Delirium
Wikipedia
Guide to YA Lit
Delirium is a dystopian young adult novel written by Lauren Oliver, published on January 1, 2011, about a young girl, Lena Haloway, who falls in love in a society where love is severely seen as a disease. The novel is the first part of a trilogy, followed by Pandemonium.
The story is set in Portland, Maine, in 2091. Civilization is concentrated in the cities that escaped the severe bombings decades earlier. Travel between the cities is highly restricted. Electric fences separate the city from the Wilds, unregulated territory that was presumably mostly destroyed by bombs.
The totalitarian government teaches that love is a disease, Amor deliria nervosa, commonly referred to as "the deliria." A surgical cure for the deliria has been developed and is mandatory for citizens at least 18 years old. Lena has looked forward to the procedure for years since she is convinced by the government that love is a horrible disease that must be destroyed from mankind's system. Lena is an orphan, living with her aunt, uncle and two cousins. Lena has a sister, who is "cured" and married.
Lena's best friend, Hana, is prettier, more popular, and richer than Lena. Lena is obedient, stays home after curfew, and listens to music that is approved by the DFA, but Hana is rebellious, goes to underground parties after curfew, and listens to music that is banned by the DFA.
However, only months before her scheduled procedure, Lena falls in love with an Invalid (a person who has not taken the Cure and lives in the Wilds), Alex. He was born in the Wilds outside the city and pretends to be cured to live undetected in the city and to partake in the resistance. He offers Lena the means of escape from the procedure that will destroy her ability to love.
While trying to gain Lena's love, he finds out about her past life and family. When she mentions her dead mother and how she always kept a specific necklace with her, he knew who she is.
Alex wants to show Lena that her mother was alive. He brings her to the Crypts, where people who do not obey the rules stay, to show her that her mother is still alive. When they find the her mother's room, they find it empty, with a life-size hole in the wall where the letter 'O' is in the word LOVE.
Ever since, Lena thinks that her whole childhood was a lie and wants to leave the city and go to the Wilds. While Lena and Alex try to escape to the Wilds, Lena makes it over the fence, but Alex is shot and fails to make it. Lena leaves the city, starts living in the Wilds, and joins the rebels who oppose the procedure and the government.
The story is set in Portland, Maine, in 2091. Civilization is concentrated in the cities that escaped the severe bombings decades earlier. Travel between the cities is highly restricted. Electric fences separate the city from the Wilds, unregulated territory that was presumably mostly destroyed by bombs.
The totalitarian government teaches that love is a disease, Amor deliria nervosa, commonly referred to as "the deliria." A surgical cure for the deliria has been developed and is mandatory for citizens at least 18 years old. Lena has looked forward to the procedure for years since she is convinced by the government that love is a horrible disease that must be destroyed from mankind's system. Lena is an orphan, living with her aunt, uncle and two cousins. Lena has a sister, who is "cured" and married.
Lena's best friend, Hana, is prettier, more popular, and richer than Lena. Lena is obedient, stays home after curfew, and listens to music that is approved by the DFA, but Hana is rebellious, goes to underground parties after curfew, and listens to music that is banned by the DFA.
However, only months before her scheduled procedure, Lena falls in love with an Invalid (a person who has not taken the Cure and lives in the Wilds), Alex. He was born in the Wilds outside the city and pretends to be cured to live undetected in the city and to partake in the resistance. He offers Lena the means of escape from the procedure that will destroy her ability to love.
While trying to gain Lena's love, he finds out about her past life and family. When she mentions her dead mother and how she always kept a specific necklace with her, he knew who she is.
Alex wants to show Lena that her mother was alive. He brings her to the Crypts, where people who do not obey the rules stay, to show her that her mother is still alive. When they find the her mother's room, they find it empty, with a life-size hole in the wall where the letter 'O' is in the word LOVE.
Ever since, Lena thinks that her whole childhood was a lie and wants to leave the city and go to the Wilds. While Lena and Alex try to escape to the Wilds, Lena makes it over the fence, but Alex is shot and fails to make it. Lena leaves the city, starts living in the Wilds, and joins the rebels who oppose the procedure and the government.