Delirium ~ Lauren Oliver (Delirium #1)

★★★★★

This was way better than I thought it would be.

Mama, Mama, help me get home

I'm out in the woods, I am out on my own.

I found me a werewolf, a nasty old mutt

It showed me its teeth and went straight for my gut.

Mama, Mama, help me get home

I'm out in the woods, I am out on my own.

I was stopped by a vampire, a rotting old wreck

It showed me its teeth and went straight for my neck.

Mama, Mama, put me to bed

I won't make it home, I'm already half-dead.

I met an Invalid, and fell for his art

He showed me his smile, and went straight for my heart.

-From "A Child's Walk Home," Nursery Rhymes and Folk Tales

So, this is for all intents and purposes the same idea and some of the same plot as Scott Westerfeld's Uglies, and yet it somehow utilized that same idea and plot to make something much more profound and frankly more coherent. This book has actual motifs and themes. I adored the writing style and loved all the characters (though Hana was mostly annoying and Alex was sort of a stalker). I liked how the worldbuilding was done. I liked just about everything about this. It surpassed all of my expectations.

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