Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a futuristic novel. This novel is told in first person, by Lena Haloway. The opening chapter is all about "the procedure" that everyone has to get to rid them of a disease called amor deliria nervosa or love. In Lena's society, love is something that is taught to be feared. Love is dangerous. "It affects your mind so that you cannot think clearly, or make rational decisions about your own well-being." In the olden days, people didn't realize how deadly love was. Some thought it was a good thing. Lena is getting the procedure done on her eighteenth birthday. People have to be at least eighteen to get the procedure done. Once she has been through it, she will never have to fear getting the disease. In preparation, everyone has to read through The Safety, Health, and Happiness Handbook, or more commonly known as The Book of Shhh. Lena is very excited about getting the procedure done and is anxiously awaiting this day.
Lena is worried, deep down though, that the procedure won't fully cure her. Her mother killed herself because she didn't want to go down for her fourth procedure. The first three hadn't worked. Her last words to Lena had been "I love you. Remember. They cannot take it."
Before the procedure, Lena has to be evaluated and is given a score on a scale from one to ten, ten being the highest. She has been preparing hard for this day and has all the right answers that the evaluators want to hear to get her a good score. On her way to the evaluation center, Hana meets up with Lena and they walk into the center together. Hana is very relaxed about the evaluation, saying things that might get her into trouble and not giving a care about what happens, the opposite of how Lena is. Lena is tense and uptight, reciting what she will say to the evaluators.
Once they make it into the building, Hana is asked to go in for the evaluation first. Before she goes though, she whispers to Lena, "You know you can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes, right?" Lena doesn't understand what Hana means, but it is too late, as Hana is already through the doors. Finally it is Lena's turn. She is escorted into a room where she is asked to take off her clothes and put on a gown. She is allowed to take all the time she needs to prepare for the examination, like meditate, which makes Lena giggle. Once she is ready, so goes through the doors to begin her evaluation.
As Lena walks into the room, the lights are so bright she cannot make out the faces of the evaluators. There are four of them and all she can make out are the silhouettes. The evaluators begin by asking about Lena, what she likes to do, what her hobbies are, ect. Lena starts her speech she has long been rehearsing. Trouble comes when she is asked what her favorite books are. Lena tells them Romeo and Juliet. They ask her why and she responds with "Because it is beautiful." The evaluators were expecting her to say that it was frightening, to see what love is like if it is not cured. With Lena's answer, though, they are shocked. When she is asked for her favorite color, Lena digs herself a deeper hole by saying gray. The thing is though, she is being honest. What she is saying is not rehearsed like the beginning was. The evaluators are once again shocked.
The very next moment is incredible. A herd of cows burst through the doors and come charging at the evaluators and Lena. She thinks she is saved because the cows start chewing up the evaluation sheets the evaluators were writing on. On the sides of the cows, the words "Not Cure. Death." is written. Lena suddenly realizes what is happening. The Invalids, the people who live in the Wilds, the unregulated land that exists between recognized cities and towns, have staged another protest. They usually attack the town of Portland once a year. As Lena looks up to the observer's booth, she sees a boy, whom she is sure is part of this protest, who winks at her. She is taken aback by this and immediately tries to get someone's attention. But as she looks back up, he is gone
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