Series Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver, or the One Where Love is a Disease and I Can't Really Argue That

The Delirium Series by Lauren Oliver

        The Delirium series by Lauren Oliver consists of three books, and four novellas. I read the first book, Delirium, in 2011 and only a short seven years later, I just finished Requiem! If you haven't heard of this series yet, it's a dystopian novel that takes place in a world that has outlawed love, aka the disease amor deliria nervosa. While I absolutely love the idea of love as a disease, along with the accompanying "side effects", you really have to suspend disbelief to inhabit the world of Delirium. Once done though, it's a wonderful story.

Symptoms of Amor Deliria Nervosa

PHASE ONE:
-preoccupation; difficulty focusing
-dry mouth
-perspiration, sweaty palms
-fits of dizziness and disorientation
-reduced mental awareness; racing thoughts; impaired reasoning skills

PHASE TWO:
-periods of euphoria; hysterical laughter and heightened energy
-periods of despair; lethargy
-changes in appetite; rapid weight loss or weight gain
-fixation; loss of other interests
-compromised reasoning skills; distortion of reality
-disruption of sleep patterns; insomnia or constant fatigue
-obsessive thoughts and actions
-paranoia; insecurity

PHASE THREE (CRITICAL):
-difficulty breathing
-pain in the chest, throat or stomach
-complete breakdown of rational faculties; erratic behavior; violent thoughts and fantasies; hallucinations and delusions

PHASE FOUR (FATAL):
-emotional or physical paralysis (partial or total)
-death

If you fear that you or someone you know may have contracted deliria, please call the emergency line toll-free at 1-800-PREVENT to discuss immediate intake and treatment.

      The story centers on Lena, a normal girl living in Portland where she meets Alex and contracts the dread disease amor deliria nervosa. I thought the love story between Alex and Lena was very well done and sweet, building up instead of going straight for the instalove. There are two main love interests in the books, Alex and Julian, and lots of complex circumstances involving each of the relationships that I won't spoil for you. Oliver manages to give each of the romances its own tone and meaning while never really straying into love triangle territory.

“I love you. Remember. They cannot take it.”

      The last book in the series, Requiem, is foremost in my mind and where most of my complaints about the series rest. In Requiem, I found the plot to be very slow for most of the book, with too much focus on angst, and some questionable decision making and blindness on Lena's part. However, I thought the ending was a perfect wrap on the series, and left me with this inspiring passage:

“Take down the walls.
That is, after all, the whole point.
You do not know what will happen if you take down the walls; you cannot see through to the other side, don't know whether it will bring freedom or ruin, resolution or chaos. It might be paradise or destruction.
Take down the walls.
Otherwise you must live closely, in fear, building barricades against the unknown, saying prayers against the darkness, speaking verse of terror and tightness.
Otherwise you may never know hell; but you will not find heaven, either. You will not know fresh air and flying.
All of you, wherever you are: in your spiny cities, or your one bump towns. Find it, the hard stuff, the links of metal and chink, the fragments of stone filling you stomach.
And pull, and pull, and pull.
I will make a pact with you: I will do it if you will do it, always and forever.
Take down the walls.” 

 I've also read and loved Before I Fall and Panic by Lauren Oliver, and I'd highly recommend them as well. They're very different from this series, but the great writing and characters shine through. I'd also give a lukewarm recommendation to the four novellas that accompany this series. They're enjoyable insights into Hana, Annabel, Alex, and Raven, but definitely skippable if you're not one for bite sized books.

4/5 big faces on covers

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Dare to Love 

***If you buy through the links above, I receive a small percentage of your purchase.  Thank you for supporting your local poor graduate student!! ***

Glass Sword, or, The One In Which Mare Provokes Me to Violence

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Pages: 444

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 9th, 2016
Cover Comments: I love these simple and clean covers, and this one is particularly effective with the themes within the book of fragile power.

First Lines: "I flinch. The rag she gives me is clean, but it still smells like blood."

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different. Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever? The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

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Review

Oh, Glass Sword. I had such high hopes for this book. I read Red Queen a year or two ago and have fond if slightly fuzzy memories of it. While I still find the world Victoria Aveyard built very interesting, I could. not. stand. the main character, Mare Barrow, in Glass Sword. Herein lies an itemized list of reasons I find Mare unbearable.

1. Can you say high horse?

I can't even count the amount of times that Mare refers to herself as a very important and special person. She goes on and on about the symbol she is to people, the incredible power she wields, and how no one can really understand what she's going through.

I'm playing my tiny sad violin for ya, Mare.

