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daphx00's review against another edition
5.0
Omg no don't end like this!! What happened??? Aargh!!! WHAT A CLIFFHANGER!!!
In Delirium, love is seen as a disease: Amor deliria nervosa. The people in Maine are kept tightly under control and everyone get a procedure done once they turn 18 to prevent them from falling in love - or really feel love at all in any form. Before they are married, boys and girls are not allowed to touch eachother. Our main character, Lena, is 17 when we first meet her. She is working toward the day on which she has her interview with the Regulators, who will decide with whom she will be matched for life. In that situation, she first sees Alex. And eventually Lena does the unthinkable: she falls in love.
First up, let me say how much I loved this book. Our protagonist is a 17 year old girl who's mom is said to have killed herself because of the fact she loved a man. Love is considered distructive in this society, which is the reason for the procedure that every 18 year old will have in order to rule out the fact that they can love. This idea is so cuel! The idea was a little similar to Matched, in which Officials match people to their partner for life, but I found Delirium to be of a completely different caliber. The storyline took little time to develop and I immediately felt with Lena. Lena was a good protagonist; she was a little insecure, but easy to relate to and easy to feel with in the story.
When we meet Alex, I found him to be perfectly well described - from the color of his hair (atumn leaves) and his cheekiness (winking at Lena while Regulators are in the same room) and I found him to be a great love interest.
Lauren Oliver has a great writing style and I found myself to be sucked into the story really quickly. This second novel from her hand has certainly not disappointed me, quite the contrary! And the ending.. What are you doing to me, Lauren?? I flipped the page multiple times, sure there had to be more to the story. There wasn't. I can only say: what a cliffhanger!!
Five stars for Delirium: Because Lauren Oliver is a great author and Delirium is the second book that proves she's a five-star writer. After Before I Fall, I thought nothing could come close - but I couldn't be more wrong. I devoured this book and I honestly cannot wait til it's 2012 - because that's when Pandemonium will come out!
In Delirium, love is seen as a disease: Amor deliria nervosa. The people in Maine are kept tightly under control and everyone get a procedure done once they turn 18 to prevent them from falling in love - or really feel love at all in any form. Before they are married, boys and girls are not allowed to touch eachother. Our main character, Lena, is 17 when we first meet her. She is working toward the day on which she has her interview with the Regulators, who will decide with whom she will be matched for life. In that situation, she first sees Alex. And eventually Lena does the unthinkable: she falls in love.
First up, let me say how much I loved this book. Our protagonist is a 17 year old girl who's mom is said to have killed herself because of the fact she loved a man. Love is considered distructive in this society, which is the reason for the procedure that every 18 year old will have in order to rule out the fact that they can love. This idea is so cuel! The idea was a little similar to Matched, in which Officials match people to their partner for life, but I found Delirium to be of a completely different caliber. The storyline took little time to develop and I immediately felt with Lena. Lena was a good protagonist; she was a little insecure, but easy to relate to and easy to feel with in the story.
When we meet Alex, I found him to be perfectly well described - from the color of his hair (atumn leaves) and his cheekiness (winking at Lena while Regulators are in the same room) and I found him to be a great love interest.
Lauren Oliver has a great writing style and I found myself to be sucked into the story really quickly. This second novel from her hand has certainly not disappointed me, quite the contrary! And the ending.. What are you doing to me, Lauren?? I flipped the page multiple times, sure there had to be more to the story. There wasn't. I can only say: what a cliffhanger!!
Five stars for Delirium: Because Lauren Oliver is a great author and Delirium is the second book that proves she's a five-star writer. After Before I Fall, I thought nothing could come close - but I couldn't be more wrong. I devoured this book and I honestly cannot wait til it's 2012 - because that's when Pandemonium will come out!
noesbookishthings's review against another edition
4.0
The author's overuse of the word 'winking' nearly drove me nuts in the first part of the book, but once she got past that, it was a great read. Can't wait for the next one.
