They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever.
And I've always believed them.
Until now.
Now everything has changed.
Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.
I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.
Pandemonium
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #2
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Reviewed: Hardcover
They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.
Requiem
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #3
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Reviewed: Hardcover
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #3
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Reviewed: Hardcover
Short Stories:
Lauren Oliver's riveting, original digital story set in the world of her New York Times bestseller Delirium.
The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.
But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.
In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.
Hana
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #1.5
Release Date: December 19, 2011
Reviewed: Paperback
Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.
Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.
Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.
But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.
Annabel
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #0.5
Release Date: December 26, 2012
Reviewed: Paperback
This captivating 50-page digital-original story set in the world of Lauren Oliver’s New York Times bestselling Delirium series focuses on Raven, the fiery leader of a rebel group in the Wilds.
As a teenager, Raven made the split-second decision to flee across the border to the Wilds, compelled to save an abandoned newborn—a baby girl left for dead and already blue from the cold. When she and the baby are taken in by a band of rebels, Raven finds herself an outsider within a tight-knit group. The only other newcomer is an untrustworthy boy known as the Thief until he finally earns himself a new name: Tack.
Now she and Tack are inseparable, committed to each other, the fledgling rebellion, and a future together. But as they both take center stage in the fight, Raven must decide whether the dangers of the revolution are worth risking her dreams of a peaceful life with Tack.
As her story hurtles back and forth between past and present, Raven transforms from a scared girl newly arrived in the Wilds to the tough leader who helps Lena save former Deliria-Free poster boy Julian Fineman from a death sentence. Whatever the original mission may have been, Raven abides by a conviction that she believes to her core: You always return for the people you love.
By turns surprising, revelatory, and poignant, Raven’s story enriches the Delirium world and resonates with a
voice that is as vulnerable as it is strong.
Raven
By: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Delirium #2.5
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Reviewed: Paperback
My Series Review:
I was a newbie to the “Delirium” series by Lauren Oliver. Once I started “Delirium,” I wasn’t able to put the book down. It was so hard focusing at work while I eyed “Delirium” out of the corner of my eye. Lena’s story was amazing. As most of my readers know, I am very picky about my characters. How much I like a book is based mainly on the characters of the book. Oliver writes such awesome characters. I was pulled in from page one.
Delirium caught my attention right away. I was immediately interested in this alternative universe where love was considered to be a disease that harmed people. In this nation, the government believed that loved caused all sickness and diseases that people could die from, so when teenagers came of age, they would remove a part of their brain so that the people would be unable to experience love. IF there were acts of love kissing or holding hands, then your house would be searched. Lena’s mom had the procedure done three times and it still hadn’t healed her. She still loved her children and had a sunshine spirit; she didn’t believe anything was wrong with her. Then one day Lena was told that her mother had killed herself and people began to avoid Lena thinking she carried the disease too.
On Lena’s evaluation day, a prank is pulled and Lena sees a boy watching her interview process and she thought this boy could be an invalid. As Lena goes on a journey of discovering the truth about her life and the disease of love, she has a chance to fall in love herself.
I liked the concept of “Delirium” a lot. I did feel like it lined up with the A-typical romance stories of a forbidden love. Girl falls for boy, boy falls for girl, they both end up acting a little stupid, so on and so forth. I think the writing in Delirium was incredible. This book flows really well. I love the setting and background that Oliver creates making the world completely realistic and even relatable. The readers gets introduced to a world that is not much different than our own, it is a little bit more destroyed but Oliver creates and alternative reality to the United States. The characters were pretty fantastic too. I loved Lena and how she grew as a character throughout the entire series. By the end of the series in “Requiem,” I feel like Lena grew up. Lena was no longer a naive teenage girl but a strong experienced young woman. She knew how to take care of herself and the others around her.
In “Pandemonium,” Lena is living in the Wild with the other invalids. Lena has to learn to fend for herself and to become strong. She doesn’t have the luxury anymore of living in a city; she is out in the woods. During her time there, Lena is put on a secret mission when she is kidnapped. Lena gets a second chance at love with Julian. As Lena and Julian fight together to keep themselves alive and to try to escape the kidnappers, the two learn a lot about each other and become protective of one another.
Again I thought “Pandemonium” was written very well. The characters were amazing. In this novel we have Lena, Julian, and Raven. It was nice to be introduced to some new characters. The biggest issue that I had with “Pandemonium” is that this novel seemed to go at an ultra slow pace. I had a hard time getting through this one. It seemed it was more petty drama than anything else. Then we are introduced to the new love triangle of Alex, Julian, and Lena. This triangle it was hard to figure out which male lead you liked the most, Alex or Julian. I still haven’t decided which one I liked the best because each had his specific quirks that I liked.
Then we have our conclusion to the series “Requiem.” I would have to say that “Requiem” was probably the best book in the entire series. I loved the dual point of Hanna and Lena and I think it wrapped up the series quite nicely. Oliver ended the series so that the reader could basically decide how they wanted it to end rather than Oliver just giving the reader the reader a specific ending. “Requiem” has an ending that people can talk about and compare notes. I think this was a great way to end the series.
I also read the novella’s just to see what extra bonus Lauren Oliver wanted to include in her series. I really liked reading Annabel’s story the best because it gave me a chance to get to know Lena’s mom. I liked getting to see the background information of how she because who she is. Hanna was a spoiled brat that I never liked and I feel like she got what she deserved based off of the stupid choices that she made. Raven had one heck of an adventure in front of her.
I definitely think that the “Delirium” series is worth reading. There is a pilot being filmed for the tv show version of the book. I really hope that the pilot makes it to tv because I think it would be fun to watch. I did pick up Oliver’s other book “Before I fall” to see how her debut novel was written. I can’t wait to see what Oliver comes up with next.
I give the "Delirium" series four out of five bookshelves.
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