Lauren Oliver set up the key elements of her futuristic society in Delirium: Lena wanted to be "cured" of the ability to love (an "infection" called amor deliria nervosa); her best friend, Hana, did not want to be cured. Then Lena fell in love with Alex and they attempted escape into the Wilds--but only Lena made it. Or so she thought.
The chapters alternate between Lena and Hana. Readers learn that while romance has bloomed between Lena and Julian Fineman, son of the head of the DFA (Deliria-Free America), Hana has undergone the "cure" and is scheduled to marry Fred Hargrove, incoming mayor of Portland, Maine. Fred tells Hana, "a perfect golf game uses not a single wasted movement: Order, form, and efficiency are its trademarks." Fred plans to penalize any rebels by cutting off their electricity. He wants Hana to be "his caddy." But Hana is having misgivings, and Alex did not die.
For the first time in the series, the overriding governmental plots and plans trump the personal relationships. Lena's pull in two different directions, between Alex and Julian, takes a back seat to the government's infiltration of the Wilds in their attempt to round up or stamp out anyone outside of the cities' sanctioned borders--and their enlistment of the once-harmless Scavengers as murderous mercenaries. Lena and Hana both doubt their decisions, and readers will race to finish of this suspenseful and thought-provoking conclusion to Oliver's trilogy. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness