Tag Archives: Delirium

Lauren Oliver’s Delirium Series Review

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Lauren Oliver

I have a book review format that is required for my 9th grade English students, and I thought that the completion of the Lauren Oliver series Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem would be the perfect opportunity for me to test out my own assignment.  I have already reviewed Delirium, and you can find that here, as well as a breakdown of what exactly a dystopian novel is all about, besides being all the rage with teen readers.

DISCLAIMER:  If you’re interested, here is the assignment requirements for a secondary level book review.  It also comes with a sample review of the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, which was not written by me.  I found this book review format and sample on another website, but I’ve been using for so long that I have lost the source website.  In no way did I intend to use this document for profit, and if anyone does find the original website/source, I will be GLAD to give them credit.

Delirium Series Book Review

As I began to read the biography of Lauren Oliver, I knew that she would become my best friend in my head, which is not the same thing as having a literary crush on an author (read: John Green, I love you).  We have quite a bit in common as she is an avid reader, someone who appreciates a good run and pair of slippers afterwards, and was encouraged by the literature professor twosome that are her parents; talk about an amazing household for her and her sister to grow up in: a veritable culture Smörgåsbord.   Oliver drew inspiration for her novels from her hometown of Westchester, New York, and after publishing her first novel,  Before I Fall, the birth of a wonderous novel series began.  Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem follow the saga of a band of revolutionaries who are determined to right the oppressive wrongs of a government hellbent on regulating life for its citizens to the point of squelching the one thing that separates humans from animals: love.

To summarize three novels in a short paragraph would be an injustice against Lauren Oliver and her ability to create and sustain a spellbinding series.  Essentially, when the readers are introduced to the futuristic society and our protagonist, Lena Holoway, we are led into a world where love is viewed as a disease, and Romeo and Juliet is classified as a cautionary tale, and not classic literature.  Throughout the first novel, Lauren delivers snippets from the Book of Shh, the Safety, Health, and Happiness Handbook, to allow the reader an deeper understanding of the culture of the novel.

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In only 95 days, Lena Holoway will be going through the procedure that “cures” the citizens of their disease; their vaccination of love.  So it goes, Lena falls in love, the one thing that truly is not allowed, and the remainder of the first novel, Delirium, Lena and Alex attempt to create an existence that goes against everything their world stands for, and follow their desires that pull them in the opposite direction.  And so it also goes, anything worth fighting for is just that: a fight, a struggle.  Continuing into Pandemonium and Requiem, Lena is forced into circumstances that call upon her last 5% of mental, emotional, and physical reserve.  This time she is pitted against more than just a situational standoff, but instead joins a national surge against the establishment that continues its pursuit of a love-free world.  In a parallel conflict, another decision must be made that tests the theories of the government.  Are the pangs of heartbreak and dilemmas of love worth  fighting for, worth dying for?  Tested to the point of breaking over and over again, Lena and her new cohorts must decide how much of themselves they are willing to put on the line for the greater good.

There are several themes throughout the Lauren Oliver series; Love no doubt is at the forefront.  In my opinion, this is not a love story, although there are definitely many examples of romance and heartbreak that appeal to many female readers.  However, I would venture to say that this series is more about individual rights, choosing your own destiny, and endurance and personal strength.  The shift that is created by transitioning from a “Lena Loves Alex” focus in Delirium to the Resistance Movement, delivers the message to the young adult audience that it’s not all about love, and being complete only if you have a hand to hold.  Is it nice?  You bettcha.  However, Lena and other strong female characters achieve more by digging down deep, seeing what their character is truly made of than when they are concerned about the pitter patter of their loins.  What they are fighting for is the right to love, yet Oliver makes the point that it’s about being strong enough to stand up for what you believe in.

These novels were fantastic for several reasons.  From a personal standpoint the writing style is absolutely engaging, and the character development made me feel as though I had come to actually know these characters.  I love the juxtaposition of the reserved, pleasing, and sheepish version of Lena in Delirium to her take-no-shit personality by the end of Pandemonium.  Maybe this was due to losing all of her safety nets, which included her absolute belief in the Society’s philosophies and methods, but perhaps it was what she was always capable of.  I also truly appreciated the strong female characters throughout the series.  Many times in mediocre YA literature (Twilight comes to mind immediately), the female protagonist is not complete unless she figures out how to get the guy, how to keep the guy, and how to take care of the guy.  She complies to his circumstances, but you don’t see a growth in character.  Lauren Oliver creates and supports her characters so that they become women that the reader can be proud of.  I also appreciate not being left out to dry in the second novel, Pandemonium, which happens so many times in the sophomore slump of trilogies.

