Book Haul (4)

This post could be alternately called In Which I Buy A Lot of Books.

Because this week, I ordered five books online. More books than I think I have ever bought in a single sitting.

So here's what I got:

 

 Okay, so three of these books I've already read, but I loved them so much I just had to buy them. Those are The Evolution of Mara Dyer, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, and The DUFF. And here are the books I have yet to read:

Unravel Me, by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #2)
Shatter Me is definitely on of the most interesting books I've read. It's a dystopian, but the unique, gripping style of writing shoots it above and beyond to a whole new level. I loved Shatter Me, and since I already owned it, I had to buy the sequel. (I have this thing where I have to own all the books in a series if I buy one of them.)

The Goddess Inheritance, by Aimee Carter (The Goddess Test #3)
I own the first two books of this series, and the second one, Goddess Interrupted, left off with such a cliffhanger! I've read mixed reviews on this, but I'm still excited to see what I think of it, and how Aimee Carter finishes off the series.

Well, that's what I got this week! Post a link to yours in the comments and I'll check it out!

Anastasia

Book Review: Through the Ever Night, by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night
Series/Sequel? Under the Never Sky #2
Author: Veronica Rossi
Genre(s): Dystopian, Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 341
Perspective: 3rd Person (Alternating Male and Female)
Summary: It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

Review: I read the first book a few months ago when I was in a non-reviewing period, and I didn't really like it that much. This book is just .5 of a star better than Under the Never Sky.

I don't think that's necessarily because this book and it's predecessor are bad, because they really aren't. I think my main problem with this series is the lack of emotion in it. It's written in 3rd person, switching between Aria's and Perry's POVs, and while there are a few 3rd person books that I can actually feel in, this isn't one of them. As I was reading Through the Ever Night, I felt like an impartial bystander, an audience member at a movie or play - I knew that this book wasn't real, that the things these characters were going through were only imaginary. I didn't feel at all in this story, and that majorly detracted from my enjoyment of it.

That being said, this book does have some cool things about it: I liked the relationships being created in it, despite my hard time with the actual emotion of them. I thought the characters in themselves were better fleshed out and characterized in this book then the first one, and I felt myself beginning to actually know Roar, Aria, Perry, and the others.

Even in a genre that is quickly becoming oversaturated with originality hard to find, Veronica Rossi makes her world just as interesting as it was in the first book. The inside world of the pods isn't really grown much in Through the Ever Night, mainly because it takes place outside. The outside is expanded upon, and we get to learn more about the clans and their rituals, prejudices, and way of life. I thought that this was one of the more interesting parts of the story.

I think a lot of readers will still like this book, from the romance and drama to the action-y scenes and dystopia to the little bit of paranormal brought to the table with the outside peoples' heightened senses. If you're a fan of romance and dystopia, I would recommend this book. But if, like me, you read a book for the emotions, I'm not sure how much you'll like it.

Rating:

Delirium TV Show Castings!

For those of you that don't know, Lauren Oliver's Delirium Series is being turned into a TV series by Fox. Delirium is one of my favorites books ever, and so I just found out on one of the writing websites I'm part of that Fox has cast the two main characters: Lena and Alex, Lena's love interest, along with the main character come Pandemonium, Julian. 

According to my sources, Emma Roberts is playing Lena.

I'm not overly impressed. I don't know, maybe she can pull it off.... I'm skeptical though. Her face seems too... wide for Lena. She also doesn't really just look like Lena to me. We'll have to see.

Daren Kagasoff is playing Alex.

He, on the other hand, looks almost exactly how I imagined Alex. His facial structure is just perfect for the part!

Julian is to be played by Gregg Sulkin.

He is probably my least favorite casting. I'm just really not liking this casting. Just... ugh. Sometimes I wonder what they're thinking when they cast these things...

So, my favorite to least-favorites:

1. Daren Kagasoff as Alex.
2. Emma Roberts as Lena.
3. Gregg Sulkin as Julian.

So, those are my thoughts. I'd love to hear your opinions below!

Here's the link to where I got the info. The links in the actors' names go to IMDb.

Anastasia

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Release Date:  March 5th, 2013

Title: Requiem
Series/Sequel? Delirium #3
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre(s): Dystopian, Romance, SciFi
Summary: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

My thoughts: Delirium, the first book, is one of my favorite books ever. It is a beautiful and amazing book, one that has changed my way forever. Its sequel, Pandemonium, is one of my least favorite books ever. In my opinion, it took the beauty and uniqueness of Delirium and stamped it all to pieces, replacing it with awful predictability and cliche-ness.  So, I'm interested in reading Requiem to see if it can possible redeem the disaster wrought by Pandemonium, and if Lauren Oliver can possibly dig herself out of the hole she's dug herself into.

Book Haul (3)

I went to Barnes and Noble the week, then realized that buying the books I wanted was cheaper. After seeing all the new releases that I wanted but couldn't have, I went to a library which turned out to have just about all of them. So now I have a total of fourteen books to read in the next three weeks. Because of how many books I got, I'm going to split them up in three different sections.

Dystopians: 

Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick (Ashes #1): I've heard this book was really good. I picked it up and checked it out. Let's see what comes out of it.

Elemental, by Antony John: Tied with the fey, elementals are my favorite type of paranormal creature. I'm interested to see how this book portrays them. 

Insignia, by S. J. Kincaid: This book was recommended to me by a friend, and so I decided to pick it up and give it a go.

Through the Ever Night, by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky #2): The sequel to Under the Never Sky, a dystopian I liked well enough, but didn't love. I'm interested to see if this can redeem the first book.

False Memory, by Dan Krokos (False Memory #1): This author is coming to the biggest (really only) bookish event near where I live, and so I'm trying to read as many books by the twenty-or-so authors coming as possible.

The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds #1): She is also coming to the same event as Dan Krokos, and her novel Brightly Woven is one of my favorites.

Others:

Altered, by Jennifer Rush (Altered #1): Truthfully, I saw the cover and I had to pick. This looks to be a scifi book with four hot guys. Is there anything better?

Catherine, by April Linder: I loved her book Jane, which is a rewrite of Jane Eyre. This time she rewrote Wuthering Heights, and though I've never read the classic, I'm excited to read more of her lovely writing!

Vortex, by Julie Cross (Tempest #2): The first book, Tempest, wasn't very good, but it was decent enough that I'm interested in seeing if the sequel is better.

Nobody, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: This should actually be with the other dystopians, but I didn't realize until after I made the collages that this was a dystopian and not just SciFi. I loved Every Other Day by her, and so I'm excited to read this standalone.

Level 2, by Lenore Appelhans (The Memory Chronicles #1): This is one of those afterlife/heaven books, and though I didn't think one could be written better than The Catastrophic History of You and Me, I'm still willing to give it a go.

Everbound, by Brodi Ashton (Everneath #2): The didn't think Everneath was very good, but like Vortex and Through the Ever Night, I'm still interested enough in the story to see how it turns out, and also if it can redeem the first.

Splintered, by A. G. Howard: The somewhat-creepy cover caught my attention, and though I didn't think we could have another rewrite of Alice in Wonderland, it seems that I was wrong.

And then the one book I have to keep this week is the one I was given for my book group:

The Hunt, by Andrew Fukuda (The Hunt #1): Everything I've heard says this Hunger-Games-with-Vampires is amazing, and so I'm greatly excited to see how it is for myself.

Whew! Well, that's it. Leave your comments, opinions, and links to your Book Haul down there, and I'll check them out!

Anastasia

Book Review: The Forsaken, by Lisa M. Stasse

Title: The Forsaken
Series/Sequel? The Forsaken #1
Author: Lisa M. Stasse
Genre(s): Dystopian, Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 375 (Hardcover)
Perspective: 1st Person (female)

Summary: As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

Review:I was pretty excited to read this originally, but I read the prologue and literally rolled my eyes. It was pretty cliche in the beginning (Your parents were taken/rebels/killed too? Join the club!) but it quickly picks up, and just keeps getting faster and faster until slowing down at the end.

It was cliche and predictable only a few instances throughout, most of the time things were new and intense, and extremely enjoyable. There were also several completely unpredictable curveballs thrown in there - something extremely rare for me, considering the amount of this genre I've read.

One thing I really disliked in this book, however, was the author's attempt at romance. That was probably the most predictable and cliche part of this book, and subsequently the worst. It was obvious what was going to happen in terms of Alenna's relationship with Liam, and the romance seemed flat and forced without any real spark or chemistry between the chemicals.

