Monday, August 25, 2014

Series Binge: Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver

Binge-eating? Binge-watching? How about binge-reading? Sometimes, you just can’t put a book down. You need the sequel. Then you need its sequel. Before you know it, you’ve read a seven-book series in under a week. I confess, I need help. This week, my addiction was…

Hardcovers, 1161 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing.

They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Thoughts:
I've been meaning to read Delirium for years. Heck, I've been meaning to read a Lauren Oliver book for years. Now that I have, I don't regret it. This series was awesome!

First off, Lauren Oliver writes beautifully. Her prose has the right balance of information and melody.  It crossed over the line into "purple prose" once or twice, but always found its way back. I love how Oliver's "style" changed for each book, too. In Delirium, the story was told from the perspective of Lena. In Pandemonium, the point-of-view character was still Lena, but the chapters alternated between "Then" and "Now", and always ended on a cliffhanger. In Requiem, Hana had her own chapters, which provided a unique perspective to the mix.

The Delirium trilogy was an action-packed, romance-filled adventure. Lena grew from a scared, brainwashed girl to a strong, independent woman. The side characters were fully-developed people with their own stories. It was sad to see some of the go (cough, die, cough). The romance was a love triangle, but this was from the Age of Triangles, so no surprise. I actually enjoyed Lena with both of the male leads, and have a love-hate relationship with the way Oliver decided to leave it open-ended. Though, in truth, it's probably the best way to end a love triangle where both the males (or females) are equally cherished by the fan base.

After reading this series, Panic by Lauren Oliver has climbed its way quickly up my TBR list. Maybe I should get started on that...

Would I recommend this series? Hell, yeah!

Would I re-read it? Maybe

Next Monday... I'll be trying Defy by Sara Larson

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