I would, and have been, recommending this novel series to all of my female students.  I have also included Lauren Oliver’s first novel, Before I Fall because of the characters, plot, and writing style.  I feel good about passing along these books to impressionable teenage girls.  Before reading these novels, one would need to understand the concept of dystopian novels, but overall there is not a prerequisite to be able to enjoy Lauren Oliver’s novels.

Field Trips and Busy Saturdays

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It’s the freakin’ weekend, Readers of Oatmeal who are dually Fancy!  (I’m reaching on that one, I know)

Anyways, I have been overachieving in two areas lately: productivity and impromptu field trip planning.  Let’s start things off with Friday.

You know we all have those days where if we have to do the same, mundane process one more time you might scream?  Yea, well I was far from yelping, but I definitely was in the market for a change of scenery, and if I was you know damn well my students were too.  We have three weeks of school let, so it was time to bring out the big guns: a field trip.  With the words, “enjoy your last days on the island to their fullest,” that’s just what we did.

How does one plan a field trip on the fly when you live on an island without any attractions for the people who have lived in the area their entire lives?  You go for a walk.  You let THEM be the tour guide.  So that’s just what we did.

I have gone on the walk a dozen or more times since moving to St. Paul Island, but never with this particular group of students.  I have five 8th graders, and one visiting fro our sister island, St. George: the perfect size group for an outing.  We walked to the seal blinds AKA “Reef.”  And because of the gorgeous weather and strong desire to scare the shit out of their teacher adventurous student body, we were able to experience the landscape in all new ways.

I can’t tell you how much this walk meant to me; the time with my students meant to me.

Friday night, there was a fundraiser for the St. Paul Fire Department.  It was our first big, meal-based event in quite some time. Can you say, “Date Night”?!?!?!

A lot of the town showed up, and the firehouse was blessed in a touching ceremony conducted by Fr. Isaac.  Afterwards awards were presented to several people for their bravery and dedication for all the efforts the night of the big fire back in the beginning of the year.

Again, the weather made life more awesome (high 30s and NO snow), so let the BBQing begin!  I had a hamburger and homemade brownie; Dear Hubby had everything else.  If I didn’t know that he would have chosen a french bread pizza, I would have confused this for his Last Meal order.

This morning, I knew that I had two big tasks to complete: a long run and packing more boxes to be shipped home.  I am VERY pleased with the outcome of both.

Around 11, I began my 9 mile run, and only had to stop once for the phone.  We’re selling some of our appliances and a little extra scratch is more important that distance running.

I decided to read instead of watch old episodes of Survivor.  I am in the middle of the sequel to the YA novel Delirium, entitled Pandemonium.  It has an interesting premise of love being a disease that can be cured, and the plot development continues to intrigue me.  I am enjoying how the chapters are broken down into flashbacks and present-tense scenes.  It made the 1:09:48 seconds FLY by.  I checked in with my iPod nano, assuming I was around mile 4.5, but in reality it was 6.75.  Told you I was FLYING!

TIME TO EAT!!!!!

After devouring two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and carrots with hummus, I went with Dear Hubby to the post office to say “bye bye” to our belongings.  We packed seven boxes of STUFF to be shipped home.

I came home, vacuumed, sold a little more stuff, and sat down to blog.  I’m so damn multitalented, I don’t know how I’m capable of such things.


 

What I’m Reading Thursday – Delirium by Lauren Oliver

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Happy Thursday, Fancy Oatmeal readers!  It’s my favorite day of the week, and not just because tomorrow is Friday.  I love a Thursday like I love a warm robe right out of the dryer to slip into after getting out of the shower.  Or! Or! Or!  A freshly baked Oatmeal Raisin cooking and an ice cold glass of milk.  OHHH!  Wait!  Or! Or!  That feeling that after you get done working out and you just step INTO the shower, and then AFTER you’re done, you get into that warm robe and eat a cookie!  Yup!  That’s how I love a Thursday.

