"Delerium" by Lauren Oliver

This book was on my TBR list for far too long. While I wouldn't say it's the best dystopian I have read, but it was still a quality book. Lena cannot wait to be 18 and to get "cured." The government cures every adult of amor deliria nervosa, or "the deliria" keeping the population from being infected with love. Lena's mother could not be cured though she had the procedure many times, and Lena is anxious to get the risks of love behind her. As you can guess, Lena is going to meet a boy, find out that her heavily controlled world isn't the safe sanctuary she always believed it to be and is going to fall in love (this seems to be the general plot of most YA dystopians anymore, the difference this time around is that it's love that it forbidden). 

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but, unfortunately, I found the book as a whole a little dry. Once the plot got rolling it was entertaining, but I thought that it took a little too long to get started seeing that it's not at all surprising that Lena is going to end up changing her priority of getting cured. This could possibly have happened to me because I have read enough in this genre that I'm picking up on the patterns they often follow  (plus I might have been a little spoiled by how strong Lauren Oliver's other book, Before I Fell is). However, even though I thought the story was slow to start, the second half of the book was engaging and kept me turning the pages. I certainly plan on finishing this series and am hopeful that now that the plot and characters have been established, there will be plenty of story to make this a solid trilogy. It's no surprise that those that enjoyed The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, and so many others also love Delerium. If you like any of the books mentioned, then you will likely enjoy this book as well.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Matched" by Ally Condie

I feel like I may be one of the only people on the planet who had not started the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie yet.  Boy was I missing out!  I powered through the first book this weekend and I will be starting Crossed shortly after finishing this blog.

I like seeing what trends appear to be popular in books and am happy to see that the vampire trend tends to be dying down.  I am also suprised to see that dystopian themed books might be the next big thing.

Cassia (love the name) lives in a seemingly perfect world.  There are no choices, everything is decided for you;  where you will work, when you will die, and who you will marry.  The book starts with Cassia finding out that she is to be matched with her childhood best friend, Xander.  Everything appears to be perfect until she takes a look at the microchip with with Xander's information on it- only to see the face of another boy, Ky.  The Society rarely makes mistakes but they tell Cassia that's what this is; a mistake.  So why does she suddenly find herself wanting to spend time with Ky?  The more time she spends with Ky the more she begins to question the Society she has always known.



This book has a little bit of everything; romance, adventure, action, suspense, and a bit of a cliffhanger.  While I think it will appeal more to girls, it's not overly mushy so I think guys can enjoy it too.  Like many others I'm sure, I found Matched to be quite similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry and Delrium by Lauren Oliver.  If you like Matched and Crossed, I recommend reading the other two while you wait for the trilogy's conclusion.

"Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver

Wow.  I feel like it has been a very long time like I have been so engaged and absorbed in a book.  Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall is very unique (quite a plus!).  Samantha wakes up and has a fairly normal day: she rushes to school with her friends (and Dunkin' Donuts coffee), receives roses from friends and admires as part of the school's Cupid Day, and attends classmate's party (no parents, alcohol, you get the picture).  After the party, Samantha and her friends begin to drive home and thanks to the alcohol and distractions, the girls are involved in a accident.  Samantha is killed.

The next chapter begins with Samantha waking up again, in her own bed.  It is once again Cupid Day, the day of the accident.  Samantha has been given the chance to relive this day over and over again, seeing how her actions affect her life and the lives of her classmates.  Yes, it's a concept that has been told many times, but I enjoyed how Oliver told it.

The book is broken up into seven chapters, one for each day that Samantha goes through.  This was a bit of a challenge for me since I often tell myself that I will read to the end of the chapter and then go do whatever chore I'm putting off, or go to sleep, etc.  This is a little difficult when a 470 page book is divided up into 7 chapters, but I thought that it was an extremely effective way to tell the story.

I am now reading Oliver's Delirium and though I haven't finished it yet, based on what I've read it I highly recommend it!  I have a feeling that I will be reading any book Oliver writes!

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Happy Reading!
-Melly