Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Lauren Oliver- DeliriumFormat- PaperbackSource- Review copy/ Boomerang BooksSynopsis: 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.Review: Lena and Hana have always been the best of friends. She has always felt like the underdog against her beautiful, carefree friend. Lena is happy to live within the restrictions of their existence. A world where love is a disease to be cured. Lena is due to undertake an evaluation which will decide her future. She will be matched with a career, husband and life. Lena strives to conform so that she will not be revealed as a ‘sympathiser’ like her mother who ultimately lost her life for the love of… well love. Until Lena meets Alex and begins to wonder whether love is as bad as she has been told her whole life. Alex is a young blonde guy who bears the mark of being cured of the disease, only he seems to have some secrets of his own.I don’t want to give away too much of the story because it is nice to experience the surprises as they arise. To be honest, the plot is not action packed but the author takes the time to develop the characters well including Lena, Alex and her friend Hana. To a lesser extent we learn of L-Lena's mother's experience as well which provides a nice insight into her upbringing. Lena is a smart adolescent and I felt like I understood all the decisions that she made and the inner conflicts she experienced so I was not left feeling confused by her actions. Lauren Oliver has a floaty way of creating a teenage voice that flows and provides a depth to their character.Now, in terms of the ending. I have a love/ hate relationship with the end of this book. On the one hand, as Lena says, it is beautiful and i like the romeo and juliet comparisons but on the other hand it is also frustrating to have so many things left unanswered. I am looking forward to the second book in this dystopian trilogy, Pandemonium due for release in March 2012.
4/5 rating
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