Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Seriously this book is amazing! I could not put it down. I almost didn’t buy this one because when reading the synopsis I was interested, but I thought that it was really similar to a few other books I had read recently. But I decided to pick it up anyway, mostly because I loved the cover art :-) I can honestly say that I fell in love with this book. It is unique and beautifully written.

Imagine love being thought of as a disease. Not just romantic love but all love, even the love of a mother for her children. That is the world that Lena Holoway lives in. Amor Deliria Nervosa had plagued our society before the scientists discovered a way to cure it. The procedure can only be done on those who have reached the age of eighteen. Lena is excited to be only a few months away from her procedure. She has seen first hand what the Delirium can do and she wants the threat behind her. Love is pain. She learned this from the loss of her mother, who was overcome by the disease despite repeated attempts to cure her.

All Lena has to do is coast through her evaluations and prepare for her cured life. Only problem is that Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love, and not with just any boy. Alex is from outside the walls of Portland. He is part of the resistance. Despite how dangerous it is to be together it doesn’t take long for them to realize they cant stand to be apart.

This is where the beauty of the story really takes shape, the fight to be together, the struggle to keep their secret, and the timer running out as Lena gets closer to her eighteenth birthday and her procedure. Lauren Oliver wrote an amazing story. The way she describes this world and the characters in it, brings the reader in immediately. I felt emotionally invested in the story very quickly. The poems used are perfectly placed and give even more depth to the story.

The end will leave you feeling relieved, devastated, and begging for more. I was daydreaming about this book and its characters for days after I finished it. I highly recommend it. Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) is scheduled for release Feb 2012!