Lauren Oliver was born in Queens and raised in Westchester, New York, in a small town very similar to the one depicted in "Before I Fall." her parents are both literature professors, and from a very early age, she and her sister were encouraged to make up stories, draw, paint, dance around in costumes, and essentially spend much of our time living imaginatively.

Lauren started writing as a way of extending my love of reading; when she read a book she loved, she would continue to write sequels for it. Later on, she began working on herown stories, and keeping company with a lot of imaginary friends.

She pursued literature and philosophy at the University of Chicago, and then moved back to New York to attend NYU’s MFA program in creative writing. She simultaneously began working at Penguin Books, in a young adult division called Razorbill, and while there, Lauren started work on "Before I Fall." She left in 2009 to pursue writing full-time.

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