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident, Suicide, and Confinement
mrsguin's review against another edition
4.0
I can't believe I didn't write a review for this as soon as I finished. I found this novel to be really interesting. I think Oliver did a wonderful job of creating the world of Lena. The concept of a world without love is fascinating, and I look forward to the development of this series.
rae_rose's review against another edition
5.0
The story was so epic. It's a tear-jerker!!! You will love it to bits!
" I love you. Remember, They cannot take it." - Lena
" I love you. Remember, They cannot take it." - Lena
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Are you aware that The Hunger Games is popular? Do you have a passing knowledge of "We", "Brave New World", "1984", and "Fahrenheit 451"? Do you value a hot set of abs over story?
Well, the latter question isn't entirely true for this book. But still, once again, we have yet another cash-in on The Hunger Games popularity trend, one that, once again, focuses more on making sure our It Couple get together in the end than basic things like character development, nuance, and a gorram world that makes half a lick of sense in the 2 seconds you squint at it.
The sad thing is, it's frakkin' obvious Lauren Oliver is a kick @$$ writer. The pages just ooze with her adept writing skill, and I actually grew to like (somewhat) Lena and ADORE Lena and Hana's relationship. The sad thing is, I think Oliver felt she HAD to write a dystopia in order to get ANYWHERE in today's market - and so, Delirium is born.
Just like with "Shatter Me", "Divergent", and just about every other YA "dystopian" novel out there, the world-building is complete and utter donkey poo. It doesn't hold up to even a modicum of inspection. And throughout my time reading this book, I couldn't for once just barrel through and ignore it. The problems just kept jumping out and smacking me in the face.
How do humans survive without love? Why does this suddenly make them almost mind-numb, emotionless robots? Does love somehow get rid of fear and anger and greed? How was it determined that LOVE was the great evil behind wars and famine? What about...greed? What about...anger? What about class? Race? Sex? Sexual Orientation? Employment opportunities? Religious differences? You are telling me, getting rid of love somehow is going to make the poor Muslim from Pakistan lie down with the rich Christian from Oklahoma? (Or is religion gone all together? Or replaced by this "new" gospel that's alluded to in the book of Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh?)
Why is it SO IMPORTANT in this love-less society to get married - the institution most marked by that emotion? Why bother with any choice in mate selection - if there is no love, why not just match couples up based on what their offspring would be or do away with that and just artificially inseminate? If people need human companionship or sex, why not just make "community" marriages - in essence, like "We" or "Brave New World"? And why must these kids be paired at 18, with particular emphasis on the girls to get married? Wouldn't it be better for these women to use their skills at jobs? Or are there not enough jobs, what with no art? And if there's no art, what's the point of entertainment? Is it like "The LEGO Movie" where everyone sings, "Everything is Awesome"??? Is the entertainment bland and safe, just the same book and movie over and over and over again, like it is today, even with this very book? (zing!)
Why 18? How can a loveless mother or father care for a child? Why hug her baby or carefully tend his daughter? Why live together with an essentially arranged match when you don't love that person?
How can you feel muscle tear from bone and ligaments from bone and yet STILL be able to run and run and run for days - and this is AFTER falling from a 2-story building? How can a person who has never driven a motorcycle figure one out in the middle of a chase? How are all these underground music festivals going on with NO ONE noticing? How does Lena go from good girl to suddenly sneaking out nearly every night, skipping out in the middle of work? Does her aunt never check up on her or notice this? Why did Lena take the pills that were OBVIOUSLY tranquilizers from Rachel? And why is ONE girl and ONE boy enough concern for helicopters and multiple cop cars? Why don't they just shoot the perpetrators instead of trying to apprehend them at that point? And why does every author insist on painting Romeo and Juliet as a love story, a romance?!! It's a tragedy!
These are just a FEW of the questions that CONSTANTLY bombarded my mind. I tried to ignore them, but like with "Divergent", this world MAKES. NO. SENSE. WHATSOEVER. There's no indication of HOW this could happen, of how so much and yet so little of the world has changed - love is outlawed, but marriage is OK? (And don't even give the tepid excuse "This is young adult, OF COURSE, they had to get married!)