Another thing I disliked was how the author wrapped so much up into neat tiny boxes. This annoyed me for multiple reasons:
1. If you're writing a series, you should leave at least a few loose ends to wrap up in the coming books.
2. A book - a really well-written book - is supposed to be believable, even if it's a fantasy book. Life doesn't wrap up into neat, nice little boxy. Life is messy and bloody and chaotic. And in a dystopian book especially, one would think they would see more of it. But many things - who the Monk was and the reasoning behind it and everything, what the Monk wanted her for and wanted to tell her, who she was, why her and Liam were even together - it all had a nice neat little explanation. And while some readers like that, I found it annoying and unbelievable.

This book also is not particularly memorable. I read it a week or so ago, and even now, many details and big things - like the main character's name! - escape me. It is, all in all, a fairly average dystopian book. Recommended for fans of dystopians who want a world that is fairly new and different.

Rating:



Quotes:
(There were a few others, but the post it notes I put in on the pages fell out, so I only have these two.)

"Before the secrets rise up and engulf me, and my chance to learn the truth gets ripped away forever."

- Page 113
___________________________________________________________________________________

"I know exactly what it means - to keep going at all costs. To never give up. And to find meaning in the journey."

- Page 247

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Title: Prodigy

Series/Sequel? Legend #2
Author: Marie Lu
Genre(s): Dystopian
Summary: June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

I loved the predecessor, Legend. It was just so awesomely amazingly amazing. Either 4.5 stars, or a 5. And I ordered Prodigy and Legend from Barnes and Noble. And it's shipping January 29th. Which means I should have it by February 6th. And I'm just can't wait! Legend ended and I felt like I automatically needed the next book. Needless to say, I can't wait to get my hands on this book!

Leave your WoW in the comments and I'll check it out!

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Series/Sequel? The Jenna Fox Chronicles #1
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Genre(s): Dystopian, SciFi, Hard Topics
Age Level: 10 and up
Page Count: 265 (Paperback)
Perspective: 1st Person (Female)
 Summary: Everything is different

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma - so she's been told - and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She's been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won't anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions.

What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?

Review: I heard this book was amazing. Every review I read, every person I talked to who had read it, said it was amazing. So maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it just wasn't my type of book, but I was disappointed.

One of the main reasons I think I didn't like it that much was because of the characters. I didn't connect with them. I felt like I didn't connect with anything in this book. I felt removed and separate from the story and the characters the entire time I was reading it. And that was a majorly hurt my level of enjoyment as I read this book.

I also thought, based on what everyone else said and reviewed, that the writing of this book was going to be great. And the writing of this book was good enough I guess. The way it was written definitely fit the story itself But it wasn't riveting, and I've read books that were much more interesting and suspenseful.

And it wasn't that this book wasn't interesting. The premise was unique and interesting and I loved that about. And it wasn't that this book wasn't suspenseful. There was a ton of suspense in this book. But once again, I didn't feel the expense and the urgency of the characters and the story because I wasn't connected.

So, yes, I'm extremely disappointed. I felt like this was a great book if only I could - to use the word one last time - connect. But despite all that, I would still recommend this book. I think many others will enjoy it, or at least find it an interesting book to think about.

Rating:

Book Review: Crewel, by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel
Series/Sequel? Crewel World #1
Author: Gennifer Albin
Genre(s): Dystopian
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 357 (Hardcover)
Perspective: 1st Person (Female)

Summary: Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of others destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls.  Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power.  Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it.

Review: I picked up this book for two reasons: the cover looked cool, and the author was coming to talk and sign in my town in a few months.

... I still don't really have any other reasons for reading it.

For one, this book had an extremely slow "start". And by "start", I mean the first half of this book. I was indifferent and disinterested until about page 140 out of 357 pages, and then things (finally!) began picking up. I'm not sure why that was, exactly. There was action, and there were things happening that should have been interesting, but they just... weren't. It took 140 pages for this book to actually start.

This book was also fairly predictable. All the "big reveals" and "twists" and such, I caught almost immediately, at the barest amount of foreshadowing. Maybe I've read too many YA books, but the amount of predictability and cliche used in this book was just awful.

