Here are three things we’re loving today: Lauren Oliver, Veronica Roth, and chocolate. Specifically, the Moroco Chocolat Hall of Fame. Did you have any idea this place existed? We certainly didn’t! Well, Lauren Oliver (DELIRIUM) and Veronica Roth (DIVERGENT) recently stopped by there while they were on tour in Toronto, immortalizing their handprints in chocolate. Take a look:
What we want to know is how they restrained themselves from licking their hands afterward.
Wishing you a delicious weekend!
She emailed me back a couple of days later. And asked me if she could blog about it on her blog. Of course I said yes. Lauren is one of my favourite authors, along with Isabel Allende and J.K. Rowling.
I'm dancing in the clouds right now. Thanks Lauren!
Before I Fall is a book you
have to read, and
Delirium will be one of the most important books in 2011. If not
the most important one. Both books deal with so many emotions, they'll leave you dizzy after reading them.
I told you I'd finished reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver yesterday -I still have to write the review- and I've been busy ever since.
Why? Because I just created a Fan Page for Lauren and her work! I'm super excited about it! (I already have one follower, thanks
Mundie Moms!) And I hope it continues to grow and become this awesome place where we can talk about everything about Lauren, her books and the upcoming film versions of her work!
It'll be crazy, managing this blog, that one, and doing what normal humans do, but I'm all up for it!
Come and join me in
Deliriously Falling, and let's discuss!
There's a
Before I Fall Read Along coming up in
Fallen Archangel! I'll be there, will you? (I'm already thinking of what we can do for the release of
Delirium next February!)
This week's focus is on Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, and while the book is beloved by many, there has been some debate about the main character, Sam. She starts out pretty unaware of her flaws, and she grows to have a wider, more empathetic view of her world.
For discussion: If you've read Before I Fall, did you love Sam instantly? Did she grow on you as the story continued? Or did you never grow to like her? How did Sam as the narrator shape your view of the book?
And, in general, have you read books where the narrator was the make-or-break aspect of the title?
Happy day after Halloween, all! Are you as chocolate-hungover as I am? Darn those magical elves at Hersheys!
Sugar crash notwithstanding, I'm thrilled to report that today marks the kickoff of my duties as Author Liaison and Diva over at the readergirlz blog. My first post has just gone live, so if, like me, you're a huge fan of Lauren Oliver, swing by and read all about BEFORE I FALL, our featured title! Lauren talks about our theme of the month, resilience, and it should surprise exactly no one that she has only brilliant things to say. Stop by and join the conversation!
Hello! Welcome to November at readergirlz!
The new month brings with it a new format for all of our amazing featured titles; with this new approach, we'll be able to spotlight more books than ever. So please help me celebrate our first title - which was one of my absolute favorites of last year: BEFORE I FALL, by Lauren Oliver!
Here's what School Library Journal had to say about this breathtaking book:
Samantha Kingston has worked her way up the popularity ladder; now a senior, she and her three best friends rule their school. On Cupid Day, Sam expects to receive Valentine roses, to party with her friends, and to finally (maybe) have sex with her equally popular boyfriend. The last thing she expects is that she will die, but in the final moments of her life, as she hears "a horrible, screeching sound—metal on metal, glass shattering, a car folding in two," everything turns to nothing. Only, it is not the end for Sam. She wakes up to start the same day over again, and again; in fact, she relives it seven times....Moving and cathartic.
Just reading the book description gives me the chills!
Lauren was kind enough to offer up some thoughts on this month's theme, "resilience." Here's Lauren:
Hey hey! Lauren Oliver here, author of BEFORE I FALL and the forthcoming DELIRIUM. I’m so psyched to be featured on the awesomeness that is readergirlz. I’m particularly honored to have been selected to participate during a month in which resilience is being celebrated. Resilience—the ability to recover from being wounded, to pick yourself up after stumbling, and to strive constantly for betterment and happiness, no matter how often you are confronted by difficulty and pain—is such a critical quality to cultivate, both in a general Life-Sense and, in particular, for a writer.
Writers, of course, need to be tremendously re
Beautiful, popular Samantha and her three best friends are the ruthless queen bees of their high school. But Samantha is living a nightmare: throughout the book, she relives the day of her death seven times, with some dramatic alterations and revelations depending on her choices—ditching school to spend time with her younger sister or, on a day when life’s rules have all but lost their meaning, seducing a teacher. She faces the often tragic consequences of even the smallest acts, awakens to the casual cruelties all around her, and tries to get things right and maybe even redeem herself. If this sounds too much like a Groundhog Day–style plot, make no mistake: evocative of Jenny Downham’s Before I Die, Oliver’s debut novel is raw, emotional, and, at times, beautiful (“It amazes me how easy it is for things to change,” Samantha thinks. “how easy it is to start off down the same road you always take and wind up somewhere new”). Samantha’s best friends are funny, likable, and maddening, but readers will love Samantha best as she hurtles toward an end as brave as it is heartbreaking. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
Lauren Oliver just received a starred Publishers Weekly review, so she is off to a fantastic start for her debut novel. You can also visit her website here.
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: HarperTeen, April 8, 2010 (or March 2, 2010)
Bookmarks: 5
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What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.I'm going to start of this review by telling you how much I loved this book. I know, I know. At first I was all, the characters are too mean for me to get into this book, but there is a reason behind the meanness. And it all plays out in a fascinating manner.
A cross between
It's A Wonderful Life and Groundhog Day, Samantha Kingston dies and she knows she has died. But when she wakes up, it's February 12, again, and again, and again and so on. She knows that because she has the power to change things, she can and will. But is it what she needs to stay alive or help her friends stay alive?
With each chapter representing the day that she is repeating, Sam learns that her friends may not be the type of friends that you want around. Or the boyfriend really isn't the one who quickens her heart. That the girl that everyone pokes fun of, may have plans that are quite dire and needs help that no one can sense. But after reliving the day for seven days, Sam thinks she finally has the answers to right the wrong that has happened.
Lauren Oliver creates a tightly woven story of bitchy, mean girls that you just don't like. And honestly you don't want to like them. But as Sam navigates her life and sees what is important, you understand that what is done and how people are aren't necessarily their true selves. Sams friends are shallow, drunken and don't care about anyone else except themselves. Or how man
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Great review. I think this book sounds so interesting. It isn't my usual type of read but I like it.
Good review! Gosh. March looks so away... I just posted "Before I Fall" on my very FIRST "Waiting on Wednesday" :)I LOVE the book cover. Beautiful.
I need to get this book. Love the review, Laura :D
This is one of the books I'm most looking forward to reading this year. I've only heard amazing things about it. :)
Interesting...another one to add to my pile!
This book sounds amazing! (And I probably wouldn't have given it a second look without your review!) Yet another one I'll need to add to my Must Read list...
GAH! You make me want to read it more! I SO cannot wait for this book to come out.
I love the cover of this and your review really makes me want to read it!
Great review! I have the book sitting on my shelf. I really really really need to start on it :)
Awesome review. I've been wanting to read this book. And now I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to read it. I must find it!!!
Great job!!!