Round 4: June 2013

[Gisbelle]

This is the battle between and

If you have read both of them, please vote for your favorite. It'd be nice if you also point out why it's your favorite.

Delirium: 16
Matched: 2

[Megan]

While I thought neither were deserving of the hype they've gotten I vote in favorite if Delirium. The very beginning of that book was incredibly boring but once she met Alex things picked up the pace a lot. Also, since they're both trilogies I think Oliver left enough lose ends in Delirium for Pandemonium to be a rewarding sequel while I don't think Condie did the same. While this makes me seem petty I enjoyed Alex way more than I did Xander or Ky, plus Delirium didn't have a love triangle, it was all one guy. So, while it you asked me this a week after reading them I think I would have said Matched because overall it kept my attention and I wasn't bored at all in like in Delirium, but it's been a year and I have fonder memories of Delirium and if faced between Crossed and Reached or Pandemonium and Requiem I think I would pick the latter.

I vote Delirium.

[Amanda]

I liked both books, but I would pick Delirium because that series mostly held my interest through the other books while with the Matched series I did not care for the other two books in the series.

[Sapir]

I've read Matched and I didn't like it at all. It was boring and Cassia was annoying... It was all about this stupid love triangle, nothing else. The world building was great and intriguing, it was the plot and the characters that disappointed me.
I am still planning to read Crossed, though. I really hope that Cassia will GROW UP, at least a little bit...

I haven't read Delirium yet because I accidentally read a terrible spoiler from book two!! Is it a must read? Should I read it even when I know that (Spoiler for people who haven't read the second book) (view spoiler)[ Alex dies (hide spoiler)]??

[Gisbelle]

Sapir wrote: "I've read Matched and I didn't like it at all. It was boring and Cassia was annoying... It was all about this stupid love triangle, nothing else. The world building was great and intriguing, it was..."

Actually Sapir, I've read book 2 already and (view spoiler)[ Alex doesn't die. He doesn't appear in book 2 much, only at the end, which is a huge cliffhanger :) (hide spoiler)]

[Gisbelle]

I've read book 1 and 2 of Delirium series and just completed Matched series. My vote is solely based on the first books of these series.

I vote for Delirium since it is soooo good. I loved the plot and characters. Matched is also not that bad. I rated it 4 stars and Delirium 5 star.

[Kathy]

I have read all of the Delirium series and books 1 and 2 for the Matched series. My vote is based on the book 1 of these series.

I gave them both 5 stars, but my vote goes to Delirium because I love Lauren Oliver's writing. I loved the characters, Alex is at the top of my list for YA crushes! My favorite scene is (view spoiler)[ where Alex takes Lena to the Wilds and whispers the poem "How Do I Love Thee?" in her ear. (hide spoiler)] It is one of my favorite scenes out of all the YA books I've read.

Lena is a strong character, she wasn't annoying, her character only grew with the story and the plot. This series is on of my favorites, I absolutely love it!! :)

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yep, another vote for Delirium

I didn't like Matched for all the reasons above

and I loved Delirium for all the same reasons above! LOL!

[Sapir]

Gisbelle wrote: "Sapir wrote: "I've read Matched and I didn't like it at all. It was boring and Cassia was annoying... It was all about this stupid love triangle, nothing else. The world building was great and intr..."

That's really great to hear!! Now I am sure going to read it (:

[Gisbelle]

Kathy, I loved that scene in Delirium too. It was so sweet and romantic.

[Kathy]

Gisbelle wrote: "Kathy, I loved that scene in Delirium too. It was so sweet and romantic."

It was!! That scene is what secured Alex a top spot on my list of YA crushes, right next to Lucas from Easy!! :)

[Becky]

Ok, I have now finished book one in both series. And while I really did enjoy Matched, more it seems than the rest of you, I have to give my vote to Delirium. It was excellent!

Now if I had to choose between Delirium and Divergent that would be a different and MUCH harder decision!

So, my vote is also

[Gisbelle]

Should we declare the winner? lol Matched still has zero vote.

[Becky]

LOLOLOL poor Matched, and it's only June 1, lol! :-) I really did like it but it can't hold a candle to Delirium AT ALL. I want to find Lauren Oliver and Throttle her for that ending!

[Gisbelle]

Totally! Delirium is one of my recent favorite series. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading.

[Kathy]

lol!!! Poor Becky! I know what you mean, I wanted to strangle her when I was done and I didn't know it was a trilogy!! I was soooooo glad to hear that there was indeed 2 more books! I loved Delirium so much even though I had already my library copy, I went ahead and bought my copy for my nook and a whopping $9.99!

I really liked Matched, but there really is no contest in this race!! :)

[Beatrice]

Delirium. Hands down.

[Sandy]

DELIRIUM! I enjoyed both books, but Matched had a few slow moving sections. I really liked the awakening of Lena to the truth behind her reality. Also I liked her connections to her friend, mom and Grace in addition to Alex.

[Alexa]

I've read both, and I think that Matched was good but Delirium was better. So Delirium gets my vote :)

[Elena]

I've read both, & I own Matched; it was my Christmas present from my best guy friend. I honestly think both are good but I agree Delirium was much better in terms of plot & a easier transition from chapter to chapter.

[Gisbelle]

It seems to me like no one is going to vote for Matched. :)

[Becky]

Gisbelle wrote: "It seems to me like no one is going to vote for Matched. :)"

I think you're right. :-( I feel bad for the book - is that nuts??? LOL. But can't help that Delirium is a good piece of writing!