Now, I don't want to say that this book was totally awful, either. Skimming the reviews on here, I'm seeing a lot of "creative"s and "unique"s. And I don't disagree with that. This was a very unique and creative world, with the world being made of a weave. Of course, it wasn't the first time I've seen weaving being such an integral part of the story, and related to life and reality and the world. So it was creative... to an extent.

The one other thing I actually liked with this story was the prose. The writing itself was actually really good, and I found six quotes in this book that I really liked (The average per book for me is about 3 or four.) The way she strung words together was great.

So, that's my personal opinion. But I think this is the type of book that (judging from the amount of fours and fives I see here) it really depends on the reader. Try reading it for the writing, and the world.

Rating:

Quotes:

"It's how I imagine death will come to me: overdressed and smoking."

- Page 106
___________________________________________________________________________________

"He was a husband, a father, and I'm nothing and never will be. I guess the Guild assigned us our roles after all."

 - Page 219
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"The rest of the world is perfectly still, but we are in motion, crumbling into one another."

- Page 235
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"Remembrance is never useless."

- Page 294
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"'Adelice, you have the power to stop this.' she reminds me.
'I know,' I murmur. 'I just can't think of a good reason to.'"

- Page 349

Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

 Warning: This review contains spoilers about Divergent. If you have not read Divergent, read at your own risk.
Title: Insurgent
Series/Sequel? Divergent #2
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre(s): Dystopian, Romance, Action
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 525 (Hardcover)

Summary from Goodreads:  One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Review: I have a good amount to say about this book, so here we go:

I loved Divergent. I loved everything about it. And I guess it's amazing-ness made it hard for the sequel to be as good. It was probably my own over-expectations that caused me to not like this book as much as I wished I could have.

Here's what was really bothering me in this book: Tris. I loved how badass she was in Divergent. (Pardon my language.) I feel like all (or at least most) YA heroines are all weak, spineless, damsels in distress, who would cry over anything and everything. In Divergent, she wasn't like that. But in this book... she was. I mean, I get that she killed one of her good friends and that it's natural to be really broken up about it. I get that she lost both of her parents. But when you're in a life-or-death situation, you can't balk at the sight of a gun, otherwise you will die.

Other comments about Tris: in my opinion, she made a lot of STUPID, what she called "selfless", decisions, which did nothing but complicate things that much more. She was also a little to focused on Four (because I DESPISE the name Tobias, and wish he still went by Four) the entire time. What he was doing, why he was doing it, was he mad at her, blah, blah blah, blah blah.

Yes, at times, her and Four were really cute, and I was going "awwwww!" like the pathetic romantic I am. But her entire city was on the brink of war. She should be more focused on that rather than her relationships; which created some major drama, let me tell you.

That being said, there were some very interesting parts, and twists and turns I never saw coming. I loved seeing the insides of the different factions. We had learned about Abnegation and Dauntless and a little bit of Erudite in Divergent. In this, we get to see more of Erudite, along with both Candor and Amity, which I found very interesting. I also loved how big a part the factionless play in this book. They are major players and it changes the entire story... for the better, I think. There was also this one part at Amity with a bit of "peace serum" and Tris that was completely hilarious.

And the ending... oh, the ending... if you don't like cliffhangers, than I would suggest waiting until the third book comes out!

So, yes, I was disappointed. I'm not sure if I should have spent $18 on this book. But I did, and it was good enough that I'm not about to go and sell it.

Rating:

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandmonium
Series/Sequel? The second of the Delirium series
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genres: Dystopian, Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 375 (Hardcover) 
Summary: Lena managed to escape into the Wilds. But now she has to figure out how to survive. And with the resistance going stronger and a war beginning to brew, she has to find out how far she's willing to go to stop the cure... even as she is getting over her grief of losing Alex, and finding love with someone else... someone who shouldn't love her back. Someone who she shouldn't love.

Review: Truth be told, I was surprised when I found out Delirium was the first of a series. It ended so beautifully, SO beautifully and wonderfully and amazingly that I didn't think it needed a sequel. And... I'm not sure it was for the better.

The way it is told is confusing in itself. It goes back and forth between "then" and "now", until closer to the end of the book. I found it very hard to follow, and I didn't like the set up. In my opinion, it should have been told in just chronological order. I feel like it would be easier and make much more sense.

