Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver 
Published: 4th August 2011 (UK paperback)
Publisher: Lauren Oliver


Goodreads description:


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 governments 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:


Another present tense book, I am adoring this trend right now. It makes everything so much more intimate. The writing in this book is just lovely; reminiscent of Maggie Stiefvater's almost poetical style. I really love it when I read a book that I enjoy for the writing style as much as the story. 


The plot was an intriguing one; is love something dangerous? It reminded me of the film equilibrium, especially the idea of those who protest against the government and rebel in secret and the character whose opinions get completely changed around. There was also a hint of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld in there as well and I think the combination of these 2 ideas worked really well together to produce an interesting and believable dystopian society. 


I liked Lena as a main character, she was a great mix of fragility and inherent bravery and endearing confusion. I thought her development throughout the novel was really natural and realistic; I liked how she didn't suddenly change her mind one minute for no good reason.  I wasn't overly fond of her best friend Hanna, she seemed like one type of person but kinda ended up being another and I felt like her motivations were sometimes really superficial and selfish. Alex was a fantastic love interest in terms of what he brought to the plot, but I felt his character was a little flatter than the others in the story. I adored Grace, she was by far the strongest character in the whole book for me despite the small role she plays. 


The pace of the novel is fairly slow and lazy which I think worked well as the majority of the plot takes place over a summer (their last summer) and I think it added to the element of denial Lena has about her cure, and yet at the same time draws attention to how soon and how drastically her life will change. However for me, it was a little difficult to get into the story because of this. The ending was just fantastic, totally heartstopping and not really what I expected. I always moan that YA can sometimes be too nice and happy but with this I was just screaming for a happy ending.


This is a fantastic and thought-provoking dystopian which has obviously been really well thought out and I am desperate for the sequel. I give it 4/5 If you waited this long to read it (like I did) you wont regret picking it up. I definitely recommend if you're a fan of Wither or the Uglies series.