"Other books are so powerful that you can't say a word. It's very pages have sunk deep into your heart and mind and will continue to sit there until it is etched into your soul. It whispers to you. There aren't any words good enough to describe what you have just experienced...DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver happens to be one of the most powerful books I have ever read."
"BUT HOLY COW YOU HAVE GOT TO GO PREORDER THIS BOOK STAT. REALLY, NOW...By the end of this book, I was left feeling emotionally raw. I cannot stop thinking about these characters!"
"In short: a beautiful meshing of dystopian and romance with an edge of science fiction thrown in for good measure-- and one of the best YA novels I’ve read this year."
"...This book is a must-read for dystopian YA fans. It was gritty, thoughtful, and engaging. And it begs the question is it better to feel love and lose it than to never have loved at all?"
"Be prepared to cry and have the tissues handy...Delirium is a epic love story full of emotion and how one choice (to be in love or not to be) could effect the rest of your life."
"The romance is heavy, the action scenes are intense, the storyline is in-depth, the concept, which is so unbelievable, is made believable by her amazing writing."
"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Oliver's writing style. She is a phenomanal writer, and doesn't dumb it down for the audience. Her books challenge her readers to really think about what they are reading and what it means, and that is refreshing."
Hi everyone! How's your week going? Mine's great, considering I finish school this week, and I'm already making plans to move to uni next year! :D
So, I go to this art school, and one of my subjects is Painting. I don't like Painting very much. I prefer having a camera in my hands. Long story short, I had to paint something for my final exhibition. And I'd just finished reading Delirium, the excitement it gave me still buzzing through me. I was inspired. And this is what came out of it: (Click on the images to enlarge.)
(I dressed in red, matching with my work!)
Final display.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Those who've read the book will be able to imagine where my inspiration came from. I loved the scene Alex and Lena share in the little shed, escaping from the raid. Lena is hurt and she's bleeding, and Alex comes to her rescue. Call me romantic, but I just loved that he took care of her.
The greens and reds are the woods and the blood. The little shed is the frame around the bloody, torn fabric -Alex's shirt-, and around the frame, the phrase, "I have a secret. It will kill me. And I don't care."
On another note, Lauren just posted a new Writing Challenge! Her trip to Japan inspired her, and this Challenge's topic is FOOD. Read the whole post on her blog.
That's it from me today!
Happy Thanksgiving, whenever it is, I have no idea.
Hello everyone! We apologise for having been sort of MIA lately, but you know how sometimes life gets in the way of blogging.
Lauren is back in the US, and she had an awesome time in Japan!
Here's what she had to say about it:
Did you miss me?? I’m back in the good US of A (although I won’t actually be home for a while—tonight I stay in Newark, NJ, and tomorrow I’m off for the NCTE/ALAN conference in sunny Orlando!) and already missing the splendor and stateliness—and, of course, the FOOD—of Japan. My trip was too wonderful and expansive to be described in anything close to concise terms, so I will prove traitorous to the society of writers and follow the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” There will be 4,000 words below…enough for a chapters’ worth!
My experience in Japan, in a place totally foreign to me in every way (I had never been farther east than Budapest) has inspired me to generate a NEW WRITING CHALLENGE. So check back at the beginning of next week, and I’ll be kicking off a new online writing workshop.
In the meantime, I’ll be hobnobbing with fabulous authors, editors, and librarians, and lounging poolside…and maybe even seeing Mickey Mouse! Fingers crossed, peeps. Fingers crossed.
On another note, the Fallen Archangel's Before I Fall Read-Along starts this next Saturday 27th! Will you be joining us? There'll be regular posts as we read the book, but you can join the discussion here.
Today, Nov 8th, is Lauren's 28th (correct me if I'm wrong!) birthday! Reg and I thought we'd say hi to our favourite author and wish her a happy bday. :D
This is me (don't laugh at my funny accent, I haven't spoken in English in months, and I was a little nervous!)
And this is Reg, Deliriously Falling's new member!
Reg is totally right, you should buy Before I Fall if you haven't already! And Delirium IS freaking amazing! We're already brainstorming on what we're going to do for its release!
So, everyone wish Lauren a happy birthday! We'll make sure she gets the message!
So, back in July, Fox 2000 optioned the rights to Before I Fall, but we have no idea as to when Fox might start with its production. Might be next year, might be in 2012, 2013...
But there's already a buzz about who might star this film, taking the role of Sam.
Some say Selena Gomez, others Miley Cyrus (there's an article I liked that says "Let's hope Miley stays away from this one," and I can't help but to agree).
I honestly can't see either being Sam, they just don't look like Sam to me.
I'd really like Sam to be played by someone who isn't known, someone new and fresh. But I've seen some dreamcasts and there are some very cool choices for who could play Lindsay, Ally and Elody.
One choice I liked was for Elody, and it was Ashley Rickards. She plays a really cool character in The CW's One Tree Hill, and I think she'd be a nice choice for Elody.
