Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a dystopian novel set in a future United States where love is considered a dangerous disease that must be eradicated through a mandatory procedure at the age of 18. The story follows Lena, a 17-year-old girl who has always looked forward to receiving the cure until she unexpectedly falls in love with Alex. As Lena navigates this forbidden romance and questions the government's control over emotions, she begins to uncover the truth about her society and her own desires. The plot is described as compelling, well-written, and thought-provoking, with themes of censorship, government control, and the power of love.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains themes of suicide, violence, and underlying societal trauma associated with love being treated as a disease.
Has Romance?
The romance between Lena and Alex is central to the plot and is depicted as passionate, profound, and transformative.
From The Publisher:
The first book in Lauren Oliver's New York Times bestselling trilogy about forbidden love, revolution, and the power to choose.
In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistake.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the Wilds who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?
Ratings (60)
Incredible (10) | |
Loved It (23) | |
Liked It (11) | |
It Was OK (6) | |
Did Not Like (9) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (132):
Read It (65) | |
Want To Read (56) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (10) |
2 comment(s)
I'm not sure if I'm in an extra sappy mood or something, but this book made me bawl after I finished it.
For starters, the ending is horrible. I'm not going to get into specifics about why it's horrible, but it is. Yet, it was also not horrible. I'm curious about what happens next.
The author created an interesting society - one where love is considered a fatal disease and people get their brains snipped at age 18 to remove any capacity for love, feelings, passion and creativity. Individuals are assigned careers and spouses.
Our heroine, Lena, falls in love just days before she's supposed to be snipped.
The author's writing is exquisite - it's the kind of writing you want to read out loud so you can savor the phrases.
Favorite quote: "And now I know why they invented words for love, why they had to: It's the only thing that can come close to describing what I feel in that moment, the baffling mixture of pain and pleasure and fear and joy, all running sharply through me at once."
One of the best books I've read this year. Delirium held my attention the entire time and was so real and vivid, it felt like I had dropped into the book's world. I identified strongly with Lena and feel, overall, like this was a very powerful book and statement about the power of love to both compel people and to destroy them.
What can you read after
Delirium?
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