Arts & Entertainment

Chappaqua Native and Author Lauren Oliver Comes to Borders

Author describes the themes and experiences of her book.

Chappaqua native Lauren Oliver came to the Mount Kisco Borders bookstore location to promote her new book, "Before I Fall," and discussed it with a group of onlookers.

Oliver, a 2000 Horace Greeley High School graduate who holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a master's from New York University, described at the March 5 event the major themes of the book, with people asking her questions and with a bag of candy at her side to hand out.

In her book, Oliver writes about a high school senior named Samantha Kingston, who in the prologue dies in a horrific car crash on a Feb. 12 with three of her friends, during the gray period where college responses trickle in but before they come en masse (one of the girls' friends even announces before the crash that she got accepted to a prestigious school).

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"Sam," as she's called, relives the last day of her life seven times while the experiences of life in high school are intertwined. Oliver says the book is part "Groundhog Day," part "Mean Girls" and part "The Lovely Bones." On some days, according to Oliver, Sam dies, while she lives on others.

While Oliver said in an interview that she did not base the story on real people, she did insert elements from her local upbringing into the book. The characters - Sam and her friends - drive to Dunkin' Donuts every morning before school and get large hazelnut coffees with no sugar and extra cream, which Oliver said is exactly what she and her friends did in high school. The girls also go to an all-night deli after parties to get egg 'n cheeses, a place that is based on Rocky's Deli in Millwood.

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Another inspiration for Oliver's book, a large rock in a wooded area called "Goose Point," came from a place where she used to hang out with her sister growing up, known as "Gosling Rock." The area is not an officially designated location; Oliver said it was a place they named. 

The book also touches on topics that are all too familiar and controversial regarding the lifestyles of teenagers. Sam's world is one filled with profanity, teen sex, casual drinking and parties. Oliver said that the book is supposed to depict high school life realistically. She also said that the message of the book is to "live mindfully and in a connected way with other people."

Another central point of "Before I Fall" is the nuanced view that it provides of friendship. At first, Sam and her friends are not intended to be likeable, but as one gets further through the book the characters become sympathetic. Oliver says that they are redeemed because they love each other and a loyal and supportive.

"The world would be much easier in some ways if people were either just all good or all bad, but that's not how the world works," she said. "Most people are some combination, some deep, ambivalent combination of both."

Coming back to Mount Kisco Borders had a lot of resonance for Oliver, who went there as a teenager. The selection of the place was actually not done by her, she said, but by her publicist, Elyse Marshall, who works at her publisher, HarperCollins.

Clinton Smith, who serves as attorney for the Town of New Castle and is a former supervisor, also came out visit. He said that he has known Oliver for a long time, as she and his daughter have known each other since elementary school.

"We're very happy for her, very proud," he said. "Very proud that she's doing so well and very happy for her."

Oliver also continues to write. She said that she has plans for a new book, which is titled "Delirium" and slated for release next year. At the event she said it is about an alternate world where love is considered to be a disease. 


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