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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Originally posted at Fiction Description
This book was a dystopia, that's for sure. An unimaginative, derivative dystopia, whose main 'twist' (love being forbidden) isn't really a twist at all; it's a frequent feature of dystopian literature. I'd say about half of the dystopian novels I've read also have people paired up in assigned couple units: The Giver, Matched... even Brave New World's hypersexual society portrays love as something alien and wrong.
Nevertheless, I'm a huge dystopia fan; there are worse things in the genre than cookie-cutter worlds, and so that alone wouldn't ruin the book for me. However, Oliver does not find redemption on any other front. The romance between Lena and Alex is one of paper-thin instalove. Sorry, best-friend-since-childhood, I won't shift my world view one iota based on your pleas. Oh, hello boy-I-just-met-and-who-I've-been-raised-to-wholeheartedly-believe-is-dangerous, a few days with you and my entire personality has been overhauled! Secondary characters seem pulled out of cliches: evil-stepfamily (and, just like in Cinder, the youngest stepsister is the exception);* stone-hearted policemen; so-much-better-than-me best friend (to prove just how 'ordinary' our heroine is)...
The plot twists are equally trite. Oh, the future dystopian world is enclosed by a fence, outside of which there is no civilization? I wonder where I've seen that before... (for the benefit of the hypothetical reader who has never, ever read a single dystopian novel in their entire life, the answer to that seemingly-rhetorical question is, of course, everywhere.) Coupled with the old 'if you don't see the body' law of fiction, nothing Delirium threw at me came as any sort of surprise.
While there is nothing special about Delirium, I don't mean to suggest that it is an entirely terrible novel. Oliver's prose is rather enjoyable to read, even if her subject matter isn't the most stimulating. I also found the epigraphs at the start of each chapter to be a nice touch; they allow the reader to become a bit more immersed in the culture of Oliver's world, something that is otherwise too scarcely referenced.
Despite my reservations, I have already picked up the second book in the series, Pandemonium. Perhaps some of the more problematic areas of Delirium will be rectified in this second installment, although I certainly won't be holding my breath.
*Yes, technically Lena's adopted family are her cousins, not her stepsisters, but the point still stands.
This book was a dystopia, that's for sure. An unimaginative, derivative dystopia, whose main 'twist' (love being forbidden) isn't really a twist at all; it's a frequent feature of dystopian literature. I'd say about half of the dystopian novels I've read also have people paired up in assigned couple units: The Giver, Matched... even Brave New World's hypersexual society portrays love as something alien and wrong.
Nevertheless, I'm a huge dystopia fan; there are worse things in the genre than cookie-cutter worlds, and so that alone wouldn't ruin the book for me. However, Oliver does not find redemption on any other front. The romance between Lena and Alex is one of paper-thin instalove. Sorry, best-friend-since-childhood, I won't shift my world view one iota based on your pleas. Oh, hello boy-I-just-met-and-who-I've-been-raised-to-wholeheartedly-believe-is-dangerous, a few days with you and my entire personality has been overhauled! Secondary characters seem pulled out of cliches: evil-stepfamily (and, just like in Cinder, the youngest stepsister is the exception);* stone-hearted policemen; so-much-better-than-me best friend (to prove just how 'ordinary' our heroine is)...
The plot twists are equally trite. Oh, the future dystopian world is enclosed by a fence, outside of which there is no civilization? I wonder where I've seen that before... (for the benefit of the hypothetical reader who has never, ever read a single dystopian novel in their entire life, the answer to that seemingly-rhetorical question is, of course, everywhere.) Coupled with the old 'if you don't see the body' law of fiction, nothing Delirium threw at me came as any sort of surprise.
While there is nothing special about Delirium, I don't mean to suggest that it is an entirely terrible novel. Oliver's prose is rather enjoyable to read, even if her subject matter isn't the most stimulating. I also found the epigraphs at the start of each chapter to be a nice touch; they allow the reader to become a bit more immersed in the culture of Oliver's world, something that is otherwise too scarcely referenced.
Despite my reservations, I have already picked up the second book in the series, Pandemonium. Perhaps some of the more problematic areas of Delirium will be rectified in this second installment, although I certainly won't be holding my breath.
*Yes, technically Lena's adopted family are her cousins, not her stepsisters, but the point still stands.
When I first heard about this book I thought "there is no way this concept can be convincing or interesting enough to sustain a book, much less a trilogy." I basically decided to read it to see how far in can I get before getting tired of it. Guess what? I loved it! And you won't understand how fun this book is until you read it yourself.
The concept that Love is now a disease was what initially made me giggle. Really? Love is bad and there is a cure for it? Come on! However, the way Lauren Oliver lays it out in the book, it absolutely makes sense. There were moments when I was literally disturbed by how logical the whole "love is evil" argument was. The only thing I'm left curious about is what the procedure (a.k.a. the cure) actually is - Oliver never describes it (at least not in Delirium) and all we know about it is that it leaves a scar on the neck behind the ear, can have side effects and is performed around the person's 18th birthday.
