DELIRIUM BY LAUREN OLIVER
People used to think that Love was a good thing, a beautiful thing. That was before scientists found the cure. People didn’t understand that once love or "the deliria" as the scientist renamed it, blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. That the "Deliria" takes over your life, every aspect of it until you can't function because of it, so its a bad thing, well ....the scientists say its a bad thing.....and they must be right. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena's mother had the cure over and over again until she committed suicide,her love so great for her husband that she refused to have it removed from her, but she was ill wasn't she?, she had the Deliria didn't she? but the cure is really for the best isn't it? Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured, in fact shes been counting the months and weeks that soon turn into days until her procedure. A life without love is a life without pain: it's a safe, measured, predictable, and happy, isn't it? The "Cure" is something you just have, you don't question it for fear of being declared a sympathiser. We all know what happens to sympathisers, they are taken to the Crypts and are never seen again....or worse sentenced to death.
So with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena has nothing to really worry about does she? Well she shouldn't have anything to worry about but Lena goes and does the unthinkable: She falls in love!
She falls in love with Alex the moment she see's him watching her from the observatory in the lab, on the day of her evaluation. The evaluation that is ruined because the sympathisers let a herd of cows that should be headed to the slaughterhouse into the labs. So Lena has to wait and do the evaluation all over again. The evaluation is so important because that determines your score, which in turn gives you your matches that you rank in order of preference then, the scientists collate all the information and decide who you are to be paired with. Lena was ready for all this, she was even willing and kind of looking forward to her procedure but that was before she became involved with Alex.
I will leave my synopsis there as I do not wish to let slip any spoilers. I had wanted this book as soon as it came out and loved the turquoise cover of the hardback, for some reason the paperback cover is of a girls face, I presume its supposed to be Lena. i am not so keen on this cover in fact to a certain point it kind of put me off. Anyway I bought the book in a local supermarket and decided to read it straight away, then a book came in from an author that I promised to review so I didn't get it started that day. When I started reading the book, the pace felt a little slow and I thought I wasn't going to enjoy the book, but the slow pace was necesary to show you the slow pace of the peoples life who had already had the cure. then Lena saw Alex for the first time and everything changed, Lena took risks, something she had never done before. As I said I cannot gor into great detail but Lena finds herself betrayed on more than one occasion in the book by people who she thought she could trust with her life. Help for Lena comes from an unexpected source. I loved the character of Grace who doesn't speak, everyone thinks she can't speak, but she can in fact she sometimes speaks to Lena. I think its great how little Grace is rebelling against the society by choosing not to speak. So to sum up, because I have to sum up even though i feel like I could go on forever talking about this book. So to sum up a brilliant book, that did in parts remind me of Matched by Ally Condie ~ the whole being paired up scientifically, the book also reminded me of Divergent by Veronica Roth ~ with the evaluations that have to be undertaken at a set age. As I loved both those books I loved this one too. What more can I say than go buy it and read it now!
First posted on my blog http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.co.uk
Show lessPeople used to think that Love was a good thing, a beautiful thing. That was before scientists found the cure. People didn’t understand that once love or "the deliria" as the scientist renamed it, blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. That the "Deliria" takes over your life, every aspect of it until you can't function because of it, so its a bad thing, well ....the scientists say its a bad thing.....and they must be right. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena's mother had the cure over and over again until she committed suicide,her love so great for her husband that she refused to have it removed from her, but she was ill wasn't she?, she had the Deliria didn't she? but the cure is really for the best isn't it? Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured, in fact shes been counting the months and weeks that soon turn into days until her procedure. A life without love is a life without pain: it's a safe, measured, predictable, and happy, isn't it? The "Cure" is something you just have, you don't question it for fear of being declared a sympathiser. We all know what happens to sympathisers, they are taken to the Crypts and are never seen again....or worse sentenced to death.
So with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena has nothing to really worry about does she? Well she shouldn't have anything to worry about but Lena goes and does the unthinkable: She falls in love!
She falls in love with Alex the moment she see's him watching her from the observatory in the lab, on the day of her evaluation. The evaluation that is ruined because the sympathisers let a herd of cows that should be headed to the slaughterhouse into the labs. So Lena has to wait and do the evaluation all over again. The evaluation is so important because that determines your score, which in turn gives you your matches that you rank in order of preference then, the scientists collate all the information and decide who you are to be paired with. Lena was ready for all this, she was even willing and kind of looking forward to her procedure but that was before she became involved with Alex.
