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Delirium
(Delirium #1)

by Lauren Oliver

genre: dystopian, YA

Delirium had everything that should have made it a five star book: amazing writing style, interesting plot. So why did I give it 2 stars? I finished 4 or 5 books since starting Delirium and at the romantic high point, I didn’t cry (the end of the world is near).

Synopsis from Goodreads

DeliriumNinety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.
I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.
I want to get it over with.
It’s hard to be patient.
It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.
Still, I worry.
They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.
The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

 

Review

When it started, I was in awe of Oliver. She wove descriptive similes that had me wishing I could write like that. I think the last author I envied to that extent was J. K. Rowling. I also liked the idea of love as a disease, something to be wiped out as if humans have evolved beyond the need for that emotion.

As it progressed, I got bored. Because uncured boys and girls are kept completely separate, it was like listening to Japanese men fawning over a geisha’s wrist (switch the genders). I started another book while still in the middle of Delirium. Then, instead of picking Delirium back up, I read another book, and another… and another. Eventually, I decided that if I didn’t finish reading Delirium next, I wasn’t going to finish it at all.

I was ready to give it 3 stars, but when, at the romantic height of the novel, I didn’t cry, I decided there was no way to give it a three. Pretty sure the world will end soon.

2 out of 5 stars

However, I am in the minority. More people on Goodreads rated it 5 stars than any other number so decide for yourself.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

To see what other books we’ve reviewed, check out our book reviews page.