2. Bloodlust.

Okay, I'm all for a hero with flaws or even a really good villain, but Mare is neither. She kills without mercy and seemingly only regrets any of these deaths when they become another reason for her to feel sorry for herself.

3. Prejudice.

Even though Mare thought she was a regular Redblood for most of her life, she now treats Reds without powers as literal scum beneath her boots. She talks about Kilorn, one of her closest friends and one of the few people who stands by her by the end, like this:

"Who is he to question my orders? He's no one. A fish boy with only good luck and my foolishness to protect him. Not like Shade, a teleporter, a newblood, a great man."

For someone who has been treated as "less than" for her whole life, I'm disappointed that Mare would turn this quickly.

4. Empathy = 0%.

Mare has no sympathy for anyone other than Newbloods (only because they are integral to her mission) and herself. She doesn't care about Silvers who have helped her, the deaths of anyone not close to her, or even the fates of thousands of Red children.

5. Cheese with that whine?

Despite being the most horrible person in the book, Mare doesn't seem to realize what a sacrifice others make just being in her presence, and constantly whines about everyone and everything else. She even seems strangely offended by inanimate objects, calling an office "offensively organized" and a door "offensively red".

Mare has definitely had some bad things happen to her, but no more than her other friends, and certainly not enough to warrant her level of whining.

*itemized rant over*

I found the plot to drag throughout most of the book. The romance between Cal and Mare was so awkward and stilted, and Mare's trust issues make it impossible for her to have a real relationship at this point anyway, so it's painful to see her even try. I got so sick and tired of hearing the line "Anyone can betray anyone." Mare takes this advice to strange conclusions, trusting her gut feelings about complete strangers, but watching her back around lifelong friends.

As a result of the above items, I found myself completely unsympathetic to Mare even when horrible things happened to her, so I'm not sure how I'll rally behind her in the next book. However, I'm really interested to see if Maven is really as heartless as he seems, and I hope King's Cage takes Mare's character in a different direction. If not, this quote from my favorite character might ring true:

"Mare, I am very afraid for you. Things have been done to you, things no person should suffer. You've seen horrible things, done horrible things, and they will change you. I'm so afraid for what you could be, if given the wrong chance."

2/5 glass swords

Throwback Titles (2): Tender Morsels, or, The One with All the Man-Bears and Squeamishness

Throwback titles are books that I've been meaning to read for a very, very long time, but have just now gotten around to it. In other words, it's that book you picked up in middle school that may have been a little bit above your reading level, and also happened to have 14 sequels. And what do you, a rational adult do now that you've realized that you stopped a mere five books from finishing the series? Continue, of course.

That's most of my stories, but I consider a throwback title to be any book 5 or more years old. Let's clear these babies out of to-be-reads and remind people of their favorite 2005 novel! I'll be posting a throwback title every Thursday (naturally). Please join in the fun by adding to the linky below and adding my graphic (or one of yours, as long as it links back here) above to your post!

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Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Pages: 436
Publisher: Knopf Books
Publication Date: October 14th, 2008
Cover Comments: This is a beautiful cover, and one of the reasons I was attracted to this novel. It even gives subtle clues about what sadness lies within, in the expression on the girl's face, and the claws digging into her back.
First Lines: "There are plenty would call her a slut for it."

Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, a world given to her in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters grow up in this soft place, protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever—magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Review

I read reviews on Tender Morsels before I started it, so I thought I was prepared for the nastier elements of this dark fairy tale: rape, bestiality, etc. Even so, I wasn't prepared for those first few chapters of hopeless cruelty. After I got through that part, I was so relieved for Liga and I was able to settle in and enjoy Margo Lanagan's writing. And y'all, it is gorgeous. So beautiful, in fact, that this book can almost get away with not really having much of a plot for 3/4 of the book. Almost.

Tender Morsels is very much a dark, Brothers-Grimm esque fairy tale, with unpleasant topics out the wazoo. That 3/4 part of the book that I mentioned where nothing much happens? Basically the only thing that happens in that section is the main characters of the book making friends and perhaps a little bit more than friends with bears. To be fair, these bears are men in the true world, but Liga and Branza have no way of knowing that. Not being in a society of any sort, Branza, I suppose, would have no idea of the wrongness of it either though. This whole section made me pretty squeamish, so obviously I tried to intellectualize myself out of the discomfort. Here's what I came up with: Liga would not allow a man with any sexual intentions of any sort into her dream world, especially since she created it after traumatic events involving men. But the growing Liga, who has come to feel safe in her world and perhaps wanting more to life now, is curious about the idea of romance - maybe not even consciously. So in come the bears who are men, but not really men. Her world is trying to find a way to grow with her without breaking the no-men rules of young Liga's world. I also think there must be something symbolic about how only men break into Liga's dream world, and only men of no real threat, either being a "littlee-man" or men in the skin of bears. Anyway, wanna-be English major rant over.