The book has all the elements you would expect from a young adult novel: extreme circumstances, both sides of an argument, substantial amount of action and cliffhangers, and complicated relationships. What I was pleasantly surprised to find, however, was the richness of the language. In my experience with young adult books, the writing itself usually seems to be more dynamic than descriptive, leaving the language pretty basic and simple. Delirium is definitely a step up from that: every page is filled with vivid imagery and metaphors. I knew exactly what everything looked liked and felt like. I honestly really enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing style!
Another thing I love about the book is that the main character, Lena, is not your typical "I will break free" heroine. She is not trying to break away from the norm. On the contrary, she cannot wait to be cured and is very set in her beliefs, looking forward to fulfill her role within the society. This alone makes her struggle so much more interesting, as she tries to cling on to everything she has been taught her whole life. As the story unfolds, Lena becomes a very layered character, both in her background and things she goes through. For me, she is a character I felt the closest connection to out of all the books that I have read in the past year.
Needless to say, I absolutely recommend this book. Do NOT be turned off by the concept - it really does work as a part of the story, even though it might sound silly out of context. I enjoyed Delirium way more than I thought I would and the ending left me gasping. I HAD to start Pandemonium right away - it was on my Kindle a minute after I finished Delirium and I was reading it as soon as it was done downloading.
The concept that Love is now a disease was what initially made me giggle. Really? Love is bad and there is a cure for it? Come on! However, the way Lauren Oliver lays it out in the book, it absolutely makes sense. There were moments when I was literally disturbed by how logical the whole "love is evil" argument was. The only thing I'm left curious about is what the procedure (a.k.a. the cure) actually is - Oliver never describes it (at least not in Delirium) and all we know about it is that it leaves a scar on the neck behind the ear, can have side effects and is performed around the person's 18th birthday.
The book has all the elements you would expect from a young adult novel: extreme circumstances, both sides of an argument, substantial amount of action and cliffhangers, and complicated relationships. What I was pleasantly surprised to find, however, was the richness of the language. In my experience with young adult books, the writing itself usually seems to be more dynamic than descriptive, leaving the language pretty basic and simple. Delirium is definitely a step up from that: every page is filled with vivid imagery and metaphors. I knew exactly what everything looked liked and felt like. I honestly really enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing style!
Another thing I love about the book is that the main character, Lena, is not your typical "I will break free" heroine. She is not trying to break away from the norm. On the contrary, she cannot wait to be cured and is very set in her beliefs, looking forward to fulfill her role within the society. This alone makes her struggle so much more interesting, as she tries to cling on to everything she has been taught her whole life. As the story unfolds, Lena becomes a very layered character, both in her background and things she goes through. For me, she is a character I felt the closest connection to out of all the books that I have read in the past year.
Needless to say, I absolutely recommend this book. Do NOT be turned off by the concept - it really does work as a part of the story, even though it might sound silly out of context. I enjoyed Delirium way more than I thought I would and the ending left me gasping. I HAD to start Pandemonium right away - it was on my Kindle a minute after I finished Delirium and I was reading it as soon as it was done downloading.
The books premise is that "love" is a disease and must be eradicated based on the emotions it causes. I found it to have been a well-thought out plot and the ending was fantastic. However, I struggled to quickly get through it.
Overall this was a good book, but it does feel the same as alot of books i've been reading lately, with the whole distopian society(not sure if i spelled that right) kid of thing, so it was enjoyable but nothing new.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was good and sad and exciting! I liked it but I was sad with the ending and at the same time it was very realistic and i liked that.
La verdad tenia muy altas expectativas sobre este libro porque había leído un par de reseñas que me aseguraban que no seria una perdida de tiempo, pero a mi gusto resulto lo contrario, al principio todo me pareció genial la historia, el hecho de que las personas no podían hacer nada que simbolizara algo de afecto o amor, todo ese sistema de emparejamiento, me gusto bastante y me mantuvo muy interesada en la lectura, pero cuando llegue a la pagina 100 o tal vez unas cuantas paginas mas adelante fui perdiendo el interés en cada linea, no se si fue porque posiblemente me resultaran algo predecibles los acontecimientos, o porque simplemente la historia ya no me atrapaba como al principio, sinceramente esperaba mucho mas de este libro, al principio creí que encontraría uno de esos libros que te mantienen con el alma en un hilo todo el tiempo y te absorben en sus paginas, pero me decepciono bastante. Aunque debo admitir que el tema en sí llama bastante la atención y es muy ingenioso.
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The book was kinda cheesy. I loved the idea of love being seen as a disease, but it was very predictable and cliched. Of course, in a world where love is forbidden the main character is going to fall in love. Had the love interest been of the same gender, it might've been more interesting. It was a rather bland, heteronormative book.