Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Reviewed by: Rafia AND Cassie

Rating: five glass slippers!

Summary (from BN.com)

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Cassie here:

Let me start out with this- I really didn't want to keep reading this book. No, not as in "OMG LET ME BURN THIS!!" I mean, "This is too beautiful... I don't want to end the book!" Yes, the story is absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Dreamy. It's about Love as a disease and that one life-altering moment when someone finds love for the first time. Even though I just came back from vacation, I must review Delirium!

The girl-

Lena, which is a nickname for Magdalena, is a very normal girl. She's not this or that; she's in between in everything, she says. She looks forward to the cure because of all the hurt and pain she's seen and experienced from the disease. It's wicked and horrible. She counts down the days. She sticks to the rules and I can totally see her character. Whether or not we readers want to admit it, Lena is a very relate-able character. A lot of us don't want to take chances that could mean death, just for the sake of a scorned, disgusting 'something'. But Lena starts to change when she meets Alex. Beautiful and bright, he is just the thing to make her veer off course. Suddenly, she's questioning all of the rules and 'truths' her well-contained community has told her. She's really afraid yet exhilarated to do the unthinkable; fall in love. Her character really develops as the story goes on- she goes from "uptight, no-spirit girl" to "fighting, living, loving girl." And I must say, it was nice. I haven't seen a good turn-around recently.

The boy-

Alex. Let me just put this out there- if you are real and alive, CASSIE LOVES YOU BABY.

Okay I don't know how to do him justice. He is... the perfect first love. Sweet, compassionate, attractive, cute, thoughtful, wild (ha, if you read it, you'll understand), troubled, and rebellious. He sees Lena as someone really, really special. He just saw her one day and was drawn to her true self. He saw her as a beautiful girl, not just a normal girl. He watched the stars with her. He had picnics with her. He went swimming with her. He snuck out for her. He did a LOT for her. And he was uber cute, too. Like this. (AH ANDREW GARFIELD!!)

So... he's got hair the color of autumn leaves when they're turning. I thought of that as a like... sort of brown. With some nice fire to it. He has bright, intense eyes that are light, molten brown like liquid honey. His skin is tan. Now that is a nice lookin' guy. BUT HE IS SO SWEET YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH HIS PERSONALITY!! Oh... how I love him.

The best friend-

Hana. Tall, blonde, beautiful. Rebellious. She, really, is who began the new Lena. She freaked her out and helped her along. For that, she is awesome. She also helps Lena with issues. For that, she is awesome. She is all talk, no walk. For that, she is not awesome. I don't like people like that, even though I understand why she was like that.

The world-

Pretty cool, kind of very dystopian cliche though. But the Wilds was a very nice touch! The rules and lifestyles were an interesting read. Also, it was really creative to think of a world (scratch that, nation) that scorned Love! To think of it as a disease!

The adventure-

I don't know if you can tell, but this isn't an adventure kind of book. It's about falling in love despite everything being set against it. It's about escape from the life being lived. It's not about rebelling against the government or joining rebel forces. While I did get a Matched series sort of feel, like the matches etc., there was a unique look to this story. And the end adventure is well-written and so, so amazing. Beautiful, sad, and full of hope.

Go read it and love Alex with me. Go.

Rafia here:

Delirium. This book just blew me away! I read it while I was reading Matched (Ally Condie) and Divergent (Veronica Roth), so it had some tough competition. And yet, it still blew me away! Like Cassie put it, it was dreamy and just plain beautiful.

The romance:

I died...no seriously, I died! Now days, it is so hard to find a real romance, not any of that predestined attraction crap, because personally, that just shows how an author is lazy. Lena and Alex...it was just so beautiful! I melted...that is how amazing their romance is! They went on a picnic...read poems...watched stars...and just rivaled The Notebook! Yes I went there...

The characters: 
I didn't like Lena very much in the beginning of the book, but later on, as she kinda changed, she kinda grew on me. I have to tell you though, in the sequel, Pandemonium, Lena is definitely a better character. It was nice to see her develop as a character through both books. And now we shall come to Alex.

“Everyone is asleep. They've all been asleep for years. You seemed ... awake.' Alex is whispering now. He closes his eyes, opens them again.'I'm tired of sleeping.”

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you permission to fall in love with Alex. He's so sweet and gorgeously hot (!!), I love him! His hair is always described as a crown of autumn leaves, burning brightly. But really, its how he acts towards Lena that makes you love him. Just go back up and read the romance part. Ohmysweetgoodness, does it get better than that?? Yes, Alex is rivaling Ryan Gosling ;). 

The world:
Yes, as Cassie said, the dystopian worlds are kinda getting old, but it was really the concept of love being a disease that blew me away. They have a book dedicated to why love is bad! And a medicine to stop you from falling in love! Really interesting stuff. 

So there you go...enough reasons to read Delirium.And, the sequel Pandemonium is out! So go read it!! And comment and tell us what you think. Me and Cassie have a little treat for you in a bit, but until then, here is a picture of Andrew Garfield. ;)