The main character in Delirium is a (frankly) whiny girl name Lena who seems to flip flop from a judgmental goody-two-shoes, rule-follower to running with the wild ones almost over night with no apparent motivation besides just being a teenager. That's enough motivation in real life, of course, but we demand more from fiction, don't we? JK. The disease (which causes, wait for it: delirium), from which all socially respectable people are "cured" at about puberty, is to feel love for someone - especially romantic love. In fact, passion of any kind is anathema in this dystopian world. Unfortunately, we don't really learn why love is so very dreadful which is probably the biggest problem for me with this story. I kept expecting to discover some man-behind-the-curtain, big brother figure tyrannizing Lena's world, demented by a broken heart, but there really is no good explanation for the "love is bad" premise. What's great about the book? There are some cool plot twists that are like a good roller coaster ride (swift, totally unexpected and completely plausible). Also really likeable is the wild, un-cured, disease-ridden character Alex (with whom Lena falls in love, yes, she's catches the dreaded disease!). This book has a sequel, which is good for keeping our kids reading. Girls will probably like this better than boys however, because of the protagonist and her bff who dominate the beginning and might be off-putting to guys.
The main character in Delirium is a (frankly) whiny girl name Lena who seems to flip flop from a judgmental goody-two-shoes, rule-follower to running with the wild ones almost over night with no apparent motivation besides just being a teenager. That's enough motivation in real life, of course, but we demand more from fiction, don't we? JK. The disease (which causes, wait for it: delirium), from which all socially respectable people are "cured" at about puberty, is to feel love for someone - especially romantic love. In fact, passion of any kind is anathema in this dystopian world. Unfortunately, we don't really learn why love is so very dreadful which is probably the biggest problem for me with this story. I kept expecting to discover some man-behind-the-curtain, big brother figure tyrannizing Lena's world, demented by a broken heart, but there really is no good explanation for the "love is bad" premise. What's great about the book? There are some cool plot twists that are like a good roller coaster ride (swift, totally unexpected and completely plausible). Also really likeable is the wild, un-cured, disease-ridden character Alex (with whom Lena falls in love, yes, she's catches the dreaded disease!). This book has a sequel, which is good for keeping our kids reading. Girls will probably like this better than boys however, because of the protagonist and her bff who dominate the beginning and might be off-putting to guys.
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