So yeah, if you can ignore that, unlike me, maybe you'll be better off.
If I'm completely honest, the characters range from OK to meh. Nothing horrible, nothing outstanding - though I will say that Oliver's are more engaging IMO than Veronica Roth's, particularly the Lena-Hana relationship.
And that's I think my biggest problem. The Lena-Hana relationship was really good! Hana carries the role of "rebellious one" that incites our mediocre protagonist to revolt - so why did we need Alex? Why couldn't Lena's love for Hana have been the THING to drive Lena to eschew this society and rebel? (It was, but it wasn't until Alex that Lena decides to throw caution to the wind and hang out almost exclusively with him.) The Lena-Hana relationship has a lot more depth and development than ANYTHING in the Lena-Alex relationship. And it would be nice to see a non-romantic love emphasized in a book.
But no, that would mean no honey-eyed, marbled ab hottie in our book, so of course, we have Alex. Bland, boring, safe Alex whose backstory makes no sense, from getting to where he is in the book to some of his knowledge about Lena's past. (No spoilers.) The best I can say about Alex is that at least he's not a typical d-bag boyfriend like, say, Patch from "Hush, Hush".
The other characters are pretty awful. Carol and Jenny, shrewish and mean. Gracie who can't speak (and no one is worried or seeking treatment for this?). Every "bad guy" getting this AWFUL voice (sorry Jessica Drew! You did okay with Lena, Hana, and Alex, just why did every bad guy have to have an evil car salesman voice?!), have this awful conversation amounting to, "I am so evil, I go home at night and kick newborn puppies UP THE STAIRS!"
I think the other thing that somewhat pisses me off about this book/trilogy is the fact that, with a few tweaks, this could have gone from generic YA fauxtopia to a half-decent modern dystopia.
This book made me know two things: I wouldn't mind checking out Oliver's "Before I Fall", and that I won't, under any circumstances, be checking out the sequels in this series. Oliver seems to be a decent author, but this isn't a decent dystopia - though I am putting it at the same level of "Divergent" because of the Lena-Hana relationship.
Well, the latter question isn't entirely true for this book. But still, once again, we have yet another cash-in on The Hunger Games popularity trend, one that, once again, focuses more on making sure our It Couple get together in the end than basic things like character development, nuance, and a gorram world that makes half a lick of sense in the 2 seconds you squint at it.
The sad thing is, it's frakkin' obvious Lauren Oliver is a kick @$$ writer. The pages just ooze with her adept writing skill, and I actually grew to like (somewhat) Lena and ADORE Lena and Hana's relationship. The sad thing is, I think Oliver felt she HAD to write a dystopia in order to get ANYWHERE in today's market - and so, Delirium is born.
Just like with "Shatter Me", "Divergent", and just about every other YA "dystopian" novel out there, the world-building is complete and utter donkey poo. It doesn't hold up to even a modicum of inspection. And throughout my time reading this book, I couldn't for once just barrel through and ignore it. The problems just kept jumping out and smacking me in the face.
How do humans survive without love? Why does this suddenly make them almost mind-numb, emotionless robots? Does love somehow get rid of fear and anger and greed? How was it determined that LOVE was the great evil behind wars and famine? What about...greed? What about...anger? What about class? Race? Sex? Sexual Orientation? Employment opportunities? Religious differences? You are telling me, getting rid of love somehow is going to make the poor Muslim from Pakistan lie down with the rich Christian from Oklahoma? (Or is religion gone all together? Or replaced by this "new" gospel that's alluded to in the book of Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh?)
