Delirium (Delirium, #1) in Read by Theme

Feb 02, 2012 Kat rated it really liked it

Shelves: udate, ya, dystopia

I'm going to start with a disclaimer - I didn't want to read Delirium. Why? A variety of reasons, but mostly because I'd heard there's a BIG cliffhanger at the end. I hate cliffhangers with a passion. And the idea of the story sounded so good, that I was scared I wouldn't enjoy it and I hate being disappointed! But when I won a copy of the book it stared at me from the table beside my sofa for weeks, taunting me. So with my cynical eye wide open, I started reading.....

I found the beginning of th I'm going to start with a disclaimer - I didn't want to read Delirium. Why? A variety of reasons, but mostly because I'd heard there's a BIG cliffhanger at the end. I hate cliffhangers with a passion. And the idea of the story sounded so good, that I was scared I wouldn't enjoy it and I hate being disappointed! But when I won a copy of the book it stared at me from the table beside my sofa for weeks, taunting me. So with my cynical eye wide open, I started reading.....

I found the beginning of the book, in fact, the first half was OK - I liked Lena as a character but I wasn't enamoured with her - she seemed a little, well, blah. There wasn't anything about her that really made me sit up and take notice. The world building in the first half of the book was OK, not great and left me feeling a little like there was something fundamentally missing. When Lena met Alex I had that 'oh, that's kinda sweet' feeling, and it wasn't until much later in the book that I really started to warm up to him as a character.

As the book progressed, the world building did get better and I felt that I knew more about the world, the conspiracies and secrets and the way that the government was manipulating the residents of Portland with veiled threats and bullying.

The idea of the book, that of love being 'curable' is quite disturbing. Imagine not loving your children, or your family and friends, even the person you share your life with - not having the urge to laugh, cry, sing or dance is a depressing idea!

The writing is great - that 'one more chapter' feeling was definitely there, but I think the time that it took me to read the book is a direct reflection of how the pacing worked for me - I read the first 200 pages over the space of 5 days, and the last 240 pages in an evening.

Yes, the cliffhanger is massive and I immediately started reading Pandemonium (which is going to mess with my head so much. I know there's a cliffhanger there too!) otherwise the physical safety of the book would have been in serious doubt.

In summary, Delirium is a great idea, good execution and the characters and dialogue are realistic and likeable, if not a little bit crush-able. The pacing builds gradually, but 200 pages is a long lead in, so if you need action from page one and cliffhangers make you want to punch a wall, proceed with caution.

This all sounds a little negative, but that's not my intention at all. I really enjoyed Delirium and I'd recommend it to most readers of dystopian YA.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie

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Jan 02, 2013 Elizabeth Qualia rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 30, 2012 Janeka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, ebook, young-adult, leitura-conjunta

Gostei bastante, correspondeu às expectativas.
Adorei a premissa de o amor ser considerado uma doença. 'Anulando' esse sentimento, seriam anuladas todos os crimes de ódio, inveja e afins. Original :)

gostei bastante das personagens, o que não é muito frequente para mim em livros YA. Temos uma personagem feminina que não é uma 'revolucionária' de inicio - como Katniss (HG), Tris (Divergente) ou até Hana (do mesmo livro), mas alguém que vai sendo moldado ao longo da história, e achei bastante intere ...more

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May 20, 2011 Carly Svamvour rated it it was amazing

Kinda' silly, but it reads smoothly enough.

May 24th - finished! And it was great!

Thought it a bit juvenile at first, but listened and listened and listened and thought - hey! I'm supposed to be a mature woman!

But I couldn't stay away!

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Sep 20, 2011 Darcey rated it liked it

Shelves: series, young-adult, romance

I liked this: young adult, romance, dystopia, more Atwood-esque forced matches and evaluations, combined with the ignorance one feels you're kept in as a teen, and having no ability to make your own decisions. ...more

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