Do you have someone in mind for this role, or any of the other characters? Share! We'll be featuring different choices in an upcoming feature.
That was totally amazing! Thank you so much, Lauren!
*seriously fangirling over this!*
We promise we'll stay pretty and nice.
As a thank you, from both me and Lauren, we'll be giving away a super-awesomeDelirium tote bag!
Look, isn't it cute?
You'll have three weeks to enter, the contest'll end on Nov, Friday 26th,
so just leave a comment on this post saying hi to us!
For extra entries, 'cause we all love those, just share a link to this post on Twitter, Facebook, sidebar, wherever, come back here and leave the link in a comment.
Each link will give you 1 extra entry.
Edit: The contest is international. So enter away!
Keep checking back! Great things will be happening around here, and you won't want to miss them!
Hi everyone! I am overwhelmed by the response this blog's getting, it's just been live for two days and it already has 27 followers and two Affiliates! Thank you!
Also, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw this:
(The quality is terrible, I know!)
Lauren loves the page! We have her approval! That is more than what I was hoping for when I started this! Thanks Lauren! I hope we see you soon around here ;)
I'd like to talk about my new Affiliates now, I'm sure you're familiar with their sites.
The first one is Fire and Ice, a great book review blog. They post amazing reviews all the time, it's really a blog I visit quite often. You should check out all the giveaways they're holding! They always have a new one!
The second one is Mundie Moms. We all love them! Their site is amazing as well, always something interesting's happening there. Just last night they had a Live Chat with Andrea Cremer, author of Nightshade!
Go visit them both if you haven't already (I'm sure you have, but still.)
I'd love to have you as an Affiliate! Email me at deliriouslyfalling@hotmail.com!
The next thing I wanted to talk about is the upcoming Before I Fall Read-Along over on Fallen Archangel.
BIF is their November Featured Fiction and they're having a Read-Along from Nov 27th to Dec 11th.
Here's a little video Lauren shared with them:*
I, of course, will be joining the girls at Fallen Archangel during this Read-Along, and can't wait for the Chat with Lauren! I'm sure it'll be awesome. Will you be joining them? You have plenty of time to get ready for it!
Lastly, I wanted to ask you something. Living in Argentina makes it kinda hard for me to attend Book Events and Author Appearances (I'd go to every single one if I had the power to fly from one country to another!).
But maybe you've been to some, and maybe, you've met Lauren. If you have -I'm super jealous, but I don't envy you, because envy is a bad thing!-, and you were fortunate enough to have your picture taken with her, send it to me! I'll post it here on a new feature I'm planning on making.
Just email me your photo at deliriouslyfalling@hotmail.com, with a little story about it (where you were when you met her, what day it was, was it rainy, sunny, anything!) and I'll post it here for everyone to see. Even Lauren!
What a great piece of news! Before I Fall is nominated for Best YA Paranormal/Fantasy Novel of 2010! That is amazing! I have no doubt that it will win.
It has some great competition too! The other nominees are:
Radiant Shadows, by Melissa Marr, HarperCollins, (April 2010)
Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, Little, Brown, (May 2010)
Raised by Wolves, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Egmont, (June 2010)
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare, Margaret K. McElderry, (September 2010)
Clockwork Angel is a great book as well, but you know for which book I'll be rooting for.
You've read the summary, now here's my review/thoughts!
This is going to be a long review!
First of all, let me say WOW. Second of all, I'm in love with this book! I keep tearing up every time I think about it, so this review is going to be very emotional.
Lauren Oliver is a fantastic author, and I loved the world she created.
Delirium is set in a dystopic USA, where love (everything about it, even saying the word) is banned. Cursed. Forbidden. The amor deliria nervosa is a disease that can seep under your skin, into your bones, and rot your brain. Or at least, that's what people are told. That's what Lena believes.
Lena, our protagonist, can't wait for the day when she'll finally get the treatment that will cure her and make everything OK. Because everyone knows that her family's tainted by the disease. Lena's mother was infected. And she died because of it. Lena wants to show everyone that she is nothing like her mother. She really believes that the cure is the only way to be happy.
The cure works in your brain. It makes you calmer, rationalises your thoughts, takes the pain away. There hasn't been much criminal activity in the world since the discovery of the cure. Everyone lives in harmony.
Because, what is love, but a feeling so strong that can make you go insane, get angry for no reason, and bring nothing but pain?
That's why Lena counts down the days until her procedure. Her, and her best friend, Hana.
Hana is a lovable character, funny, energetic, corageous. She's from a rich family, so her friendship with Lena has always been questioned. Why would a girl like her want to be friends with someone like Lena? But, despite everything, they love each other, or rather, care deeply for the other.
The girls run together almost every day, the run giving them a thrill and bringing them closer together. They talk about everything, but most importantly, about the cure.
