Delirium

From Goodreads: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

In a word: fascinating. The concept is so interesting! Matched by Ally Condie has a very similar premise, but in my opinion, Delirium does it so much better. First off, I love Lauren Oliver's writing style. I know I would have loved Before I Fall if the content had been cleaner, because the writing is captivating and gorgeous. Delirium is a perfectly clean read (wahoo!), but it's the story that is its strength. I think it has an incredible plot and the world is so detailed! Everything was fully visualized and imagined. I understood the government, the history, the purpose of the "cure", how it affected daily life, etc... Lauren Oliver even included quotes at the beginning of each chapter from different novels, academic papers, government pamphlets, etc... - all created and imagined by Lauren Oliver for her world. I did occasionally feel like there were logic holes in the world, though. Like, "If that were true, would this really work that well?" I know I'm being vague, but I do try to avoid spoilers on this blog. If you read it I'd love to discuss this book with you!

This book is fast-paced. It's intense. I felt like Lena was a good female character: not wishy-washy, but determined and self-assured. There was some very believable character growth from Lena, as well as from the other main characters. My only wish for this series is that it wasn't a series. I get so tired of horrible cliff hangers. I wish there were more new novels that were stand-alone stories.