I really enjoyed the last part of the book, in which everyone makes their entry into the true world (I don't feel that that's a spoiler since it's in the synopsis). I love love love the character introduced around this time. As Urdda describes her:

"She had a different kind of boldness, a strength that did not defy that of men so much as ignore it, or take its place without question beside it - Urdda wanted some of that boldness."

Lanagan's writing really shines through this character. Liga and her daughters adjusting to the true world after their dream world reminded me of Room, in which the young boy has to adjust after being trapped in a small, never-changing room. Branza especially can't fathom the cruelty that exists in this true world, although she does have a bit of a bite to her, as we find out. I love this gem of a paragraph below about adjusting to the world:

"Now you are in the true world, and a great deal more is required of you. Here you must befriend real wolves, and lure real birds down from the sky. Here you must endure real people around you, and we are not uniformly kind; we are damaged and impulsive, each in our own way. It is harder. It is not safe. But it is what you were born to."

Verdict: First off, I certainly would not recommend Tender Morsels to anyone under the age of 17, possibly 18, or with anyone who might be triggered by rape scenes. Those scenes are not all that graphic, but they do paint a very clear picture emotionally, which is even harder sometimes. If you are one who devours pretty prose and doesn't mind a meandering plot or themes of bestiality, I'd give this a shot. I give it 3 stars for the writing and the achingly lovely ending.

3/5

Throwback Titles (1): The Quillan Games, or, The One Where Pre-Hunger Games + Clowns = Eesh

The Quillan Games by D.J. Machale

Pages: 486

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: May 16th, 2006
Cover Comments: Pretty straightforward cover. Nothing to write home about, but it does reflect the plot, and how Bobby has grown a lot and really needs a haircut.

First Lines: "I like to play games."

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN...

Quillan is a territory on the verge of destruction. The people have lost control of their own future and must struggle simply to survive. The only chance they have of finding a better life is by playing the Quillan Games. Hosted by a strange pair of game masters, Veego and LaBerge, the games are a mix of sport and combat. They use the people of Quillan as pawns for their amusement as they force them to enter competitions that range from physical battles, to impossible obstacle courses, to computer-driven tests of agility. To triumph in the games is to live the life of a king. To lose is to die.

This is the dangerous and deadly situation Bobby Pendragon finds on Quillan. He quickly realizes that the only way to save this troubled territory is to beat Veego and LaBerge at their own games and dismantle their horrible fun house. But there is more at stake for Bobby. The prize for winning the Quillan Games may be discovering the truth of what it really means a Traveler.

Throwback titles are books that I've been meaning to read for a very, very long time, but have just now gotten around to it. In other words, it's that book you picked up in middle school that may have been a little bit above your reading level, and also happened to have 14 sequels. And what do you, a rational adult do now that you've realized that you stopped a mere five books from finishing the series? Continue, of course.

That's most of my stories, but I consider a throwback title to be any book 5 or more years old. Let's clear these babies out of to-be-reads and remind people of their favorite 2005 novel! I'll be posting a throwback title every Thursday (naturally). Please join in the fun by adding to the linky below and adding my graphic (or one of yours, as long as it links back here) above to your post!

The Quillan Games: Throwing it Back to 2006

"There are two types of people in this world. People who hate clowns...and clowns."

^ I identify very strongly with this quote.

Also, let's just get it out of the way right now that I've been pronouncing the title of this book "The Killin Games" and it's given me a lot more giggles than it probably should.

This is the 7th book in D.J. Machale's Pendragon series, which revolves around Bobby Pendragon, the Traveler from Second Earth (there are three Earths cause we're just the most important territory obviously). Bobby has spent the last three years or so traveling through the ten territories of Halla, which comprise all of time and space. The big bad in this series is Saint Dane, a demon traveler who wants to bring all of Halla into chaos so he can rule over it himself. But don't worry, he's doing it all for the best.

I remember beginning this series when I was around 13 - we were on a vacation to Disneyworld and all I really wanted to do was sit on the patio and read The Merchant of Death. What a dork. Now, 10 years later, on a beautiful weekend, all I wanted to do was finish The Quillan Games (heh. Killin). What's really obvious to me, reading this after The Hunger Games was published, is the striking similarities between the two. This book was published in 2006, while The Hunger Games came out in 2008, but it's a bit uncanny how many ties there are between the two.

