Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

The story takes place in a world where love is viewed as a disease that has to be eradicated. A cure was developed and the government demanded all citizens get inoculate once they turn eighteen. It’s a scheduled procedure and Lena Holoway has looked forward to it all her life. But days before she got the cure, she falls in love.

Why I chose Delirium to read next, I do not know. Maybe the idea that love is a disease that needs to be cured caught my interest. I knew this was a love story, but the world where it was set is interesting too. A world without love, where everything is simple and easy, no one would feel the emotional pain of love lost, but it’s not as easy as it seems

The love story was okay, like love-at-first-sight, at least for Alex. There’s no third party which made it a little less complicated considering the situation. The story focuses on Lena’s life, her friendship with Hana, her thoughts about the disease amor deliria nervosa and the ‘cure’, thoughts about her mother’s death, and her relationship with Alex.

It was like reading someone’s personal diary although I didn’t feel like I was invading. I felt like I was invited to see Lena’s life and what she was going through. It was very descriptive. I could imagine myself in Lena’s shoes, walking around their town, spending time with her best friend Hana, meeting Alex. I felt what she felt, her pain, her happiness, and falling in love.

I got hooked on the story, mostly because I’m a hopeless romantic and that was the focus of the story, but just like every dystopian novel, there is more to it than romance. The bigger picture. The political angle and the mystery behind Lena’s mother’s death.
It doesn’t have the action-packed storyline of Divergent, but the end of this book had me in tears and left me devastated for days. I couldn’t stop thinking about Alex, like I was Lena in real life, worrying about him, wondering if he was okay. I would say it was a good thing because I would be coming back for more.

Have you read this book/series? What do you think if this were real? Tell me what you think about it in the comments below. I would love to exchange views about this.