A Review of 'Delirium' by Lauren Oliver (Audio Book)

"'They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever.  And I've always believed them.  Until now.  Now everything has changed.  Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.'"

I have truly discovered my love for Lauren Oliver.  Actually, I know very little about the author herself, so I amend this statement to, "I love her writing style!"  I've only read/listened to "Before I Fall" and now "Delirium" (please tell me, are there any other books written by her?) and they were so different from each other, but they still managed to work quite well!

Allow me to shift the focus completely  to "Delirium."

The societies portrayed in this book were so interesting.  One was sterile and dull (or, perhaps 'controlled' would be a better word to use) on the epidermis, but once you got through all of that, you realize along with Lena that this new world isn't as flawless as those in charge want everything else in the society to think.  When you head into the Wilds, it's so desolate and even desperate.  Here, no one tries to stifle love.  In the end, both worlds made sense, as odd as that might sound.  Futuristic United States demolished love and there were fewer wars and conflicts because these things require a kind of twisted passion.  The Wilds keep love because even if parts of the world suck with love in it, there is nothing like the feeling of being in love.  It just seems to fix everything, even though in reality, it probably doesn't.

Lauren Oliver does an excellent job of portraying all kinds of people and giving them all personalities (or lack of one, if they've been cured).

I'm still really interested in hearing about Lena's mother.  So you can imagine that I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel, if that's what Lauren Oliver has in store for us.

I give 'Delirium':

Thanks for reading!

--Jude

P.S. With this review, I have officially finished my goal for the 2011 Audio Book Challenge!  Hurray!  And we're only 2/3 of the way through the year.  That's a scary fraction... Hurray!  I guess that means an official announcement post, huh?  Nah... this will suffice :)  I'm still trying to catch up with posting!