Delirium (Delirium #1)
Lauren Oliver
Published February 1, 2011
Harper Teen
Audiobook from Library
Read by Sarah Drew
Harper Audio
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. –Goodreads
I’m not really sure why I put off reading this book for so long. I won a copy on Twitter back when it first came out and just never read it. I kept hearing how amazing it is – so when I saw it on audio through my library I jumped at the chance to listen to it. I seem to be getting through audio books faster than books right now for some reason.
Delirium is a wonderfully well written dystopian about love, friendship, and trust. Oliver’s words just flow off the page and takes the reader into a captivating world. I loved every single word of Delirium.
Delirium is set in a world where love is considered to be a disease – and once you turn 18 you are cured from ever contracting the disease. What I didn’t think about going into the story was how eliminating love in a world is like taking away feelings for anything – there is no passion. No love for your children or husband. No love for even hobbies or the world around you. That makes for a very depressing place, full of empty shells walking around not caring about much. Oliver does a fantastic job of keeping the world believable. Her descriptions of the world and reasoning behind how it worked made sense. The world she creates is sad and lonely – and even though Lena sees it she embraces it.
Lena has been hurt far too many times – her father and mother are dead and she is left to live with her aunt. She doesn’t want to feel anymore – she wants to be “normal” like everyone around her. When Lena meets Alex that slowly starts to change. Alex is part of the Resistance and feels that Lena is worth saving. What happens next is a story full of love, heartbreak, and risk.
I loved the characters in Delirium. At the beginning, Lean is very no-nonsense type of girl – she plays by the rules and doesn’t cause any trouble. As the book progresses, we see her grow into her own person. She comes out from the shadows of her past and becomes strong and fearless. Lena progresses with the help of Hannah and Alex. Hannah, her best friend, is a bit of a wild child and tries to get Lena to loosen up before she is “cured.” I loved the scenes with Hannah. And Alex. Ahhh.. I love Alex. He is like the perfect guy. Every scene with between him and Lena is so full of life and love and happiness. I loved their relationship.
The audio part of this book is amazingly good as well. Sarah Drew is a FANTASTIC narrator. I’ve actually had the chance to read Pandemonium and as I read, I could hear her voice. She became Lena to me and I will probably “reread” Pandemonium again on audio just to hear her read it. I will definitely be checking out more books narrated by Drew in the future.
Overall, Delirium is a fantastic read and I highly recommend the audio book. If dystopian is your thing and you like a good love story – this is a book that should be on the top of your TBR pile.