[Gisbelle]

lol ... I think Matched might get a few votes if it weren't paired with Delirium :)

[Becky]

Gisbelle wrote: "lol ... I think Matched might get a few votes if it weren't paired with Delirium :)"

You are probably right on that one Gis. Like I said in my post, I don't know if I could vote if we had put Divergent against Delirium. My head might explode from the decision. LOL!

[Jay]

I've read both and I liked Matched better

[Gisbelle]

:D Becky, I'm still thinking about that too. I totally have no clue which one I'd pick between Delirium and Divergent.

[Gisbelle]

Jay wrote: "I've read both and I liked Matched better"

Yay, one vote for Matched :)

[Ally]

My vote is definitely Delirium.

Matched was so.... poetic. Interesting at first, but then just got so tiring for me. The writing was just so flowery and gooey (I'm also talking about the sequels but they all flow together in my mind). It's sad, because it's probably my favorite dystopian world of all time (aside from Divergent's Chicago - when it isn't in chaos). Just the idea that a society could pull together all of that data and make the predictions they do (and so accurately) is incredible. Stats nerd, oops :)

I didn't think I'd like Delirium when I first read it - the concept could have either been really good or just plain awful. But Oliver pulled it off and I was hooked!!

[Ally]

Becky (Indiana) wrote: "Gisbelle wrote: "lol ... I think Matched might get a few votes if it weren't paired with Delirium :)"

You are probably right on that one Gis. Like I said in my post, I don't know if I could vote ..."

My mind hurts just thinking about that! But of course I had to pick or it would bother me all night. So I think that if we're only basing it on the first book, it would be really close, but I'd pick Divergent. Because that's easily my favorite dystopian book ever. However, I was disappointed with the ending of Insurgent (view spoiler)[and how it's a ridiculous ripoff from The Maze Runner (hide spoiler)], so Delirium wins thereafter.

[Gisbelle]

Ally, I agree that Matched is a bit poetic (book 2 & 3 are EVEN more poetic than book 1)

[Ally]

Gisbelle wrote: "Ally, I agree that Matched is a bit poetic (book 2 & 3 are EVEN more poetic than book 1)"

Now that I'm looking at my ratings, I do remember liking the first one best. It wasn't as poetic, and the world building was still fresh. So maybe I was harsh when only rating Matched - but Delirum still wins :)

I noticed the switch to more poetry in Book 2, and was just like "eh." Book 3 was hard to get through at times. I was REALLY frustrated with all of the poetry and art. My guess is that the poetry aspect was praised for its originality in Book 1, so she just ran crazy with it after. The whole "stick with what works" idea? That's why Matched sticks out in my mind when it comes to dystopian books. Whether I liked it or not, it was different.

[Gisbelle]

Me too Ally. I liked book 1 much better than the last 2.

[Katherine]

I did not like Matched AT ALL. I purchased it a couple of years ago, read it and love it. when it came time to read it for this challenge.... I found that it annoyed the bejeebers out of me! Cassia was annoying and whiny, and there wasn't anything really interesting or exciting about it either (spoiler: I donated the book soon after ) ;)

I vote for Delirium, because the premise is interesting and it actually held my attention!

[Alexa]

Gisbelle wrote: ":D Becky, I'm still thinking about that too. I totally have no clue which one I'd pick between Delirium and Divergent."

OMG DIVERGENT, for me, I wouldn't even hesitate on that one. I feel like, I got into the world immediately and flew through the pages faster. Delirium felt like it was dragging to begin with and I had a difficult time getting into it the first 200 pages... so Divergent!!!

[Joann]

Delirium all the way!

I am not yet finished with Delirium, but I can tell you this, Matched was boring to me, and so juvenile. Cassia was extremely childish and her relationship with Ky had no depth.

Delirium on the other hand is so much deeper than Matched. I am able to relate to the characters and get into the story which is fast paced and interesting.

[Lizzie]

Delirium.

I haven't finished it yet, but so far I feel like there is more to Lena than there was to Cassia. Cassia just got annoying and I didn't care what happened to her. I wanted her to shut up.

[Elena]

Gisbelle wrote: "lol ... I think Matched might get a few votes if it weren't paired with Delirium :)"

Agreed. Matched is good on its own & I personally preferred ir over Divergent. However Delirium just captures your attention in a way that Matched does not. Also I connected with Lena more then Cassia.

[Rosa]

I vote Delirium..

I really liked the Matched series as a whole better then Delirium, but I struggled getting thru the first few chapters of the first book. Delirium I was turning pages from the start.

[Allie]

I vote Delirium.

I could relate to Lena a lot more than to Cassia. I liked the character buildup in Delirium more. Delirium and it's story really got me while Matched was just a book - didn't really make me think. I actually bought Crossed a while ago but I only read the first few pages and couldn't bring myself to continue reading after that. It was ... well, really boring, while Pandemonium tore my heart apart.

[Christian]

I've read both books this week, and I felt more connected to Matched than Delirium.
My vote is for Matched.

[Ashlyn]

I have to vote for Delirium.
Although I thought both stories were pretty good, Delirium captured me from the first sentence. I also disliked both of the endings, but the ending of Delirium seemed more intense than in Matched. The story was also a little more fully developed in Delirium than Matched.

[Gisbelle]

Christian wrote: "I've read both books this week, and I felt more connected to Matched than Delirium.
My vote is for Matched."

Both books were very well-written. Glad to hear you like Matched.

[Gisbelle]

Ashlyn wrote: "I have to vote for Delirium.
Although I thought both stories were pretty good, Delirium captured me from the first sentence. I also disliked both of the endings, but the ending of Delirium seemed ..."

I agree! Even I enjoyed them both, Delirium was a bit more intense and I loved the pace and plots in Delirium much better than those in Matched.