A review by milkshakevoid
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
5.0
I wish I could give this 6 stars.
I've been let down by most of the dystopia I've read recently, but this was spectacular. The problem I normally find with dystopia is that there isn't a clear enough reason why society has regressed so far, but in this novel there are excerpts at the beginning of each chapter giving you an insight into approved documents, medical journals, stories, and histories which explain how Love or amor deliria nervosa has been identified as a disease. Obviously there's lots of corrupt governments and misguided people believing lies, etc. and a resistance, but love as a disease is so deliciously delved into by Oliver, that it's impossible to put this book down.
The setting was kind of hilarious for me because I only live a few hours from where this is supposed to take place, but aside from that, I thought that on the whole everything was believable and held up very well. The characters are incredibly detailed and heartbreakingly multifaceted. I've definitely fallen in love with her characters. Lena and Hana are easily the strongest most true to life female friendship that I've seen in a series, and Lena's romantic relationship with Alex manages to avoid nearly all the familiar romance and YA tropes.
Delirium was surprisingly fresh, emotional whirlwind that definitely lives up to and, honestly, deserves more hype. I'll be buying this in hard cover for my collection. Absolutely amazing.
I've been let down by most of the dystopia I've read recently, but this was spectacular. The problem I normally find with dystopia is that there isn't a clear enough reason why society has regressed so far, but in this novel there are excerpts at the beginning of each chapter giving you an insight into approved documents, medical journals, stories, and histories which explain how Love or amor deliria nervosa has been identified as a disease. Obviously there's lots of corrupt governments and misguided people believing lies, etc. and a resistance, but love as a disease is so deliciously delved into by Oliver, that it's impossible to put this book down.
The setting was kind of hilarious for me because I only live a few hours from where this is supposed to take place, but aside from that, I thought that on the whole everything was believable and held up very well. The characters are incredibly detailed and heartbreakingly multifaceted. I've definitely fallen in love with her characters. Lena and Hana are easily the strongest most true to life female friendship that I've seen in a series, and Lena's romantic relationship with Alex manages to avoid nearly all the familiar romance and YA tropes.
Delirium was surprisingly fresh, emotional whirlwind that definitely lives up to and, honestly, deserves more hype. I'll be buying this in hard cover for my collection. Absolutely amazing.