Lauren Oliver Books In Order

Publication Order of Delirium Books

Chronological Order of Delirium Books

Publication Order of Curiosity House Books

Publication Order of Replica Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Children's Books

Publication Order of Delirium Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

Lauren Oliver Biography:

Born November 8th 1982 to a literary family, Lauren Oliver (Laura Suzanne Schechter) was encouraged to live expressively and imaginatively from a young age by creating her own stories, painting, and performing. With an upbringing in surroundings such as these, coupled with two parents both knowledgeable in literature and a house full of books, it seems as though Oliver had received from a young age the ideal push towards her career as a writer. Oliver, with a passion for reading went on to study Literature and Philosophy at the University of Chicago, subsequently returning to her home city of New York to attend a creative writing course at NYU. Her Father, aside from being a professor, is himself a published writer of true crime and has written essays on popular culture. Although this may have been a helpful and influential factor towards her career, it is by no means indicative of a lack of personal identity as a writer.

Perhaps to consolidate her individuality, she chose to publish her work under the name Lauren Oliver instead of her birth name, publishing books that are mainly targeted towards young adults and children, all of which are highly imaginative and incorporate fantastical features. Having worked for Penguin Books in the young adult’s division, where she would have gained valuable insight into what was selected and declined for publication, Oliver left to focus on writing her first book Before I Fall.

Before I Fall

Starting off her career with Before I Fall (2010) to positive reviews, Oliver demonstrates her considerable talent, insight and ability to catch the attention of young readers, as she delves into the seemingly perfect world of popular girl Samantha Kingston after her death in a car accident. Before I Fall, written in first person from the perspective of Samantha, incorporates Oliver’s distinct tone and style of blending fantasy and reality as we join Samantha through the experience of reliving the day of her death seven times, able to change how she lives it due to the process of discovering what is truly valuable to her. We find that her popular and snobby friends led by the cruel Lindsay are not really the ones she appreciates and as the book progresses, the minor and ostracised character of Juliet who originally commits suicide as a result of being bullied by Sam and Lindsay and their friends, is respected more by Sam as the book progresses. Sam’s eventual release from reliving her last day is due to her sacrifice of herself to save Juliet.

Through her many references to, and well informed understanding of popular culture and the mind-set of the audience with whom she successfully connects, Oliver provides some sort of moral guidance to young adults who are themselves experiencing the sort of superficial happiness Sam experienced through what teenagers see as important. In the years of 2009-10, teenage suicide in the USA due to bullying became a focus of media attention, and Oliver – perhaps aided by her Father’s in depth knowledge of popular culture – shows her relevance here, as this is a continuous problem. She also uses this opportunity to include theories that she likely encountered in her studies of Philosophy, such as the Butterfly Effect and Chaos Theory, encouraging her readers to understand that their actions affect others, and life is meant to be approached fully and individually. Before I Fall, purportedly partly written by Oliver on her blackberry, is currently part of plans to potentially adapt into a film.

Delirium Trilogy

Oliver’s second book Delirium (2011), the first in her Delirium trilogy, has been translated into over 30 languages and has achieved the status of international bestseller. Building on the high standard set by Before I Fall, Delirium was rated the best book of the year by numerous literary reviews, and has been included in NPR’s list of 100 Best Ever Teen Novels. Set in a dystopian alternate USA where love has been declared a dangerous disease, necessary to be treated by what is called the ‘cure’, the book’s protagonist, Lena, finds herself falling in love with Alex as the date of her treatment comes ever closer. The second book in the series Pandemonium (2012) follows Lena as she searches for ‘The Resistance’, and continues on with them, and having escaped the cure travels through the wilderness of America to complete their self-appointed mission of freeing everyone from the ‘cure’. Requiem (2013), the last instalment of the trilogy, concludes the story by entwining the two previously separate stories of Lena and Hana.

The trilogy was the root of 3 novellas spanning the period of the story but from the perspectives of 3 different characters. Fox had announced plans in 2013 to adapt this trilogy for a TV series, but later declined to adopt the pilot show.

Panic

Oliver’s recent release Panic (2014) seems to be one step further from the ideas and blend of fantasy and reality that formed the basis for Before I Fall, following the same direction towards adventure fiction that the Delirium trilogy first moved in. At first glance it appears to share some similarities with the Hunger Games trilogy that proved so popular, but it can also be seen as unabashed study at small town desperation, and the lengths that teenagers will go to to seek approval and acceptance. Despite any differences, Oliver’s talent for developing fully realised and believable characters remains; and she still explores uncomfortable themes, presenting them directly to her audience who share many feelings and drives that the characters in Oliver’s parallel fictions do.

