Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver ~ Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books

Review Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Copy Courtesy of NetGalley and Harper Collins
Release Date: 2/1/2011

Summary
Deadly, sickening, and completely mad, these are the words used to describe love - amor deliria nervosa. Everyone gets the cure for it when they turn 18, and this is for their own good. Lena has looked forward to the day when she too will be cured. That is, until the disease strikes her first.

Commentary
A lot of other bloggers have reviewed Delirium and have loved it. For this book, I have to agree ^.^ Delirium was a delicious dystopian piece. Since Hunger Games swept the nation, there have been a lot of dystopian books, and this is one of the better ones to come out of the recent crop.

Because the book is somewhat a dialogue on love, it would have been really easy for this to have become a more frivolous read. This is not though, it's pretty weighty and I would even say that what Lauren has written is bold by not making things easy for her characters.

What also makes this book different is the depth of the world created. The attention to details such as quotes from a twisted version of the Bible and a handbook called the 'Book of Shhh' which details proper ways to act in a society without love. The dystopian parts of the book are pretty standard fair for a police state, and Lena's character goes through a struggle that while poignant is not necessarily unique.

I generally like dystopian books more than paranormal ones so this book gets a leg up on that front to begin with, but Lauren's world-building really kicked this book into a different league. I look forward to reading the next one in the series although this is one of those books I think could work as a standalone.

Star Rating: 4.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for Delirium at Amazon

10 comments: Jump to Comment Form

Laura @ I'm Booking It January 12, 2011 at 11:47 AM: These books are at the top of my list to read when I clear out some of my existing backlog!
Sniffly Kitty January 12, 2011 at 2:40 PM: @Laura ^.^ hope you enjoy it!
Miss Remmers January 12, 2011 at 5:37 PM: I loved "Delirium" as well!
S (Book Purring) January 12, 2011 at 7:45 PM: I loved Delirium! There were parts that were unnecessarily long though *cough*
Sniffly Kitty January 12, 2011 at 7:47 PM: @Samita hmm i didn't think it was too bad heh~~
Aylee January 13, 2011 at 9:19 PM: Totally agree about the excellent world-building in this one! I really want to read to read Before I Fall now.
Sniffly Kitty January 13, 2011 at 9:20 PM: @Aylee I've heard Before I Fall is not as good, but I may still read it heh~~
Aleetha January 14, 2011 at 11:37 AM: One more good review about this book.

Owww, Net Galley has this book. I should have missed it. I am going to request this one also. I hope they're going to approve it.
Sniffly Kitty January 14, 2011 at 12:36 PM: @Aleetha I hope they approve!
Meadowlark Layne January 28, 2011 at 11:18 PM: Loved this book, I have been waiting to write my review of it because I'm still taking some time to process it. I agree it could have worked well as a standalone. I'm very curious to see where she's going to veer off on book two though.