Why is it SO IMPORTANT in this love-less society to get married - the institution most marked by that emotion? Why bother with any choice in mate selection - if there is no love, why not just match couples up based on what their offspring would be or do away with that and just artificially inseminate? If people need human companionship or sex, why not just make "community" marriages - in essence, like "We" or "Brave New World"? And why must these kids be paired at 18, with particular emphasis on the girls to get married? Wouldn't it be better for these women to use their skills at jobs? Or are there not enough jobs, what with no art? And if there's no art, what's the point of entertainment? Is it like "The LEGO Movie" where everyone sings, "Everything is Awesome"??? Is the entertainment bland and safe, just the same book and movie over and over and over again, like it is today, even with this very book? (zing!)
Why 18? How can a loveless mother or father care for a child? Why hug her baby or carefully tend his daughter? Why live together with an essentially arranged match when you don't love that person?
How can you feel muscle tear from bone and ligaments from bone and yet STILL be able to run and run and run for days - and this is AFTER falling from a 2-story building? How can a person who has never driven a motorcycle figure one out in the middle of a chase? How are all these underground music festivals going on with NO ONE noticing? How does Lena go from good girl to suddenly sneaking out nearly every night, skipping out in the middle of work? Does her aunt never check up on her or notice this? Why did Lena take the pills that were OBVIOUSLY tranquilizers from Rachel? And why is ONE girl and ONE boy enough concern for helicopters and multiple cop cars? Why don't they just shoot the perpetrators instead of trying to apprehend them at that point? And why does every author insist on painting Romeo and Juliet as a love story, a romance?!! It's a tragedy!
These are just a FEW of the questions that CONSTANTLY bombarded my mind. I tried to ignore them, but like with "Divergent", this world MAKES. NO. SENSE. WHATSOEVER. There's no indication of HOW this could happen, of how so much and yet so little of the world has changed - love is outlawed, but marriage is OK? (And don't even give the tepid excuse "This is young adult, OF COURSE, they had to get married!)
So yeah, if you can ignore that, unlike me, maybe you'll be better off.
If I'm completely honest, the characters range from OK to meh. Nothing horrible, nothing outstanding - though I will say that Oliver's are more engaging IMO than Veronica Roth's, particularly the Lena-Hana relationship.
And that's I think my biggest problem. The Lena-Hana relationship was really good! Hana carries the role of "rebellious one" that incites our mediocre protagonist to revolt - so why did we need Alex? Why couldn't Lena's love for Hana have been the THING to drive Lena to eschew this society and rebel? (It was, but it wasn't until Alex that Lena decides to throw caution to the wind and hang out almost exclusively with him.) The Lena-Hana relationship has a lot more depth and development than ANYTHING in the Lena-Alex relationship. And it would be nice to see a non-romantic love emphasized in a book.
But no, that would mean no honey-eyed, marbled ab hottie in our book, so of course, we have Alex. Bland, boring, safe Alex whose backstory makes no sense, from getting to where he is in the book to some of his knowledge about Lena's past. (No spoilers.) The best I can say about Alex is that at least he's not a typical d-bag boyfriend like, say, Patch from "Hush, Hush".
The other characters are pretty awful. Carol and Jenny, shrewish and mean. Gracie who can't speak (and no one is worried or seeking treatment for this?). Every "bad guy" getting this AWFUL voice (sorry Jessica Drew! You did okay with Lena, Hana, and Alex, just why did every bad guy have to have an evil car salesman voice?!), have this awful conversation amounting to, "I am so evil, I go home at night and kick newborn puppies UP THE STAIRS!"
I think the other thing that somewhat pisses me off about this book/trilogy is the fact that, with a few tweaks, this could have gone from generic YA fauxtopia to a half-decent modern dystopia.
Spoiler
Instead of having Lena run off and Alex get captured, why not have them both die and this be a standalone? Or what about Alex still gets captured, but Lena dies and her spirit sees the torture and death of Alex? That would have immediately sent this book to a higher ranking.This book made me know two things: I wouldn't mind checking out Oliver's "Before I Fall", and that I won't, under any circumstances, be checking out the sequels in this series. Oliver seems to be a decent author, but this isn't a decent dystopia - though I am putting it at the same level of "Divergent" because of the Lena-Hana relationship.