Delirium by Lauren Oliver

A book I read throughout the second quarter was Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It walks through a society where everything a person does, is decided by the regulators. This includes who they marry, what they do, what school they go to etc. Lena, the main character/narrator became my favorite character as soon as I had realized her and I weren't so different. She has lived in a set way for her entire life, so anything that could go wrong or deviate from what is normal, seems like the end of the world to her. Also, due to this very structured and restricted life, she has control issues. Lena has seen an order to pretty much everything. So, when her best friend Hana starts to talk about parties, she tends to freak out by demonizing parties and how they obstruct the order. Lena is very much protective of herself and what she deems important enough to care about. She does all she can to make sure she won't get "sick". In her society falling in love was outlawed and its called "amor deliria nervosa", which has its own cure. Any time she feels any type of emotion she doesn't know what to do for fear of being taken and given the "cure". Overall, Lena was someone I connected to most throughout the book because she was stuck in her head for so long until she learned to live through many experiences and newfound knowledge by actually thinking for herself, which was unlike anyone in her society. She can speak volumes through her thoughts or even a look. She is different.