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This was an interesting read. I was impressed from the first moment with the concept of this novel and very much intrigued by the idea of love as a disease.
It started off really well, the world was creatively introduced and kept me flipping pages and Lauren Oliver has a really good way of weaving in elements of the world we live in at present into her distopian setting. I felt the fear this world evoked. The oppressive nature of the authorities and all that they control. The government has such a tight hold over the people, going as far as evaluating each teen to then be able to pick their major in university, the number of children they should some day have and their future husband. I was angry and terrified at the same time while reading because this world someone felt so real - as if 50 years into the future love really could be seen as a disease.
Where this book started to fall flat for me was in the relationship between Lena and Alex. I really enjoyed them at first and wanted to explore their growing bond and yet as I got farther into the novel I felt like the stakes weren't as high as they needed to be. I grew more and more disinterested with their relationship and felt like I didn't really know either of them. Alex's character, while intriguing, is also very much a mystery. I don't know if this was on purpose or just a flaw in the writing but I felt distanced from him someone. I also felt this way about Lena - who while strong in one sense is also very weak. I wanted to care more about their relationship and I wanted to feel the same fear and danger of their circumstances as I thought they should be feeling in the book but it never really happened.
By then end the book felt predictable.
I think that the author should have spent a lot more time building this romance so the readers really would have to question whether their love was a disease or the love that we (the readers) know exists. I think this really would have helped the execution of what was such a unique take on such a human emotion.
I give this book 3.5/4 stars for the unique concept, and the work Oliver put into developing the story and its reality. She added little touches, like developing a new scientific take on religion, a guidebook to the deliria - the book of Shhh, and many more touches to successfully paint the picture of this distopian and often depressing setting.
It started off really well, the world was creatively introduced and kept me flipping pages and Lauren Oliver has a really good way of weaving in elements of the world we live in at present into her distopian setting. I felt the fear this world evoked. The oppressive nature of the authorities and all that they control. The government has such a tight hold over the people, going as far as evaluating each teen to then be able to pick their major in university, the number of children they should some day have and their future husband. I was angry and terrified at the same time while reading because this world someone felt so real - as if 50 years into the future love really could be seen as a disease.
Where this book started to fall flat for me was in the relationship between Lena and Alex. I really enjoyed them at first and wanted to explore their growing bond and yet as I got farther into the novel I felt like the stakes weren't as high as they needed to be. I grew more and more disinterested with their relationship and felt like I didn't really know either of them. Alex's character, while intriguing, is also very much a mystery. I don't know if this was on purpose or just a flaw in the writing but I felt distanced from him someone. I also felt this way about Lena - who while strong in one sense is also very weak. I wanted to care more about their relationship and I wanted to feel the same fear and danger of their circumstances as I thought they should be feeling in the book but it never really happened.
By then end the book felt predictable.
I think that the author should have spent a lot more time building this romance so the readers really would have to question whether their love was a disease or the love that we (the readers) know exists. I think this really would have helped the execution of what was such a unique take on such a human emotion.
I give this book 3.5/4 stars for the unique concept, and the work Oliver put into developing the story and its reality. She added little touches, like developing a new scientific take on religion, a guidebook to the deliria - the book of Shhh, and many more touches to successfully paint the picture of this distopian and often depressing setting.