After That All

Oliver has already demonstrated her relevance as a young adult writer throughout her career, and for a person who is a self-professed lover of cosiness and slippers, she shows a willingness to approach difficult subjects that perhaps other writers of her genre shy away from, whilst approaching them in a unique style. After having already had interest from film production companies to adapt her work for the screen, it does not seem long before her work, which has held the attention of young adult readers since her first publication, will be televised and further popularized. Her work has shown her acuteness to contemporary movements and attitudes of her audience, and that she is capable of being a trustworthy and moral voice for young adults to look towards.

Writing Young Adult novels for some time now, Lauren Oliver is a bestselling American author with a large collection of books to her name. Featuring largely dystopian settings for her material, she takes the fantasy and science-fiction genres making them accessible for her younger audience. With her international acclaim she’s received, she’s going from strength-to-strength as she continues to expand on her work.

Early and Personal Life

Brought up in the area of Westchester County, New York, Lauren Oliver was born on the 8th of November, 1982. Writing from an early age, she grew up within a family of writers, so the inspiration was always there for her. Constantly reading and writing, she continually honed her craft from early on before becoming the young adult author that she is today. Studying at the University of Chicago, she learned philosophy and literature gaining a deeper insight into the form on an academic level. This was before moving back to New York where she studied at the university there graduating with an MFA in creative writing. After this she started to put her learning into practice as she went on to work for Penguin Books where she managed to start working on her own books as well whilst she was there.

Living in Brooklyn now, she continues to write happily as a successful author of young adult literature, constantly honing and refining her skills. With more books expected in the future she’s showing no signs of stopping anytime soon as her career grows from strength-to-strength. Whilst her series are still ongoing as well, there’s still much more potential for her to expand upon her work into the foreseeable future.

Writing Career

Publishing her first book on the 2nd of March, 2010, Lauren Oliver arrived on the literary scene with her debut titled ‘Before I Fall’. Making her impact she garnered a wide-audience from a novel which she claims to have written entirely on her Blackberry during her commuting time. This impressive start secured her fate as a writer of great repute and considerable talent, as readers anticipated what would come next.

This has now been optioned as a movie and is set to be made into a film by the company Fox 2000, as her work has begun to turn heads. It’s not only film producers attention she’s getting though, but that of the critics as well with a number of awards already being given for her efforts. This along with the positive feedback she’s received from her readers is starting to secure her position as well established and commercially successful writer. Creating a number of series, she’s also managing to maintain an ongoing collection of franchises too, ones that have been running for some time now. Using themes such as the paranormal, she tells stories surrounding deeper issues such as tragedy and loss that provide help to her younger readers. Whilst they may be escapist scenarios, the underlying arcs and themes are very real, which is why so many are drawn towards her.

As a full-time writer now she is enjoying all the sucesses that it is bringing her, something which she will continue in the coming years. With her career still in its early stages there’s a lot more to come from the highly adept author of young adult literature. Gaining both commercial and critical success, both nationally and internationally, her profile can only grow.

Before I Fall

Published on the 14th of February, 2010, this was the book that was to introduce Lauren Oliver as an important new figure on the young adult, winning a number of awards in the process. Setting the tone and the characters, it establishes a major new voice and style, with relatable people that younger readers found they could identify with. With talk of a film on the way from Fox 2000, them having optioned the rights to it, it looks like its life is set to continue for many young readers yet.

Young seventeen year old Samantha Kingston has everything she ever needed from high-school life; a great social life as one of the popular clique, a boyfriend that everyone else wants to be with along with wealth and status. She may be ‘mean’, but that’s never really bothered her as she didn’t need to face reality having everything she ever wanted served up to her on a silver plate. That’s when she dies.

The victim of a major car accident, she suffers a fatal crash in a most horrifying and painful way, facing the final few seconds of her life and her last dying thoughts. Then she wakes up the next morning only to find it’s Friday February the 12th again, a day which she soon realizes she has to relive over and over in the style of Groundhog Day. Faced with the prospect of having to change her life, she finds she must do everything over until she gets things right, a feat that will take many many mistakes until she gets there.

Delirium

Set in a dystopian world this time, Lauren Oliver first published this book in 2011 on the 1st of January to much critical acclaim once again, this time reaching the top of the bestseller list. Given a somewhat different tone to what came before, it establishes a whole new world for her characters to operate in, with a lot more room to build upon. It was also the case that Fox once again brought the rights, this time for a television adaption as a series is currently underway, the pilot episode having already been released.

In an alternate universe the city of Portland, Maine, is held under a totalitarian regime that seeks to keep its citizens docile and compliant by destroying their ability to love. Telling them it’s a condition called ‘amor deliria nervosa’ they provide a so-called cure to their ability to feel love, a ‘cure’ that prescribed to all people when they reach eighteen. This procedure is soon to happen to Lena, something which she thinks she wants, that is until she meets Alex the leader of the resistance and he helps her escape after she falls in love with him. They then must escape the clutches of the establishment if they’re to escape and retain what’s said to be their delirium.