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Delirium (Oliver novel)Delirium is a dystopian young adult novel written by Lauren Oliver, published on January 1, 2011, by HarperCollins (HarperTeen). The story focuses on a young woman, Lena Haloway, who falls in love in a society where love is seen as a disease. Delirium is the first novel in a trilogy, followed by Pandemonium, and Requiem.

Plot
The story is set in Portland, Maine, in the year 2091. Civilization is concentrated in the cities that escaped the severe bombings decades earlier. Travel between these cities is highly restricted. Electric fences separate the city from the Wilds, unregulated territory that was presumably 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 deliria has been developed and is mandatory for citizens of at least 18 years old. Lena, an orphan, lives with her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. Lena has a sister, who is "cured" of deliria 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. Conversely, 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 trust and love, Alex finds out about her past life and family. When she mentions her "dead" mother and how she always wore a specific necklace, he knew who she is.

Alex wants to show Lena that her mother is actually 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 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.

Lena now believes that her entire 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, the government finds them. Alex tells Lena to not look back and that he will be right there with her, but then she does and realizes that he never moved. She keeps running into the Wilds, where she joins the resistance, leaving Alex to presumably die.

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