Written by Lauren Oliver in 2011, Delirium is a young adult, dystopian novel that takes place in a world where love is considered a disease and is thus surgically removed from a person’s brain when they turn 18. The protagonist, Lena Haloway, falls in love with a boy named Alex Warren and must navigate a world in which their love is forbidden. The novel explores the power of love in opposition to an unfair totalitarian government. Delirium is the first book in a trilogy and is followed by Pandemonium and Requiem. Oliver is also the author of other young adult books such as Before I Fall and Vanishing Girls. This guide uses the 2016 paperback edition.

Oliver claims to have been inspired to write a novel about love after reading an essay by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who wrote that all books are either about love or death. Because Oliver’s first book is about death, writing about love is the next logical step for her. Oliver wrote several other stories set in the same world of Delirium: two situated chronologically between the first and second book, and another between the second and third book. These were all later compiled into one book titled Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel, and Raven. Another book, Alex, was also released between the first and second books. Delirium became a New York Times bestseller and received largely favorable reviews. An adaptation into a television show initiated, with Emma Roberts cast as one of the main characters, but Fox declined to pick up the pilot; it was instead picked up by Hulu and made available for streaming for a limited time in 2014.

Content Warning: The novel contains depictions of violence, some sexual content, and mentions of suicide.

Plot Summary

When the story begins, 17-year-old Lena lives in Portland, Maine, which, like all other US cities, is surrounded by guards and electric fences to bar passage, and no one is ever allowed in or out. The world beyond a city’s boundaries and therefore outside of civilization is collectively referred to as the Wilds, and it is rumored to be populated by people called “Invalids” who refused to be “cured.” The government, however, denies the existence of such people.

Lena is anticipating the approach of her 18th birthday, when she, like everyone else, must be given the “cure,” a procedure that removes all heightened emotions and prevents people from falling in love. In this world, falling in love is considered a disease. Before they are cured, Lena and Hana Tate, her best friend, plan to spend the summer together.

Lena goes in for her evaluation, during which she must undergo an oral exam that will allow the government to narrow down a list of potential mates for her. Just as Lena is making several mistakes on her exam, the evaluation is suddenly interrupted by Invalids staging a protest. The Invalids let cows loose in the labs, and Lena sees a boy laughing in the observation area above. Later, she sees him again, working as a security guard for the medical labs, and finds out that his name is Alex. She believes he has already been cured because he has the cure scars behind his ear.

Hana begins to listen to underground music that is not approved by the government. She also starts going to illegal parties, and Lena is afraid of what the consequences will be for Hana if someone discovers her rule-breaking behavior. Because of this, the two girls begin to drift apart. Later, Alex approaches Lena at one of the illegal parties. They talk and dance and agree to meet each other at the beach the next day. There, Alex confesses to Lena that he is not cured but is actually an Invalid who grew up in the Wilds and is now living undercover in Portland and working for the resistance. Lena is terrified and runs away.

As she tries to go back to her normal, safe life, Lena fears she might be infected somehow by associating with such subversive people. She does not see Alex or Hana for some time and is matched instead with another boy. Then one night, when Lena knows that Hana is going to be at one of the illegal parties, the government conducts a random raid designed to punish people for illegal activity. Lena cannot help but go to warn Hana, but she is too late. Alex is there and saves Lena from the violent raiding party, which has come armed with batons and attack dogs. As they hide from the raiding party after the frenzy, Alex and Lena kiss, and Lena realizes that she is beginning to fall in love.

Lena slowly has a change of perspective as she learns more about the secrets and lies the government has been feeding her. She reconciles with Hana and confides in her about her budding relationship with Alex; the three then spend more and more time together as the summer goes on. Eventually, Lena visits the Wilds with Alex and is amazed at its freedom from rules and walls. Back in Portland, Lena makes a chilling discovery. Her mother, whom Lena had always been told had died by suicide 10 years ago after three separate failed curing procedures, has actually been locked away in a dungeon-like prison called the Crypts all this time. When Lena sneaks into the Crypts to see her, she discovers that her mother has escaped and run away into the Wilds.

Lena’s world falls apart. She feels betrayed both by her family and by the larger society, so she decides to run away with Alex. They make plans but are discovered one night before they have a chance to escape. She is tied up and held prisoner by her family, and her procedure is rescheduled to happen immediately. Alex comes to her rescue, and they race for the border as government agents chase after them. Lena makes it over the fence and into the Wilds, but Alex stays behind, sacrificing himself so that Lena can be free.