In 95 days, Lena Haloway will be cured, forever safe from the risk of contracting the extremely contagious, deadly disease amor deliria nervosa. Like most people, she'll have the procedure on her 18th birthday. Unlike most people, Lena knows the devastating effects of the deliria. Her mother had the procedure 3 times, but it wasn't enough - the disease still infected her, took over her brain so she leapt from a cliff when Lena was 6 years old. Lena knows better than anyone that love is a dangerous, devastating illness.But when Lena meets gorgeous, golden Alex, everything changes. Lena's always been a rule follower - helping her aunt Carol around the house and always in by curfew. The only time she really feels free is when she's running with her best friend Hana. Alex opens up a whole new world to Lena, one that she didn't know could exist. A world with sunsets and music and dancing and stars. A world where she feels awake and alive. And in love. But Alex is cured - he has the distinctive scar beneath his ear that tells Lena he's safe. Spending time with him shouldn't put her at risk - so why does she feel so much when she's with him? Or, even more symptomatic of the deliria, feel his absence so much when she's alone?
Suddenly, Lena isn't so sure she wants to be cured. But is what she feels for Alex real, or just symptoms of the deliria? Is it even possible for them to be together in a world where love is illegal and the government is poised to surgically exise it from it's citizens' brains at the first sign of laughter or affection?
Fast-paced and intense, Before I Fall author Lauren Oliver's second novel will grab you from page one and won't let go until the heart-in-your-throat, gasp-aloud final page. Just be warned, this one ends on a heart-stopper of a cliffhanger! A dystopian love story wrapped in conspiracy, lies and mystery, fans of The Hunger Games trilogy, Matched by Ally Condy, and The Giver by Lois Lowry will add this novel about the power of all kinds of love to their list of favorite reads.
Megan
(Now reading Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian and loving it! Check out Katie's review of this fun read.)