On this territory, Quillan, a huge corporation owns pretty much everything and everyone, and forces people to compete in games in order to survive or have enough food to eat. The games are publicized, and the only source of entertainment for the people. Of course, their darker purpose is to keep the people under control and distracted. Bobby is a challenger in the games, and rebels from the territory want him to be a symbol of hope for the rebellion, even calling him "a tribute" to the people of Quillan. "We want a symbol. A spark. It doesn't have to be huge, but it must be stirring." So, yeah. D.J. Machale did it first, y'all.

I found this installation in the Pendragon series pretty thrilling and intriguing, but I do think a good 100 pages could have been cut out, and none would have been worse for the wear. The books are all written in the form of a journal from Bobby to his friends back home on Second Earth, which means lots of recap and introspection opportunities, and the author makes heavy usage of these. MacHale does great with the action scenes, but his writing tends to be a bit choppy, i.e. "At least I thought it was a wall. It sure felt like one. It was hard. It was flat. It stretched out on either side of me. You know... wall." When the action is going, you don't notice the choppiness as much, but it's really evident with the amount of downtime in this book.

Saint Dane is always a great villain, and I think it's because of his persuasive powers. He really has a way of making Bobby and the other travelers question their purpose and what the "right thing" is to do. He reminds me of an intellectual, but evil genius - the things he says make complete sense, but when you actually look a little deeper, it's just fancy words on top of violence and greed. There's a pretty big betrayal in this book on account of Saint Dane's power to manipulate.

I do wish that there had been more secrets revealed about the nature of the travelers themselves in this book. It was hinted and teased at, but no new information really appeared, which is a shame. I've been wanting to know what happened with Bobby's family since the first book, but we're still no closer to discovering the dealio. This book does a great job at setting up for the next one though, and there are some great storylines I can see forming up ahead. I may have started this series 10 years ago, but I won't be taking that long to finish them. They're thrilling, action-packed, and are finally beginning to mature enough to where I don't feel embarrassed reading them in the privacy of my home.

4/5

Cover Love (2): The Dazzling Heights

Cover Love is a bookish meme that I'm starting every Wednesday in which we select our favorite cover reveals!

This week, I have to go with The Dazzling Heights by Katie McGee:

Isn't that just gorgeous?! I haven't started this series yet, but the covers are A+++

Join below if you'd like to showcase your cover reveal!

Top Ten Tuesdays: Fangirling with Fandoms

Top Ten Tuesdays is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish! There's a prompt every week, and you respond with 10 things, or 2 or 5 or 15. Me being me, I will never not do exactly ten. *straightens laptop on table*

This week, the prompt is fandoms. And boy, do I have a list for you. 

In no particular order: the fandoms of which I claim membership:

I literally squeal when I talk about Buffy. Hands down my favorite tv series ever. I love it so much that I've continued the series in comic book form, which is not really my style, but I'll do it for Buffy! The kick-ass main heroine, the hilarious sidekicks, the fast-paced plot, the episode where everyone sings! I can't say enough good things about the Buffyverse.


If you are alive today and don't like Harry Potter, I immediately don't trust you. I understand that there are poor ignorant souls who have not yet learned the glory of being a Potterhead, but I don't understand how you can not like it. Friendship, magic, laughter, British people: it's got all my favorite things, and this series literally grew up with me. It'll always be my favorite series. After all this time? Always. *bursts into tears*

Lord of the Rings was my first foray into epic fantasy, and I've never looked back. This fandom is definitely one of the most rich and layered. I mean, you can learn new languages in this fandom. I'm not that deep in, but I have aspirations.

Before I even knew that John Green had the ability to rip out my heart with a single penstroke, I was a nerdfighter. For those of you who don't know (what have you been doing off of Youtube???), John and his brother Hank started a vlog channel many moons ago called vlogbrothers. They've now expanded into teaching history, science, art, and most other things you can think of through their youtube platform, but I love the old days when I could watch Hank try to give Peeps out on the street or watch John rant about literally anything until his hair stands up. DFTBA.

I feel like Gilmore Girls is less of a fandom and more of a lifestyle. I wanted to become Rory Gilmore, in every way. I cut my hair when I went to college like she did and tried to do the whole collegiate sweater skirt thing (didn't really work out tbh) that she was rocking in season four. I cried when Lorelai sang "I Will Always Love You" to Luke, and I had a conniption fit at the ending, and basically throughout all of the new episodes because nothing will ever compare to the original magic this show was. This show made me feel like it was okay, even cool, to like books more than people (sometimes... okay most of the time) and showed me that even strong, beautiful women like the Gilmore girls make mistakes. Also, Jess is so hawt.


