Delirium (Delirium, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jul 09, 2010 Misty rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: thanks-ksenia, excited-for, arc-or-galley, series, disappointing-or-excited-for-nothin, read-in-2010, signed, juvenile-ya, rant

2.5 - 3

"I hate skin; I hate bones and bodies. I want to curl up inside of him and be carried there forever."

Earlier this year, I fell in love with Lauren Oliver's debut, Before I Fall. So understandably, I was very excited to hear about her next book, Delirium. A dystopian world where love is a disease, written by the clearly very talented Oliver? Yeah, I can get behind that. I settled in to wait the long, cruel months until the February release date, when I got a surprise package in the ma ...more

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Sep 12, 2011 D.G. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult, dystopia

**4.5 stars**

What an emotional read.

Ever since I realized what was going on in this book, a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. I kept thinking of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and my devastation at the loss of a wonderful person. Because this cure for love was none other than a lobotomy that would deprive a person of their personality, their quirks, their essence of self and I cannot imagine a worst end.

I felt for Lena. I understood her pain and her desire for a panacea that would help he **4.5 stars**

What an emotional read.

Ever since I realized what was going on in this book, a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. I kept thinking of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and my devastation at the loss of a wonderful person. Because this cure for love was none other than a lobotomy that would deprive a person of their personality, their quirks, their essence of self and I cannot imagine a worst end.

I felt for Lena. I understood her pain and her desire for a panacea that would help her forget or at least, help her not to care anymore. When you have gone through what she has, it's not impossible to imagine. And that's why her rejection of everything she's always wanted was so powerful...it came by degrees, as she slowly discovered the lies and the love. Oh God the love.

Alex was a wonderful character. At first I had my suspicions about him - he just seemed too good to be true - but he turned out exactly what he seemed: a sweet, romantic, happy, heroic man who recites poetry and was willing to risk everything for love.

My only problem with the plot (and this is a recurrent theme for me with YA dystopias) is that we don’t know how this movement came into power. A new society that revers both religion and science is a really interesting twist and I really wanted to know how that came to be. Specially because the theme of this story is not so far fetched as it seems. Maybe society will never mandate for us to cut our emotions but today, some people are doing that willingly with the help of drugs. Used by over 31 million Americans, antidepressants are now the most widely prescribed class of drugs in the US and most of the users are not even receiving care from a psychiatrist.* More and more people are now taking drugs to cope with everyday things like SAT tests or job interviews...so is it really that far fetched to think that in the future people would just numb themselves to avoid all pain?

Overall, a great read with a thought provoking plot and great characters. I already pre-ordered the sequel...I cannot wait to see what happens next!

*Antidepressant Use in U.S. Has Almost Doubled ...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Yz the Whyz rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013-reads, lauren-oliver

In a world where love is considered a disease, Lena did the unthinkable just a few days before she gets the permanent cure. She fell in love.

Lauren Oliver's Delirium turned out to be a wonderful read for me, even thought I'm slightly mad at its ending. Oliver's prose shines with lyrical imagery, almost begging to be read aloud, even as I willingly ride the maelstrom of emotions her heroine is going through. All throughout, despite the happy moments, I was filled with dread...knowing...that somet ...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Chris C rated it it was ok

Typical young adult dystopia and reads like it is a badly cribbed version of Lowry's The Giver with some modern and more teenage aspects added to it. A friend thought I might enjoy it but it's not that good actually after all the other YA dystopia stuff flooding the market right now. ...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Jayme Pendergraft rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I could not wait for this book to be over, but by the time I got to the end, I wanted more. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the second book. I may have had my fill of dystopian teenage girl books but this one just seemed too slow. I enjoyed the tid bits from the Book of Shh and the later sprinklings of poetry and prose as Lana's world grew. The love story was pretty good but there seemed to be too many other things going on. What's the story with her family? Why is this world like this and for how ...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Joanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, from-the-library, 2012

Thanks to a long wait at the doctor today I was able to finish this up. After a run of three star books I needed something like this, a quick, easy read that totally sucked me in. While I didn't like this as much as Oliver's first book Before I Fall, she's definitely created a solid story here. Looking forward to grabbing book 2 from the library tomorrow! ...more

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