Teen Book Club - February - Delirium

Heya YAs.  The Teen Book Club met last night to discuss...

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Here are the discussion questions we used:

1. General thoughts!  What did you think of the book?
2. What are some of the symptoms of amor delira nervosa?  How dangerous do you think they are?  What do you think lead to love being classified as a disease?  Do you think that in some ways love can be thought of as a disease?  Why or why not?
3.  The Book of Shhh says that "marriage is Order and Stability, the mark of a Healthy society."  What role does marriage play in the book?
4. Do you need to make your own choices in life (like who you marry) to be happy?  Why or why not?
5. What do you think of Hana, and Lena & Hana's friendship?
6. Why do you think Lena longs for and counts down the days to the cure at the beginning of the book?  Would you take the cure?  What are some of the reasons that someone would want to take the cure?
7. At the barn party Lena describes the music "as thick and heavy as warm honey, spilling up and down a scale."  What kind of music do you think she is hearing?  Why would the government ban some music or art?
8. What do you think of Alex?  Is Lena better off having known him?
9. What was your favorite scene or part of the book and why?
10. Did you like the ending of the book?  What do you think will happen in the 2nd book, Pandemonium?
11. Ratings and final thoughts!

Here are our ratings:

Melanie gave it a 7.5/10.  She enjoyed the way the story came together even though the beginning was a little dull.
Jill gave it a 9/10.  She thought it was a beautiful idea and pulled off very well.
Clare (who hasn't yet finished the book) gave it an 8/10.  She is super intrigued by the plot, started off slow, but halfway through she is completely invested.
Miss G gave it a 9/10.  She's fascinated by the idea of the book and was sucked in by the plot and characters.

We also discussed the fact that Fox has picked up Delirium to be a TV show and cast Emma Roberts to star.  Don't know when it will be on TV, but we had some mixed feelings about how this will go!

For March we are reading...

Trapped by Michael Northrop - Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

Copies of the book are available at the front desk and the discussion will be Tuesday, March 26th at 6:30.