Review: Delirium - Lauren Oliver

Where I got it: Netgalley
Rating: 4.5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (It's interesting and I like the picture behind the words.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Page Count: 448 p.

Lena lives in a world where love is said to be a disease. They call it deliria.Lena counted the days until she could be cured and no longer susceptible to the disease. The government controls how people think, even though their control might be absolute. There are people who ran away before they were cured, they live in the Wilds. A place uncontrolled by the government. Lena is completely ready for her cure, until she contracts deliria and falls in love.

This was certainly an interesting concept, that remind me quite a bit of 1984. There is definitely the air of oppression and a worry about a sort-of Thought Police. The only thing I didn't like was the pacing of this book. It wasn't really as fast-paced as I had thought it would be, more of a gentle flowing. So at times, although I was really interested, there just wasn't that much going on. I enjoyed how realistic that made the book seem, but it was just a bit too slow for such a long book. Other than the pacing however the novel progressed nicely, with enough action to not completely kill the story and not so much that there is no plot or relationship development. It was strange looking at friendship in a different life. Even relationships between family members were completely different after they had been "cured". It's weird to think that most of what strives us to other people is a simple feeling of love. In Lena's world family visits you out of priority, they no longer crave your attention and care. This book makes you think of a lot of things that you may take for granted every day, the simple freedom that you have even if your parents have some strict rules. The fact that music, and books and movies are all selected for you out of the many vast numbers that there used to be seems outrageous. The idea that listening to music, that doesn't have any sort of negative message, but isn't approved by the government is wrong, is illegal is mind-blowing. I loved Lena and how she is described as nun-like in the beginning of the story and then goes on to complete break out of her shell. I really loved that she was such a static character and it was totally believable that she would start to question some things, especially with growing up with the mother she had. Her mom was a great mother, and it's sad that they tortured her so much simply because she had a heart filled with love. It seems like such an outrageous thing to be punished for. It's not even that she loved the wrong people, it was the simple fact that she did love. I am certainly looking forward to the next novel in this series, for many reasons, none of which I can explain to you because they are spoiler-y. Trust me though, this was a very fascinating and delightful read, that I will not soon forget. I'm sure I will still be thinking about it when the second novel comes out and I can finally move on in Lena's story.

First Line:
"It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure. 

Favorite Line:
"Rainstorms are incredible: falling shards of glass, the air full of diamonds."