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Paperback, 393 pages
Published 2011 by Hodder
Summary (from Goodreads):Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.
My Review:
I really expected something really good from this book before I started reading it. The thought of building a dystopian world in which 'love is a disease' fascinated me. That's the main reason why I wanted to read it.
I really went into that world when Lena started explaining, but I didn't really like her that much from the start. Maybe because I didn't find anything special within her, I thought she was 'plain' like she described herself. When she started telling about her parents... well, I didn't expect them to be both dead. Nowadays, tons of books get out with a missing parent or two that appear somewhere in the book. So, in a lot of them... they start as orphans just to end up discovering one of their parents is someone important. But I like those books, they make me want to find out stuff.
Sooo... as I was clearly waiting for the romance to kick in, I feel like the fun starts when they make eye contact for the first time -it's obvious they'll get together-. Right there comes the action, when Lena starts acting more freely...
I really enjoyed the friendship's ups and downs between Lena and Hana... it felt like a normal friendship to me. There's always bad moments in a relationship and those in the book felt real to me.
And of course, I enjoyed the forbidden romance tied to this book... (I would start giving more details about it, but I don't want to spoil the book to anyone out here)
Last of all... OMG THE END. One moment I was there, reading the fast-paced ending, and then... I was crying, unable to read the last paragraph because of my watery eyes. I think I've said too much already... but ahhhhhhh... this book hasn't left my head since I finished it.