I didn't like Raven and the rest of the Invalids very much. They were, in my opinion, fairly boring, without personalities that differentiated from each other enough to really tell the difference between them. I also thought Raven (who is the head of the Invalids Lena stays with) was mean and rude and... ugh, I just did not like her.

I hated the relationship that occurred in this book between Lena and Julian. It was unnecessary and stupid, and just seemed like a way for Lena to cope over the loss of Alex. There was no real love or feeling between them, in my opinion, just lust for the forbidden... and lust in general. And especially how it ended... it seems like this series is going to be another stupid, pointless love triangle like so many other contemporary book series, which makes me sad and disappointed. Delirium was so amazing and powerful and beautiful... and this book just totally undermined all that.

I rated this at a three for only a couple of reasons - the writing in itself is wonderful, and there were parts (I don't want to give away spoilers, so I can't tell you what parts) that were very interesting and kept me reading.

All in all, I am fairly disappointed. I really wish that Lauren Oliver had just kept Delirium as a stand alone, because in this case, less is more. However, I know I will have to read the third one (whatever the title is, whenever it comes out) just because of the cliffhanger this book ends on.

Rating: 

 

Book Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Title: Bones of Faerie
Series/Sequel? First of the series, followed by Faerie Winter
Author: Janni Lee Simner
Genres: Scifi/Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic, Paranormal
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 256 (Paperback)

Summary from Goodreads: The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Review:The plot of this book was very interesting. I've never even thought of something like this - a mix of dystopian/post-apocalyptic and faery/paranormal. It was an incredibly unique plot line and approach to faeries and faery magic. However, everything else left a little to be desired.

It was written in first person, but it read more as third person - detached and not as emotional or easy-to-be-interested-in-the-characters. So, I was less than impressed with the actual characters. They were fairly two-dimensional.

I also found some problems with the actual writing. There were a lot of times when I didn't know what had just happened, when I thought something happened that actually didnt, or where the characters made strange jumps that I didn't understand.

So, if you can deal with not very clear writing and want a very unique plot line, I would suggest it. However if you're more like me and need very 3-D characters, I wouldn't suggest it for you, because it will be a waste of your time.

Rating: 

 

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium
Series/Sequel? Followed by Pandemonium  
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genres: Dystopian, Romance
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 441(Hardcover)
Summary: In the future, everyone becomes cured from every having to experience amor deliria nervosa -
 also know as love - at age eighteen. After you are cured, you are paired. You marry your pair, have children, and go about life in the job assigned to you. Being cured is a wonderful thing, they say. You are free from this horrible, fatal disease, and you will never again have to experience pain.
Lena is seventeen, just months away from her procedure. She's excited to be cured, to finally get rid of the shadow of her diseased mother that committed suicide instead of go through the procedure again.
But then she meets Alex. Wonderful, beautiful, mysterious Alex, who is hiding a past even more dangerous that hers. But when she feels herself begin to contract the disease... does she really want to stop it? Does she really want to get cured?

Review: This book.... I... I... I'm speechless. I really, really am. It was beautiful and heart-wrenching, and I almost cried at the end,which is very rare for me. I didn't, but it was pretty close.

The dystopian-ness of it was fairly normal, done many times before: getting paired, everything decided for you, etc. etc. The thing that made this stand out was the cure... and how the characters reacted to it.

Now, I'm not sure if any of you have read The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is one of my favorite books. Yes, it's not the most recently published (it was written in the twentieth century, gasp!) but in some ways these two books are very similar. In The Giver, no one feels anything. Like, anything. At all. No one. No matter what age. Except for two exceptions, which is the Giver and his apprentice Jonas.

While in Delirium, the other characters feel things, and those under eighteen are still completely normal in the way they feel, I thought it was interesting how Lena - and others tried to rebel against it. I loved Alex and Lena's relationship, how sweet it was how (SLIGHT, NOT MAJOR SPOILER) he read Shakespeare and other love poetry to her. (END SLIGHT SPOILER). As said before, it was beautiful and heart-wrenching, and just awe inspiring.

A problem, though: I didn't like how normally dystopian it was. There were really no unique parts except for the cure, which was the major part of the book, but still. It would be nice if she was a little more creative, instead of just sticking with the same old same old dystopian elements.

If you like dystopian and romance with some action, I would highly recommend this book to you. Despite it's faults, it is still an amazing book.



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