I will leave my synopsis there as I do not wish to let slip any spoilers. I had wanted this book as soon as it came out and loved the turquoise cover of the hardback, for some reason the paperback cover is of a girls face, I presume its supposed to be Lena. i am not so keen on this cover in fact to a certain point it kind of put me off. Anyway I bought the book in a local supermarket and decided to read it straight away, then a book came in from an author that I promised to review so I didn't get it started that day. When I started reading the book, the pace felt a little slow and I thought I wasn't going to enjoy the book, but the slow pace was necesary to show you the slow pace of the peoples life who had already had the cure. then Lena saw Alex for the first time and everything changed, Lena took risks, something she had never done before. As I said I cannot gor into great detail but Lena finds herself betrayed on more than one occasion in the book by people who she thought she could trust with her life. Help for Lena comes from an unexpected source. I loved the character of Grace who doesn't speak, everyone thinks she can't speak, but she can in fact she sometimes speaks to Lena. I think its great how little Grace is rebelling against the society by choosing not to speak. So to sum up, because I have to sum up even though i feel like I could go on forever talking about this book. So to sum up a brilliant book, that did in parts remind me of Matched by Ally Condie ~ the whole being paired up scientifically, the book also reminded me of Divergent by Veronica Roth ~ with the evaluations that have to be undertaken at a set age. As I loved both those books I loved this one too. What more can I say than go buy it and read it now!
First posted on my blog http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.co.uk
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This story was awesome! I loved that concept that Love is a disease in the future. It certainly makes the story interesting. I recommend this story to everyone!
Show lessThis story was awesome! I loved that concept that Love is a disease in the future. It certainly makes the story interesting. I recommend this story to everyone!
Read more...
Lena is a teenage girl living in a dystopian society in the near future. Scientists have found a way to cure the dangerous disease “deliria” and now everything is simple and easy. The downside to this is that deliria is actually means love, so once you are “cured” you no longer feel love for anything. A group of “Invalids” refuse the cure and live on the edges of society, rebelling against the mandatory cure and all it stands for. Lena’s life begins to change as she nears her 18th birthday and the date for her cure procedure. He best friend Hana and a new boy named Alex start to challenge her world view and she starts to question the truths she has been told her whole life. The thing I loved about this book is that, just like The Giver, it focuses on how truly being able to feel things affects every aspect of life. It’s a believable premise because anyone who has been in love understands that it can feel like a disease. The anxious feelings, heartbreak, excitement, etc. all of that goes hand-in-hand with the early stages of a sickness and it’s understandable that people might want to eradicate those feelings. I love that it deals not only with romantic love, but on love of al kinds. People who have had the “cure” aren’t just content to settle into their life with their assigned mate, they lose interest in almost everything. They often no longer enjoy their favorite hobbies. They don’t show affection for their children or pets. They let all old friendship fall away, etc. Yes, they are spared from feeling depression or pain, but all of the joy is gone as well. This isn’t just a love story, though that’s a crucial aspect of the book. It’s more about how love is what gives you a passion for life. It’s the think that makes friendships for wonderful and children so important. Being able to love something means you can hear and song and your hold world stops. The pain is just as important as the joy and a life without either isn’t worth living. BOTTOM LINE: I couldn’t put this book down. Sure, there are bits that are predictable and the characters feel a bit hollow sometimes, but the book did such great of a job of holding my attention that I’m wasn’t too worried about the writing being perfect. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series. “If pneumonia felt this good I’d stand out in the snow in winter with bare feet and no coat on, or march into the hospital and kiss pneumonia patients.” “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That’s what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.”
Show lessLena is a teenage girl living in a dystopian society in the near future. Scientists have found a way to cure the dangerous disease “deliria” and now everything is simple and easy. The downside to this is that deliria is actually means love, so once you are “cured” you no longer feel love for anything. A group of “Invalids” refuse the cure and live on the edges of society, rebelling against the mandatory cure and all it stands for. Lena’s life begins to change as she nears her 18th birthday and the date for her cure procedure. He best friend Hana and a new boy named Alex start to challenge her world view and she starts to question the truths she has been told her whole life. The thing I loved about this book is that, just like The Giver, it focuses on how truly being able to feel things affects every aspect of life. It’s a believable premise because anyone who has been in love understands that it can feel like a disease. The anxious feelings, heartbreak, excitement, etc. all of that goes hand-in-hand with the early stages of a sickness and it’s understandable that people might want to eradicate those feelings. I love that it deals not only with romantic love, but on love of al kinds. People who have had the “cure” aren’t just content to settle into their life with their assigned mate, they lose interest in almost everything. They often no longer enjoy their favorite hobbies. They don’t show affection for their children or pets. They let all old friendship fall away, etc. Yes, they are spared from feeling depression or pain, but all of the joy is gone as well. This isn’t just a love story, though that’s a crucial aspect of the book. It’s more about how love is what gives you a passion for life. It’s the think that makes friendships for wonderful and children so important. Being able to love something means you can hear and song and your hold world stops. The pain is just as important as the joy and a life without either isn’t worth living. BOTTOM LINE: I couldn’t put this book down. Sure, there are bits that are predictable and the characters feel a bit hollow sometimes, but the book did such great of a job of holding my attention that I’m wasn’t too worried about the writing being perfect. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series. “If pneumonia felt this good I’d stand out in the snow in winter with bare feet and no coat on, or march into the hospital and kiss pneumonia patients.” “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That’s what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.”
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