Anyways, another reason why Thursdays are so darn good is because I get to share another novel that I am either currently reading or have just finished.  Wednesday morning I finished Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  Shock of all shocks, it’s yet another Young Adult, Dystopian novel.  I suppose I am type-casting my personal library, but it’s better to know what you like and you’ll (hopefully) never be disappointed.  Such was the case with Delirium.

Imagine how my inner teenie-bopper hopped up and down, clapping her hands enthusiastically when I read the first lines,

It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure. Everyone else in my family has had the procedure already. My older sister, Rachel, has been disease free for nine years now. She’s been safe from love for so long, she says she can’t even remember its symptoms. I’m scheduled to have my procedure in exactly ninety-five days, on September 3. My birthday.

Many people are afraid of the procedure. Some people even resist. But I’m not afraid. I can’t wait. I would have it done tomorrow, if I could, but you have to be at least eighteen, sometimes a little older, before the scientists will cure you. Otherwise the procedure won’t work correctly: People end up with brain damage, partial paralysis, blindness, or worse.

Oliver, Lauren (2011-08-02). Delirium: The Special Edition (pp. 1-2). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Um, yea.  Those first two paragraphs totally setup the remaining 392 pages for an intriguing journey through the struggle for the right to love.  I love how Lauren Oliver created the parallel society whose reality says that love is something that can be remedied.  Before the medication was provided to the citizens of America, people:

named other diseases—stress, heart disease, anxiety, depression, hypertension, insomnia, bipolar disorder—never realizing that these were, in fact, only symptoms that in the majority of cases could be traced back to the effects of amor deliria nervosa. Of course we aren’t yet totally free from the deliria in the United States. Until the procedure has been perfected, until it has been made safe for the under-eighteens, we will never be totally protected. It still moves around us with invisible, sweeping tentacles, choking us. I’ve seen countless uncureds dragged to their procedures, so racked and ravaged by love that they would rather tear their eyes out, or try to impale themselves on the barbed-wire fences outside of the laboratories, than be without it.

Oliver, Lauren (2011-08-02). Delirium: The Special Edition (p. 3). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The novel details the transition that Lena goes through when she realizes that feeling love does not mean that you’re contaminated and doomed for all eternity.  At the beginning of her story, Lena cannot wait for her procedure that will rob her of her ability to care, to genuinely feel, and have a zest for life.  She knows that others have been tempted and fallen victim; her own mother was victim of love, drowning herself when she would be denied of it.  Losing your mother in such a way would make any young person want to avoid the downfalls of love.  And then Alex happened, and all women know what happens to best laid plans when the man of your dreams waltzes into your life.

Pros of this Novel:

*Strong-minded protagonist.  This may sound like another love-struck YA book, but it’s not.  Lena makes choices when faced with facts AND desires.  She allows herself the opportunity to learn about things she’s unsure of, and faces the ultimate test of her will when she learns the fate of her mother.

*Strong Dystopian element.  I’ve blogged in the past about what makes a novel dystopian, and Lauren Oliver spends great care in creating an authentic and comprehensive society.  The premise of love being a contaminant is not a total reach of possibility, and yet there is no hesitation to believe that this place exists.

*Believable characters.  There are static and dynamic characters throughout this story, and there was never a moment when I felt that someone was a “token _______.”

*Emotionally involves the reader.  There is a part of the story where Lena leaves her home, after a raid by the authorities to investigate any suspicious behaviors or “sympathizers.”  As she passes her neighbors’ home, she hears their dog whimpering by the garbage.  It had been attacked, viscously attacked by the regulators.

I take a few shaky steps toward him. I need only one glance to know that he’s dying. He’s completely coated with a sticky, shiny, black substance—blood, I realize as I get closer. That’s the reason I mistook his fur, in the dark, for the slick black surface of a plastic bag. One of his eyes is pressed to the pavement; the other is open. His head has been clubbed in. Blood is flowing freely from his nose, black and viscous. I think of the voice I heard—Probably has fleas, anyway, the regulator said—and the swift thudding sound that followed. Riley is staring at me with a look so mournful and accusatory I swear for a second it’s like he’s a human and he’s trying to tell me something—trying to say, You did this to me.

Oliver, Lauren (2011-08-02). Delirium: The Special Edition (p. 186). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

I would give this book 5 out of 5 book marks.