Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Cover from Harperteen.com

Synopsis: Lena is only months away from the big day - the day she will be cured of the disease called love. She's been waiting for this day for years because like all citizens, Lena believes that the cure means life without pain. Once cured they will all live safe and happy lives. 

Review: I picked up this book thinking that the plot was something new and fresh. I thought it would exciting, captivating, and intriguing. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

This is not a completely negative review so keep reading.

Let's start with the things I did like about this book.

I liked the concept. The idea that something we feel, experience, and look for, is not natural, that it's wrong - a disease, I thought that was interesting. I picked up this book because I was intrigued and I wanted to know where Oliver was going with it.

I like the quotes she put in the beginning of each chapter. They're excerpts from the books and manuals that citizens of her dystopian society live by. I thought it was clever, it provided some information about the inner workings of this world and how they really view love.

I liked Hana's and Lena's friendship. I liked that they were close (as much as young people can be in this dystopian society anyway) and that they have been friends since grade school. But they weren't so close that they had the same personality, they sort of complemented one another. I thought it was fitting that after everything that has happened to Lena and her family, she has someone who doesn't look at her like everyone else does, someone who can stand up for her. She needed someone who can coax her out her shell a little bit.

Another thing I liked was the description of Lena's apprehension about how her relationship with Hana will change after she is cured. It was touching, it was sad. It was believable. It's not that we worry about not remembering our childhood friends after we turn eighteen. The believable part is the difficulty of having to say goodbye to someone you've known for so long. I understood those moments and as I read them I just wanted to scream at Lena, "Hug her, tell her that you love her! Do it, now!"

Of course for Lena, it's not just that goodbyes are difficult, it's also that she doesn't know what to say. She doesn't know how to express how much Hana has meant to her because she doesn't know what love is like.

The last time they see each other made me tear up. That is more than I can say about the ending.

On to the things I did not like.