This is the newest fandom I've joined, but I'm already in pretty deep. I've been sending fully armed battalions to show my love, so there's that. I have yet to actually see this musical, only listen to it, but it's one of the best I've ever heard. I love history, singing, and now I love historical rapping. Awesome, wow.

Disney is sort of the fandom that holds most of my fandoms - I love all the princess movies with a passion, plus the newer offerings like Finding Nemo, The Emporer's New Groove, Moana, Up, and hey, even Star Wars now! *dodges rotten fruit from true Star Wars fans* Disney never fails to make me feel magical. And those musicals are just groovin!

I'm pretty late to the game with this one, but I'm on season 5 of Friends, and I can't believe I've waited so long to watch it! It makes me laugh, cry, and roll my eyes, and makes me feel like being and ordinary 20-something person isn't bad. In fact, it might be the best thing ever. SO NO ONE TOLD YOU LIFE WAS GONNA BE THIS WAY BUH BUH BUH BUH

My first foray into dystopia! The Hunger Games is still the only series after Harry Potter to succeed in sucking me in so deeply and quickly. I love this series with a passion, and the movies are pretty cool too, when you don't compare directly with the awesomeness of the books. 

This is the tv series that just won't die, but I love it! The combination of mystery, thrills, and cute outfits is so up my alley it's insane. I love the books too, and they're a different plot, so it's like being able to watch your favorite movie again with alternate ending! Like 16 times cause that series is hella long but still!

If by fandom you mean constantly quoting something and being reminded of how this movie relates to your life so much on the daily (even though it doesn't remotely), then this is the ultimate fandom. Also, I love the Harry Potter crossover memes lolol:

If puppies are a fandom, then them too.

Frostblood by Elly Blake, or, The One with Cold, Hot Men

Frostblood by Elly Blake
Pages: 376
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: January 10th, 2017
Cover Comments: I love love love this cover. It perfectly reflects the story within, it's got great font, and the shiny ice-like iridescence is beautiful.
First Lines: "I offered my hand to the fire."

The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.

 Review

"Face them all like a warrior, whether you are one or not."

I really don't know where I land on Frostblood. This was a novel with a really promising beginning, a lackluster middle section, and a fascinating and exciting end. The romantic relationship in the novel has a lot of great potential that sort of went unfulfilled, but the worldbuilding and mythology were entrancing, and there were some wonderful side characters. Let us begin a list, because I <3 lists.

1. Pacing. 

Pacing has been all off in all the novels I've read recently. I don't know if I'm being too picky, or my interest is harder to hold than it used to be, but disclaimer: this has been a problem with me as of late, so Frostblood might not bother you in that way as it did me. When I began this book, I was enthralled. The beginning set up a great journey for Ruby (haha, ruby like red like fire -_-), and I was looking forward to some cool training scenes, tension building between Ruby and the hot (but cold) Frostblood Arcus, and general Yoda type philosophies from the brothers at the abbey Ruby takes shelter in. Instead, I got a lot of whining from Ruby about not being able to control her powers, awkward and cold scenes between Ruby and Arcus, and, well actually I did get some nice Yoda stuff from Brother Thistle and co., so that was nice. After the slow middle though, a scenery change made the book pick up speed x100 for me, and I was enthralled from then until the end.

2. Instalove. 

As I hinted at above, I wasn't terribly impressed by the romance in Frostblood. It had the great love/hate dynamic going on in the beginning, but there was never really anything that changed that dynamic. It was like Beauty falling in love with the Beast without the middle part, the "Something There" number. Ruby hated Arcus and then all of a sudden decides she likes him, despite nothing having changed whatsoever to deepen their relationship. There was something there that wasn't there before, but we the reader get left out of whatever that something is. I was actually more into another, darker, romance that occurred near the end than with Arcus and Ruby, surprisingly.

3. Monks. 

I'm not sure what it is about abbeys and convents and the like, but I love this setting! Maybe it was all the Redwall I read when I was younger. It's so serene and full of kindness and wisdom (certain characters excepting), and I feel like they make really good bread and cheese and maybe burst into song and dance sometimes.

4. Good or Evil?

Another reason that I love the end and will probably read the rest of the series, is that there was a great plot shift where you don't really know who the villain is, and who the hero is. It's a very complex, philosophical type of thing, and not black and white at all. I loved that, and it's set up intriguing possibilities for the rest of the series.

Verdict: I enjoyed Frostblood for the most part, especially the very beginning and end. The middle was a bit slow for me, and I'm not a huge fan of the romance, but the monks and fire made up for it in the end.

4/5