Review: Delirium Stories by Lauren Oliver

Review: Delirium Stories by Lauren Oliver

Publishing Date: March 5, 2013

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 208 (Paperback)

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

For the first time, Lauren Oliver's short stories about characters in the Delirium world appear in print. Originally published as digital novellas, Hana, Annabel, and Raven each center around a fascinating and complex character who adds important information to the series and gives it greater depth. This collection also includes an excerpt from Requiem, the final novel in Oliver's New York Times bestselling series.

 Hana is told through the perspective of Lena's best friend, Hana Tate. Set during the tumultuous summer before Lena and Hana are supposed to be cured, this story is a poignant and revealing look at a moment when the girls' paths diverge and their futures are altered forever.

 Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery--a ghost from Lena's past--until now. Her journey from teenage runaway to prisoner of the state is a taut, gripping narrative that expands the Delirium world and illuminates events--and Lena--through a new point of view.

 And as the passionate, fierce leader of a rebel group in the Wilds, Raven plays an integral role in the resistance effort and comes into Lena's life at a crucial time. Crackling with intensity, Raven is a brilliant story told in the voice of one of the strongest and most tenacious characters in the Delirium world.

Ok, so as far as who should read this, I seriously would not suggest reading these stories (except for Hana) if you have not already read Delirium and Pandemonium.  Otherwise, you should be fine.  I'll split this review up into each individual story, so this will be a 3-part review.

Hana: 
This is the first of the novellas that Lauren published, and I've been dying to read it ever since it came out.  I do not have an e-reader, though, so I restrained myself (I could not contain my excitement when they decided to publish all the stories in one paperback).

In Requiem, we get to see life from Hana's point of view.  In Requiem, however, Hana has already been cured.  So, even though it is extremely interesting to see life from a cured's POV, I've always wanted to see something from Hana's POV before she was cured.  And Hana offers us a glimpse into her mind that last summer she spent with Lena.

I'd say that of the 3 stories, Hana was the least mind-numbing, and yet still, it was entirely emotionally involved.

Annabel:
WELL.  Let's just say, have the tissues and a pint of your favorite ice cream ready.

This tells the story of Lena's mother as a teenager before they attempted to cure her, and also from her point of view in the crypts.

I never really liked Lena's mother in the primary works of the Delirium trilogy.  She seemed so distant, and almost abandoning of Lena.  And this story completely changes things.  You finally see her motives, her thoughts, and all that she's been through.  And I now think an entire series should be written just from Annabel's POV.

And... well... *sob*.

Raven: 

Raven's story was by far my favorite.  I think, after just having read Annabel, I was still totally wrapped up in her story, and completely expecting Raven to be a drag.  As much as I've always wanted to see something from Raven's POV, I still was not expecting it to be that good.  Little did I know.

Pretty much, this is all I can say about Raven:

So, if you're a Delirium fan, and you were thinking of skipping over these novellas just because you think that they won't add much to the story or that they will be a waste of time: DON'T.  It's worth every penny.  I promise.

Peace out Girl Scouts,
-Maggs