a bit hesitant now. Also, I heard there was going to be a TV show but it didn't go through. Slightly disappointed about that, I think it'd be a great TV show.

With all of that said, I highly recommend this book to all. According to other bloggers/reviewers, the rest of the books are meh, but Delirium is DEFINITELY a great book and you should CHECK IT OUT!

“I love you. Remember. They cannot take it”

“You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes".”

“I'd rather die on my own terms than live on theirs. I'd rather die loving Alex than live without him.”

“I guess that’s just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up.”

“Love: It will kill you and save you, both”

“Hate isn't’t the most dangerous thing, he’d said. Indifference is.”

“Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.”

“Hearts are fragile things. That's why you have to be so careful.”

“The past is nothing but a weight. It will build inside of you like a stone.”