Delirium

By: Lauren Oliver

Narrated by: Sarah Drew

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

"Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

Lauren Oliver astonished readers with her stunning debut, Before I Fall. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it "raw, emotional, and, at times, beautiful. An end as brave as it is heartbreaking." Her much-awaited second novel fulfills her promise as an exceptionally talented and versatile writer.

Also included is a sneak listen to the first chapter of the next book in the series. Enjoy!

©2011 Laura Schechter (P)2011 HarperCollins Pubilshers

Too young for me

I'm a middle aged woman and have enjoyed YA such as Twilight and Hunger Games but I don't plan to listen to the rest of this series. The dystopian society principles in this book stretch believability too much. The narrator has such a pleasant voice when she is speaking normally but the voice she uses for some of the characters is annoying.

Performance

They couldn’t have found a better performer than Sara Drew for this part. She embodies Lena to a T. I loved every part of it.

Delirium

Not only was the read amazing, but having it read by Sara drew made it 10X better!

Engaging story, entertaining narration

While a young adult novel, it certainly has plenty of questions to ponder for adults. I think the author did a wonderful job capturing the angst and emotionality of first love as did the narrator. I considered using it for a book club choice because I thought the discussions would have been quite interesting.

Other reviewers felt it may be too similar to other current popular YA fiction. I think good vs evil, adult vs teen, rebellion, governmental control, etc have always been themes seen in novels and the author does a great job of putting those to use in unique ways.

I wouldnt hesitate to listen to another of her books regardless of subject.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I can not begin to express how much I LOVED this book. It is so beautifully written and just completely enthralling. It's been a long time since I've been so emotionally touched by a book. Lauren Oliver's writing is more poetic then prose and it absolutely took my breath away!
As far as dystopian world building it isn't the best, but this is so well written it didn't really matter. This one left me wanting more and I can not wait to continue on to book 2 and 3.
Sarah Drew's performance is brilliant and complete perfection.
I wish I could give this one 6 Stars! Worth a credit and then some.

Unexpectedly Loved It

For I while I’ve wondered about why so many people loved Delirium. It didn’t particularly appeal to me and the description never sounded that interesting. I finally caved and had to see for myself what exactly everyone was talking about. Shortly into the book, I understood. It’s not the quite the story that’s amazing but it’s the writing. It’s beautiful and so remarkably well crafted that I can hear English teachers and librarians across the country giving thanks to Lauren Oliver for writing a young adult novel of this caliber. I seriously think the writing in this novel should be studied.

In a nutshell, love is illegal in Oliver’s dystopian society. Love, also known as delirium, is considered a disease and all citizens must undergo surgery to cure them for the delirium by the age of 18. Lena, the main character, is almost 18 and is looking forward to the day she is cured. The argument against love is that it is the cause of many of the worlds problems. “It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.” Rebels are imprisoned, killed, and beaten by the enforcers of the law. It’s hard to imagine our society ever banning love but Oliver makes her world is believable and surprisingly realistic. Even as I describe this book I don’t feel like I’m doing it much justice. I assure you there is more to Delirium than what I’ve described.

One of the things I enjoyed about Delirium was the way the author describes love. Yes it is a book about love, but Oliver clearly paints the positives and negative sides. She describes both sides so well that you root for the rebels and understand why love is banned and law is so forcefully upheld. For most of the book, Lena, is just discovering love. She is happy when she is with Alex, constantly smiling and laughing; and when she is away she feels the pain of missing him. Their secret love keeps them living in fear of being discovered. As Lena treads deeper into love, she begins to see the flaws in her society and how meaningless life is without love. People who have been cured seem to be without a soul and the society Lena once found comfort in, becomes a future she cannot bear without Alex.

Sarah Drew also delivered a fabulous performance. I had to get used to her voice at first but shortly into the book it became hard to stop listening to.

Overall, I finally see what everyone is talking about it. It’s a wonderful yet painful love story. You could say the Delirium has taken over me and now that it’s over it hurts. Upon finishing Delirium, I immediately bought the second book in the series and 20 minutes later I listening to Pandemonium. It ends on such a cliffhanger that I couldn’t wait to find what happened next.

Left me breathless...

I just finished this lovely story and am left breathless... The other 5 star reviews have said all that needs to be said... poetic, beautifully written story; very well acted narration; a great "listen". I want more!

Excellent

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it for whoever like distopian genre. Book is fast paced and well written. Characters are believable .

A book for teenagers

What did you like best about Delirium? What did you like least?

Interesting plot

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The whole plot could have been developed in one single book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sarah Drew’s performances?

No

Could you see Delirium being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, teenagers would love it

Any additional comments?

The readers has a high pitch voice that get annoying as the book progresses

What a breath of fresh air!!

What did you love best about Delirium?

The unique story. It is like nothing I have ever read before.

What about Sarah Drew’s performance did you like?

She did a wonderful job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It brought me back to what true love does to you emotionally and physically.What you go through when you meet your first love and how important love is to us as human beings. It made me realize how much we take for granted. I couldn't imagine living in a world like that.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait to listen to the next one!!