Before you can get your treatment, you have to be evaluated. You'll be asked about your hobbies, your family, your favourite colour... And be sure you answer correctly! If you don't there can be serious concecuences. Because your life depends of that single evaluation. It will determine what career you'll be able to follow, to whom you'll be married, even how many kids you'll have.
Lena can't wait to pass the evaluation, and know what her life will be like as an adult.
"After the procedure, [Rachel] said, it would all be coasting, all glide, every day as easy as one, two, three." Lena, page 46.
But of course, not everyone is for the treatment. And some people even get infected before they're cured.
Scientists say you have to wait until you're eighteen to have your procedure done. Before that it's too risky, and many things could go wrong. But there have been cases where it was imperative that infected people had the treatment early.
And then there are those who refused to have their treatment and have escaped to live on the outside of the city, outside the safety of its walls. Those who've gone to live in the Wilds. The Invalids. The infected. You don't want to get caught talking about them. It's as bad as if you're caught talking about the deliria.
Mama, Mama, help me get home
I'm out in the woods, I am out on my own.
I found me a werewolf, a nasty old mutt
It showed me its teeth and went straight for my gut.
Mama, Mama, help me get home
I'm out in the woods, I am out on my own.
I was stopped by a vampire, a rotting old wreck
It showed me its teeth and went straight for my neck.
Mama, Mama, put me to bed
I won't make it home, I'm already half-dead
I met an Invalid, and fell for his art
He showed me his smile and went straight for my heart.
-From "A Child's Walk Home," Nursery Rhymes and Folk Tales, edited by Cory Levinson.
Page 56.
It is on the day of her evaluation that Lena meets the boy that will change her life forever. Up on the Observation Deck, she sees a boy looking down at her, and thinks she can see him smiling. A few days later, she sees him again.
Alex is a guard at the Labs where the evaluations and procedures take place. Lena and Hana run into him when they make a detour in their running track. From that point on, Lena's life takes a 360 degree turn.
But she can see his marks, the ones the procedure gives you. So that means he's cured, that means he's safe. Isn't he?
Lena is thrown off balance by all the things Alex tells her, all the things he makes her feel.
Could it be possible that everything she knew was a lie? That everything she thought was great is actually the most terrible thing humanity has ever created? She thought getting infected with the deliria was the worse thing that could happen to you, but what if it's not? What if it's the best thing that could ever happen to someone?
"As I head home, I keep feeling paranoid, like someone [...] will be able to tell just from seeing my face that I've crossed over. [...] But no one ever glances in my direction. It's a little before nine o'clock, and most people are just rushing to get to work on time. An endless blur of normal people doing normal things, eyes straight ahead of them, paying no attention to the short, nondescript girl with a lumpy backpack pushing past them.
The short, nondescript girl with a secret burning inside of her like a fire." Lena, page 213.
Lena finally learns the truth about things, and she also knows that the scientists weren't that wrong.
The deliria can change your appetite, your mood, your sleeping habits. It can make you feel happy, but it can make you very, very miserable. It might even kill you.
But maybe, death isn't so bad. Because, after you've been infected, life cannot get worse. And you'd rather die on your own terms that live on theirs.
Delirium's ending had me crying like crazy (much like Before I Fall's ending) and left a hollow feeling in my chest. But now that I know there are two more books to come, I'm filled with hope! You'll need a box of tissues to read this. Mark my words.
"I love you. Remember. They cannot take it." Page 31.
That phrase right there makes me teary eyed. I love Delirium even more than BIF.
*You read the whole thing? YAY! You're awesome!
***I love that Lena's name is Magdalena Ella Haloway. We have the same name!
***I'm already thinking of what we can do to celebrate Delirium's release in February!
I love that I was able to read it early on, but now I have to wait even longer for the release of Pandemonium, book #2 in the series, which comes out in 2012. 2012! An eternity from now!
Have you read Delirium? Did you know you can? Go to NetGalley, register and read!
Hi everyone! I'm Ella, a teen book blogger and avid reader.
I had the idea to start a fan page for the awesome Miss Lauren Oliver a while back, after finishing reading Before I Fall, one of my favourite books ever. But I thought it was too soon, and that I'd have to give it a little more time, and read more of this author.
Well, I waited. And it was worth it. I finished Delirium just yesterday, and I'm still moping because of it. (Thank God I was home alone, otherwise I would have scared my mum with my crying!)
Both books have shocked me in a way no other book has (with a few exceptions) and what better way to honour them than to create a fan page just for them and their author!
I hope this page continues to grow, and that more people become a part of it, because that's one of the reasons I started this blog, to meet others who are as passionate about Lauren's work as me!
Please read the About DL page to learn more about what will be happening around here, and leave comments, ideas! Everyone is more than welcome to participate!
I'd love to have Affiliates! If you want to become my affiliate, email me! You can find my email in the About page as well.
I'll be reviewing Delirium and sharing my Before I Fall review with you later this week!