Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a dystopian novel where love is considered a disease (amor deliria nervosa) that needs to be cured and scientists have developed a cure. The cure is administered to all citizens once they turn eighteen. Lena has three months left until she will be cured. The Book of Shhh (The Safety, Health and Happiness Handbook) givens citizen guidance on the importance and need for the cure. Lena takes its readings to heart until she meets Alex and begins to fall in love.
As an educator for ten years, I taught eight of those years in middle or high school. Many of my students raved about books written by Lauren Oliver. This is the first novel I have read by her. Oliver’s descriptive writing and the way she strings words together captivates readers to keep turning the pages. Although I did find her writing style enjoyable, this novel left more to be desired. The story line never seemed to pick up. More time was spent describing minute details than developing the plot.
I’m not one to begin a series and not finish it, so I intend to read rest of the series which includes Pandemonium and Requiem. Oliver also wrote four novellas: Hana, Annabel, Raven and Alex to give readers multiple perspectives of this dystopia.
I hope the story has more depth in the consecutive novels.
Rating: 2.5/5
|
Level |
|
| Accelerated Reader | 6.1 |
| DRA | 70 |
| Guided Reading | Z |
| Lexile | 920 |
Resources
http://laurenoliverbooks.com/delirium.php
http://laurenoliverbooks.com/delirium_stories.php