Series Sunday: Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver
Warning, this will contain spoilers for those who haven't read the books.
Overall, these books were really good. My favorite in the series had to be the first book Delirium. It was definitely the strongest in the series. I got bored while reading Pandemonium. The first book is told from the main character Lena's point of view. The second is still Lena, but past and present (in the book it's Then and Now). The third book, Requiem, is told from Lena and her best friend Hana's points of view. The first book was written perfectly in my opinion. As for the second, I would have preferred past or present, not both. Having both made the story kind of dull. Just as a big thing happened in one tense, the time would change. It may keep readers hanging, but it can get kinda annoying. I liked having Hana's POV in Requiem. I really did. But it was so much duller than Lena's. The two girls don't even see each other until the last few chapters. I would have preferred to have Lena be with Hana and find out everything a bit slower.
The main character is Lena. She lives in a dystopian world where people are 'cured' of the ability of love. In the first book, she breaks
the law and falls in love with a boy named Alex. She grew up believing love was a disease, but realizes it isn't in this book. On that note, this is the book that is the most powerful for me. At the end, Lena and Alex plan to run away from the walled in city that they live in. Just as they are about to escape into the Wilds, they are caught. Alex is killed and Lena barely escapes. The fact that she is able to get away after the boy she loves dies shows immense strength. Book two describes Lena as she joins the Resistance and her journey with another boy, Julian. I love Lena's work with the Resistance. And in the end of the story, she finds out that her mother, who she believed to be dead, is actually alive. As for Julian, I don't like him. He never proves to be evil, but I just don't like him. Maybe it's because he's underdeveloped. By the end of the book, Lena has fallen in love with Julian. Why, I have no idea. Then as the last page comes, you find out that her first love Alex is still alive. Yeah, that's one way to end a book. So, the highly anticipated last book finally comes. Lena's journey is finally coming to a close. Meanwhile, you find out about Hana. Hana has been cured and is set to marry the up and coming mayor. She learns
that he's not what he seems to be and, with Lena's help (details to come) Hana leaves him. Then, her almost husband dies. The house he's in explodes. You never find out what happened to Hana. Lena just leaves her. As for Lena, she can't decide about her feelings. Alex has told her he never loved her (don't know why) and she doesn't have it in her to break Julian's heart because of her feelings for Alex. Personally, she seems very fickle for most of the book. Eventually, Alex tells her he actually does love her (big surprise, not). The Resistance breaks into the town Lena came from. Lena sees her cousin and Hana. She loses track of her mother while in the city. The end suggests that Lena and Alex end up together, but never says so outright. Lena is strong and brave, but just lacks something. I'm not sure what it is, but as the books go on, her character seems to get weaker. She's changed from book one to book three, don't get me wrong, but I have more trouble really feeling her. Overall, I like her character, but she's not my favorite. Oh god, the end. I want to smack Lauren Oliver upside the head for the way she ends the series. In a way, it doesn't even end. Lenais with Alex, declaring her love, then the rebels are suddenly 'tearing down the walls' around Portland (where she used to live). You don't know what happened to Julian, to her mother, the rest of her family, her friends, or even Hana. It just ends. Literally, she says "I will make a pact with you: I will do it if you will do it, always and forever. Take down the walls." Readers don't need a happily ever after, we just need an end. Either let the Resistance win and let change come, or kill everyone off. It's not a happy ending, but it's an ending. Show readers what happened to the characters. Give us an epilogue or SOMETHING! Don't just leave readers hanging. Just don't do it. All you had to do was put another page in there. That's all we need. But she didn't. Lucky for readers, the Delirium trilogy is possibly becoming a TV series. Yep, you heard that right. That means that, the TV show can develop what the book does not. We can see different character's POV's. We can get an ending. We can see what lies beyond the small bit of the world that the book takes place in. For this, I am extremely grateful. The story is really good. The world is amazing and intricate. It just simply lacks a few important aspects. I will definitely tune in when it airs. Overall, I like these books. They really are good. I recommend them to you. They have their faults, but you'll enjoy them more if you know that going in. I read the story not knowing what to expect, so I was disappointed. I will probably reread them. I know I'll read Delirium again. Anyway, when it comes down to it, I believe these books deserve three stars.
Author Info:
Lauren Oliver captivated readers with her first novel, the New York Times bestseller Before I Fall, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. She followed that up with Delirium, the first book in her bestselling, heart-stopping trilogy that continued with Pandemonium. Oliver is also the author of two novels for younger readers, The Spindlers and Liesl & Po, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU's MFA program, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.
You Can Also Find Her At:
Delirium Fan Page
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing.
They didn't understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
Titles: Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem, Delirium Stories
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium
Number of Books: Four
Labels: 3 Stars, Lauren Oliver, Review, Series Sunday