Book Review: Love is Crazy

It should be really hard to imagine a world without love, to imagine a less-than-casual relationship with everyone around you, even your closest friends. However, this world of apathy and cold professionalism is exactly what Lena lives in and is surprisingly comfortable with in Lauren Oliver’s Delirium. In yet another young adult dystopian novel, a teenage girl starts to question her seemingly perfect upbringing. In the world of Delirium, love is a serious mental disease, much like Plato once described it to be, and it has become so taboo that there’s a cure for it, people are literally killed for having it, and it has somehow turned America, Land of the Free, into an overly oppressive leftist society.

Yes, the book is indeed filled with horrible clichés naturally affiliated with the young adult genre. Yes, the book’s entire premise is built on the ridiculous notion that the government can actually rein in all differing opinions and decide that it should turn over everything the constitution was built on to get rid of the idea of love. Yes, this book has many holes and can very easily be picked apart. However, nothing is ever as black and white as that. Just like every person has some redeeming factors, this book has some, too.

The first being the last. Chapter, that is. The ending wasn’t surprising per se, but unexpected. In a genre where it seems there is only one plot, few break from the mold. No, this book is not one of them. However, it did prove to be at least a little different from what one would usually find. Because it is the end, it will remain a surprise for anyone who would want to read it, but prepared and don’t get too attached to any of the characters.

Speaking of characters, yes, there are more than just Lena and her love interest, Alex. A secondary character that probably wasn’t given justice was Hana, Lena’s slightly off and unfortunately underdeveloped best friend. She was everything Lena wasn’t and that’s all that Lena thought about. It honestly confuses me, love for Hana aside, why Lena even decided to spend so much time around her if all she could do was compare herself to her. However, even if Hana did bring out the jealousy in Lena, she also brought out everything Lena would miss after receiving the cure. Hana was a representation of Lena’s perfect world, before she had to plunge into an apathetic one. Overall, Lena really seems to hate the idea of having to lose Hana, and her love for her proved to be more moving than what she had for Alex. That may seem a bit weak, but it was honestly the best part of the book.

Delirium’s premise may be as stable as a house of cards, and compared to similar stories like Matched or the Hunger Games it may not be as strong, but it does have some appeal, and if you’re very comfortable with the young adult, dystopian, female-lead story being retold with different twists and turns, Delirium is one to check out.