Delirium

Hi everyone, 

Since my exams have finished the weather here in the UK has be fabulous, so I have taken advantage of this by catching up on a lot of reading time that I have missed in the garden. The first book I read was one that my friend had recommended to me over a year ago and I finally managed to find it in my local library. The book is called Delirium, and it is written by an amazing author called Lauren Oliver, who has written some other great books like Before I Fall, which I have also read. Delirium is a novel for young adults that was first published in January 2011, and I'm pretty sure a TV movie will be released later this year (better keep our eyes peeled)

The book is set years in the future, and the premise is that love is a considered a disease and in the past it was thought to be the route of all anxiety, depression and mental illness. When you turn 18 you are old enough to receive an operation to remove the illness, after which you are paired with an appropriate 'husband'. All towns are locked in and there is a curfew to stop boys and girls meeting, which would result in the spread of amor derliria nervosa (love). People who rebel against this (basically people who believe in love) are kept in quarantine if they are caught, whilst those who escape (wildlings) live in the wilds away from civilization. 

I feel like I've made that sound like a really weird book, but I promise it is actually really good! Stick with me...

Predictably, the main character is a normal seventeen girl, Lena, months away from her operation, who has family problems, has a much cooler best friend, and who would never dream of rebelling. And without giving too much away she meet a boy, Alex, and trouble ensues. 

The book is really easy to read and gripping right from the beginning. I found that this was not due to the fact that the story got going really quickly, but mainly because your hooked on wanting to find out more about this unusual world. Although the concept is a little confusing, the book actually isn't complicated to read as the story line is pretty simple, yet Lauren has a knack of making simple become very interesting and leaving you thinking at the end. 

Delirium is the first in a trilogy, the other two books being Pandemonium and Requiem. I've heard these two are not as good, however I will still probably read them for myself to make a proper judgement! 

Overall I think Delirium is a book definitely worth reading, especially if you like teenage romance that's not too 'mushy' and 'mouth-vomit worthy', but that has a twist. The book is easy to read really quickly so perfect for a summer read, however if your looking for something a bit more lengthy and sustainable, it perhaps isn't the book for you right now.

I would give the book a nice rating of 4/5.

How about you? Have you read Delirium, or perhaps even the rest of the trilogy? If you have leave a comment saying what you think. If you have any ideas for books I should read next (I'm currently reading The Pact by Jodi Picoult) then leave a comment as well to let me know. I hope you enjoyed this post and like the new style of KLBOF,

Love Katie xo