BookTalk
“I dream about sledding. That’s what it’s like to barrel forward toward September, to speed toward the day when I will no longer be troubled by amor deliria nervosa. It is like being on a sled in the middle of a cutting wind. I am breathless and terrified; I will soon be engulfed by whiteness and suctioned into another world.
Good-bye, Hana.” (7, Scribd ed.)
In Delirium Hana was the wild child, the best friend…a girl who, in her last summer of Love, began to fall away from Lena. We knew Hana was a party girl. She’d become addicted to the thrill of the underground parties, the beat of forbidden music, and the kisses of a man. Hana was striving for the love she knew would be forcibly removed from her in September.
What we didn’t see through Lena’s eyes was the destruction Hana’s new life was causing. That like so many sufferers of amor deliria nervosa Hana may have placed her faith and her kisses with a boy who wasn’t worthy. And if a broken heart isn’t bad enough…she’s now staring at love’s perfection, in the form of her best friend’s new relationship. It’s easy to see through Hana’s eyes how someone would want to rip the ability to love from another. If only to make them hurt as much as you…
Review
Geeze! If you weren’t pumped for Oliver’s second installment: Pandemonium (coming to a bookstore near you in just 1 week!) the novella “Hana” is sure to get you salivating.
I just want to take a second right now and remind you all that the novella is Free Online right now. If you don’t mind reading from your computer. Though from personal experience I can tell you it makes it a lot easier to read at work *wink*
But back to the story. This novella gives insight into Delirium. I thought I had Hana pegged. I thought she was a wild child who didn’t really have the guts to go wild or, err, into ‘the wilds’. I thought she was a little rich girl playing with the idea of revolution before heading back into the ranks of good society in September.
Who knew Hana was really off having her heart-broken and her ideologies of love beaten up. Seeing the story through her eyes busts apart what you thought was going on in Hana’s world. And it leads to a cliffhanger I didn’t see coming. I can’t go any further without revealing some spoilers. If you’re now dying to go out and read this one. The Link is Here.
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Honestly, what Hana goes through in this book is so very normal; downright average for our society. It’s all about Hana flirting and going to second base with a guy. Steve to be exact. Hana is dreaming of rainbows, unicorns, and escaping to the wilds to live on love. Steve just wants in her panties.
Ouch – For Hana’s heart and her panties as Steve is not the smoothest maker-outer
But Steve remains a sketchy dude, in part because that’s exactly what he is, but also because he never becomes a fully formed character in our eyes. We see that Hana is pinning her heart on a man who really isn’t in this for the long haul with her. We’ve all watched a girlfriends go through this same process…Wondering why she can’t see a booty-call for what it is…
But in a society where your shot at love is so brief, mistakenly choosing the wrong guy is akin to love-suicide. There will be no second chance.
“Suddenly all I can think about is a line from the book of Lamentations: What glitters may not be gold; and even wolves may smile; and fools will be led by promises to their deaths.” (26, Scribd ed.)
This is about the point that Hana hits her wall. You can see it all fall apart. Her view of the party raid is terrifying. Followed by learning that Lena is secretly in love…The loss of her romantic hope and her best friend is too much. Ending in that cliffhanger! Why Hana? Did you really? WTF?
Dying for Pandemonium next Tuesday!
Rating: 5/5 A little novella that rips what you thought you knew wide open.
Sara O
thelibrarianreads 