Delirium by Lauren Oliver

#1 Delirium trilogy
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: YA
Pages: 480
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

"I know that life isn't life if you just float through it.  I know that the whole point -- the only point -- is to find the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse to let them go"
Pg. 383

 Simple Description: 
Imagine a world where every 18 year undergoes a procedure to make sure they don't feel love, ever.  First they go through an interrogation and depending on how they answers questions, depends on how they are scored.  Their score determines who their possible matches are and if they go to school and what their major will be.  Once college is complete they are married to their match and told how many kids they will have.  Before your operation you have a curfew, you are unable to interact with the opposite sex, you are unable to freely move around your city.

This is the world that Lena lives in. She has 95 days before her operation and she's looking forward to it. Then she meets Alex.  Alex is an invalid, somebody who has not been cured but appears to be.  Alex shows Lena what life could be like if you were able to feel love, if you weren't boxed in by societies rules and laws.  Now Lena is close to her operation and she realizes she doesn't want it, but is there a way to escape?

My Thoughts:
I bought this one for Husband hen it first came out.  He read it immediately and really enjoyed it.  He's been trying to get me to read it ever since and I kept putting it off.  Finally I got around to it and I'm glad I did.  I felt this was a well done dystopian novel.  It shows us a world where the authorities felt it would be good if people didn't love. If you don't love, you don't feel the pain that is often associated with it.  Why wouldn't people want this?  However what Lena finds out is that if you don't feel love, you don't feel pain but you also don't feel the happiness either. Is it better to have the happiness and deal with the pain or to just remain numb and never know what that happiness is like?

I didn't realize this novel was the first in a planned trilogy and felt the ending was pretty good.  Then I was discussing the book with Husband he mentioned it was a trilogy and I thought back on the ending and went ok, I could see where this could keep going.  I really like that about the novel. I didn't feel like it ended on a cliff hanger yet knowing there is going to be another book there is enough left unresolved to keep your interest.