Delirium Trilogy ~ 4.5 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn

     Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy, consisting of Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, for young adults is one of the many popular dystopian trilogies of recent times, and is quite possibly my favorite young adult trilogy. This review will cover all three books. 

     In Delirium, we meet Lena Haloway, a girl who is approaching her eighteenth birthday—and the “cure.” In Lena’s futuristic world, love has been declared a disease and must be eradicated. When everyone turns eighteen, they must receive the cure that renders them forever unable to love. They are then paired with someone who will be their spouse and basically live their lives as they are told. This twist on the dystopian world easily could have gone wrong, but Lauren Oliver presents it in a fashion that is very believable, and she gives us background on how her world works without ever bogging the story down. 

     Lena is eagerly awaiting her cure—that is, until she meets a young man named Alex. At first, Lena is wary around him; after all, until they are cured, boys and girls are segregated and do not have contact with each other except for family members. But Lena is intrigued, and soon she begins to doubt the world she has grown up in. Alex tells her about the Wilds, a place outside the borders of the U.S. and how “Invalids”—those who are not cured—live there, free to choose for themselves and free to love. Then Lena discovers that she has fallen in love, and decides once and for all that she will not be cured, and she and Alex plot a daring escape to the Wilds. 

     The entirety of Delirium’s 441 pages covers Lena’s journey to realizing that her world isn’t all that it is made out to be. It is relatively slow-placed, though it does have its exciting moments, and the ending is definitely a major cliffhanger. I found the pacing to be much less bothersome and the story itself more enjoyable the second time around. I would rate Delirium 4 stars. 

     Pandemonium, fortunately, does not fall victim to the “second-book syndrome” that many middle books in trilogies do. I found it even better than the first. Its pacing is much quicker, and the storyline goes back and forth between the brewing rebellion during the present time and Lena’s adjustment to the Wilds during the not-too-distant past. This presentation was smooth and allowed us to follow Lena’s journey without getting bogged down. 

     Pandemonium also introduces several new interesting characters, including Raven and Tack, leaders of the group that Lena joins in the Wilds, and Julian, a likable young man who was raised his whole life believing that love is a disease, just like Lena. Together they take part in the rebellion that is being formed by the people of the wilds to bring down the loveless world that Lena formerly inhabited. A love triangle also begins with Lena, Julian, and Alex. I normally do not like love triangles in the slightest, but Oliver pulled it off well enough that I didn’t mind. I would rate Pandemonium, which ends with another huge cliffhanger, 4.5 stars. 

     Requiem, the conclusion of the trilogy, didn’t disappoint. In this installment, the story alternates between the point-of-views of Lena and her childhood friend Hana Tate, who has been cured. Writing point-of-views, particularly first-person POVs, that sound unique is tough to do, but Oliver pulls it off well. The separate paths of the two girls eventually meet near the end of the novel, which is somewhat darker than the first two but not overwhelming. The rebellion is growing stronger each day, and Lena also has to choose between Alex and Julian, as well as reunite with her mother, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

     The ending of Requiem has been hit-or-miss with most people, and I personally liked it. Oliver wraps up the majority of the story’s loose ends, but leaves her characters’ futures uncertain while still ending positively. I wasn’t sure that I would like that, but in the end I found myself satisfied. I would rate Requiem 4 stars. 

     Lauren Oliver is a talented writer; her words flow smoothly and she has a unique way of describing things without ever feeling stilted or forced. I could easily picture in my head what she was writing about. Her characters are well-rounded and believable, with their own distinct personalities and motives. I liked Lena, Alex, Julian, and Raven, and while I didn’t totally like Hana, she was still interesting. Lena was probably my favorite character overall, and probably my favorite heroine of all the young adult trilogies. She is strong and capable, but she is far from perfect. I felt that she reacted believably to her circumstances in all three books. The romance is also clean. 

     My main complaint about this trilogy is the language. Oliver consistently uses curse words throughout the trilogy, and occasionally she’ll use big ones, too. They came often enough that I couldn’t just ignore them, and it detracted from the story somewhat. In fact, if Oliver hadn’t written the curse words, or at least not so often, I would’ve rated Pandemonium 5 stars and the other two books 4.5 stars. Overall, however, the Delirium trilogy is one of my favorites, and Lauren Oliver is still one of my favorite authors. I’d recommend this trilogy to anyone 14 and up. 

Link to author website: http://laurenoliverbooks.com/