Delirium

 Lauren Oliver

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 

Genre: Dystopia + Young Adult + Romance

This is my first time reading a novel by Lauren Oliver, despite having owned the entire Delirium trilogy in hardcover first editions for years. For whatever reason, I kept putting it off, but finally decided to start the series now. Going in, I had some expectations based on the popularity of YA dystopian fiction, and while the book didn’t quite live up to all of them, it still offered a reasonably engaging experience overall.

The story is about a dystopian society in which love is considered a disease. People need to undergo a procedure in their adulthood to eliminate it once and for all. The protagonist, Lena, is a girl who believes in this system, and she is very eager to get fixed and cured, but when she meets Alex, her life changes completely.

The two grow closer, and the story starts shifting into a romance that is forbidden by their society. Here is when Lena questions her society and their view on love and the way they claim it is a disease that people need to be cured from. As the story progresses, it turns into a dramatic conclusion that puts Lena on the ground where she has to face a new reality. The ending has a cliffhanger that sets up the continuation of the series.

What really attracted me to the story is its premise. I can easily say it is the strongest aspect of the novel. I think the idea of love being treated as a disease is not just intriguing but also gives lots of potential for storytelling, as it can offer lots of emotional and philosophical exploration. I feel this idea would be a great concept for a movie or TV show adaptation.

Where the book suffers is in its first half—it’s slow and takes a long time to get to the point where the plot starts moving. Lots of that part focuses on the protagonist’s inner thoughts about herself, her family, her friend Hanna, and society. Yes, it is important for character development, but the repetitions felt tedious for me. 

I also felt that the book was somewhat overwritten for what it ultimately delivers. Unfortunately, a lot of those pages were about Lena’s perspective and emotional state rather than worldbuilding. This is expected in most dystopian books of that era. For a story built on such a strong dystopian concept, I expected a deeper exploration of how this society actually functions beyond its core idea.

That said, the writing itself is very accessible. Despite the book’s length, it reads quickly and smoothly. The prose is easy to follow, making it a fast read once you settle into the rhythm, especially in the latter half, where the pacing improves significantly.

The novel ends on a cliffhanger, and I find myself a bit conflicted about it. I can’t say it strongly motivates me to continue immediately, but at the same time, it doesn’t put me off either. Since I already own the second and third books in the series, I will continue with them. Overall, this was an okay read—interesting in concept, uneven in execution, but still worth experiencing.

Key Themes

• Love
• Control
• Fear
• Dystopia
• Emotional Awakening
• Rebilion
• Resistance
• Self-Discovery