As a former English teacher and librarian, book talks were a staple in my classroom and library. I used to post my book talks and reviews on my educatorbarnes.com. Now, I am shifting them to my business page because we receive many book recommendation requests at Blazing Brilliance. For the book talks and book reviews I have on my personal website/portfolio, I will shift them to this page and categorize them for easy use.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a dystopian novel where love is considered a disease (amor deliria nervosa) that needs to be cured, and scientists have developed a cure. The cure is administered to all citizens once they turn eighteen. Lena has three months left until she is cured. The Book of Shhh (The Safety, Health, and Happiness Handbook) gives citizens guidance on the importance and need for the cure. Lena takes its readings to heart until she meets Alex and begins to fall in love.
As an educator for ten years, I taught eight of those years in middle or high school. Many of my students raved about books written by Lauren Oliver. This is the first novel I have read by her. Oliver’s descriptive writing and the way she strings words together captivate readers and make them keep turning the pages. Although I did find her writing style enjoyable, this novel left more to be desired. The storyline never seemed to pick up. More time was spent describing minor details than developing the plot.
I’m not one to begin a series and not finish it, so I intend to read the rest of the series, which includes Pandemonium and Requiem. Oliver also wrote four novellas: Hana, Annabel, Raven, and Alex to give readers multiple perspectives of this dystopia.
I hope the story has more depth in the consecutive novels.
Originally published on May 29, 2016 on educatorbarnes.com
Rating: 2.5/5
| Level | |
| Accelerated Reader | 6.1 |
| DRA | 70 |
| Guided Reading | Z |
| Lexile | 920 |
Resources
Blazing Brilliance 