Contest: Win a copy of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver!

Lauren Oliver has is generously offering one finished copy of BEFORE I FALL to a lucky reader of The Hiding Spot! BEFORE I FALL is not only one of my favorite books of 2010, it is one of my favorite books ever. Trust me when I say that this is a book that you need to get your hands on!

To be eligible to win you must fill out this FORM.

There are multiple ways to earn extra entries as well!
*Note: Be sure comments say more than "great review/interview"... show me that you actually read the post!
** The book trailer can be found at the bottom of contest post.

• +3 Comment on my review of BEFORE I FALL, here.
• +3 Comment on my interview with Lauren Oliver, here.
• +4 Post the book trailer for BEFORE I FALL on your blog, Facebook, LJ, etc.
• +2 Tweet this contest (be sure to include @thehidingspot)
• +2 Link this contest to sidebar or in contest post
• +3 Follow The Hiding Spot (blog)
• +2 Follow @thehidingspot AND @OliverBooks

Contest ends: March 23, 2010! Open to US and Canadian mailing addresses.

Good luck and have fun!

The Trailer:

Interview: Lauren Oliver (Author of BEFORE I FALL!)

I'm extremely excited to welcome Lauren Oliver, the debut author of the amazing BEFORE I FALL, to The Hiding Spot! Lauren's novel is one of my absolute favorites! To find out more about BEFORE I FALL and Lauren, check out the interview below!

Give a short description or statement about BEFORE I FALL that will lure in readers.

Samantha Kingston has everything a girl could want. She’s pretty, popular, and has one of the hottest boyfriends in school. But on February 12th, on her way home from a party with her best friends, Samantha dies.
The catch is that she still wakes up the next day—again, on February 12th. She relives her last day for a full week, each time trying to piece together the mystery surrounding her death and trying to alter its outcome.

Are you anything like your main character, Samantha?
Yeah, sure. I like to think I’m a lot nicer than Samantha (although I had my moments in high school), but I definitely can relate to some of her confusion around issues of identity and relationships and romance. Like Sam, in high school I thought I had everything figured out, but really I was pretty lost. I was unhappy and didn’t know it; I wasn’t really sure what made life meaningful, and I concealed a lot of insecurity behind an attitude of nonchalance and detachment.

BEFORE I FALL has a premise that many readers have seen before, but it has unique twists. What would you say makes it unique and worth a second look.
I think a lot of stories and themes get repeated time and time again. Forbidden romance has been done a million times, but Romeo and Juliet is a very different book from Twilight. There might be relatively few stories in the world, but they can be told an infinity of different ways, just like the same finite notes on a piano can create a nearly endless quantity of arrangements of music.

Did you know the ending before you began writing or did it take you time to decide how to conclude the novel? (I only ask because it totally broke my heart…)
I’m so sorry it broke your heart! But yes, I did know the ending beforehand. I wrote the prologue and the epilogue first, actually; the whole rest of the writing process was then the struggle to get from Point A to Point Z.

What was the most difficult aspect of writing BEFORE I FALL?
Oof. The hardest part of writing for me is always just actually sitting down to do it every single day. It’s always a struggle, no matter how often I do it. Today, for example—it’s 2 p.m. and I haven’t even started my writing! And I’ll be totally stressed out until I do.

Did you always want to be a novelist?
Well, I didn’t want to be a novelist in the sense that I intended it to be a career, necessarily; writing isn’t always the most practical job choice. But I always, always wrote. I’ve been writing pretty much every day since I was, like, five. In sixth grade, when my best friend Jackie liked a boy, I would write her romance stories in which she would end up with him in the end. She still has a box somewhere full of all of that writing. (Terrible stuff, by the way. I should probably ask her to burn it.)

What jobs did you have on your way to being a writer? Did they help you in any way as a writer?
I worked as an editorial assistant, and then assistant editor, at Penguin Young Readers—and yeah, I definitely think that helped me out, for sure. I read so many teen books during that time and learned so much about plot and pacing. I also worked in nightclubs and bars for five years. That was incredibly helpful to me as a writer; much of the job is just talking to people, so you really get to know people’s stories, and you get a vast sense both of different people’s voices, and of the struggles and anxieties and problems that are common to us all.

When and where do you usually write?
Oh, man. It’s totally random. I like to write on my Macbook air, and when I’m at home in Brooklyn I write at my kitchen table (for easy access to the coffee machine). But when I’m stuck I write by hand, and when I’m rushing around all day I sometimes write on my Blackberry when I’m in the subway and then email the material to myself. Right now I’m writing at my friend’s kitchen table in Venice Beach, California.

Is there something that is a must have for you to be able to write?
Coffee so that my brain can function. Otherwise, nope!

What author or book most influenced you as a writer or in general?
It’s really impossible to say. Different books and writers have been hugely influential to me at different points in time, from Roald Dahl to JK Rowling to F Scott Fitzgerald and Gabrial Garcia Marquez…

Can you tell us anything about your next YA novel(s)?
Sure. My second book will be released in the first part of 2011. It’s called DELIRIUM, and it’s kind of a dystopian Romeo and Juliet story (but told my own way—see Question #3!). I am not going to say any more for now, but I am so, so excited about it.

The Hiding Spot is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Is there a place, activity, or person that is your hiding spot?
What a beautiful question. Yes. Writing is my hiding spot.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
Thanks so much for having me! And please go out and get a copy of Before I Fall! You won’t regret it! (And if you do, you can yell at me over twitter at @OliverBooks.)

Read my rave review of BEFORE I FALL here!

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pub. Date: March 2, 2010
Genre: YA
Main Themes: Death, Choices, Moving on, Romance, Friendship, Family
Pages:
Plot (from GoodReads):
"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."

Lauren Oliver’s debut novel left me speechless. Well, I suppose I did a fair amount of babbling, but it wasn’t exactly coherent – I was in awe. I never expected that I’d be up all night because I simply could not put BEFORE I FALL down!

The plot of BEFORE I FALL is not one that is new to readers, but it is classic. Samantha dies unexpectedly, but does not “pass on.” Instead she relives her last day repeatedly, until she figures out the key to escaping the limbo-like state. Oliver’s take on the premise added twists that made BEFORE I FALL truly unique.

Oliver characterized her main character, Samantha, perfectly. She had so many layers and even as she did horrid, mean-girl things, she pulled me in and made me understand her. I can honestly say I identified with Samantha. She is now one of my favorite narrators!

Samantha’s growth throughout the novel progressed perfectly. She does not immediately change her self-centered ways, she must make an effort to change. She must slow down and notice all the small details in her everyday life and how even her smallest actions make ripples and affect others. I am so glad that BEFORE I FALL was so lengthy, partially because I didn’t want it to end, but also because it allowed for the plot to unfold at just the right pace.

There is a romantic plot line… and it was so, so good… but it was also so very painful. This aspect of the novel cemented my love for this novel. I adored the entire plot and novel, but his seemly doomed story was just so utterly romantic. I am a romance junkie and BEFORE I FALL totally fed my obsession. It made me cry, but was still satisfying.

BEFORE I FALL is a must-read. And, I think, a must-buy! Oliver’s novels will all have a spot on my bookshelf… I’m already anxiously awaiting her next novel!