Delirium

To be honest, it took a while for me to get into this book. With all the 5-star reviews I've seen of it on Goodreads, I feel a bit stupid saying this... But it is true. Although I loved the language and tone Lauren Oliver used, I can't say this book was a perfect. People have compared it to Divergent... But, really? If I was asked to pick a favourite, I'd say Divergent in record timing. Delirium lacked something, and I'm not quite sure what 'something' is. Before you read the whole review, there are a few updates you might want to know. First of all, I'm stopping the newsletter – I'm too lazy and busy! Sorry if you enjoyed it, but I don't have enough time. Secondly, my review for Code Name Verity (what a brilliant book!!) will be posted at the weekend... And finally, I've just started reading The Kite Runner, and I'm really enjoying it! Okay, now on with my review:

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie. Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

My Thoughts:  Hmmm... As I wrote in the description, this seemed to lack something. It wasn't what I expected at all... But I suppose it was brilliantly written – nobody can deny Oliver's writing skills! The descriptive passages were just beautiful, and some of the lines spoken by the characters were genius! If you want a dystopia which is written well, this is the one for you...

As for the actual plot, it's very original. I loved the concept of the story, and I thought I'd share with you this small snippet from the wikipedia page: Lauren Oliver says that the inspiration for DeliriumGabriel Garcia Márquez essay where he said that all books were about either love or death. Since her first book, Before I Fall was about death, she wanted to write a book about love. At the gym she was watching a news report about a pandemic, and the two ideas combined in her head to form the central conceit of the Delirium books. I thought that was rather interesting... Anyway, back to the book. What did I think of the characters? I don't really have that much to say about Lena, she wasn't incredibly interesting... But in the scenes with Alex, I found she really came to life. In fact, the two of them were very likable when they were together!

So, that's what I thought of Delirium in a nutshell. I think I overestimated it slightly, but – hey – it's still a great read. I know for a fact others will really love it!

Favourite Quote:   

 “Take it from me: if you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging at your back and running its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do – the only thing – is run.”

The Word: 

Why?  Like I mentioned repeatedly, Lauren Oliver's writing is beautiful. Some of the language used is stunning, and as you can tell from the quote above, her book really is descriptive! What better word could I choose?!