Oliver’s follow-up to her smash debut, Before I Fall (2010), is another deft blend of realism and fantasy. The hook is irresistible: it’s the near future, a time when love has long since been identified as a disease called amor deliria nervosa, and 17-year-old Lena is 95 days away from the operation that everyone gets to cure themselves. Can you feel the swoon coming? Enter Alex, a rakish daredevil who, as it turns out, is one of the Invalids—a tribe of uncured who live on the lam in the surrounding wilderness. With the clock ticking down to her surgery, Lena is drawn into Alex’s world, one of passion and freedom, while her emotionally castrated family members hope to turn her into yet another complacent zombie. Oliver’s masterstroke is making a strong case for love as disease: the anxiety, depression, insomnia, and impulsive behavior of the smitten do smack of infirmity. The story bogs down as it revels in romance—Alex is standard-issue perfection—but the book never loses its A Clockwork Orange–style bite regarding safety versus choice. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus

劳伦•奥利弗（Lauren Oliver）毕业于芝加哥大学，并在纽约大学获得艺术硕士学位。现为全职作家，居住在纽约布鲁克林。

《忽然七日》她的第一部小说，以一种独特的结构，讲述了一个爱与救赎的故事，令全美年轻读者沉思且热烈欢迎，是2010年亚马逊网络书店最佳青年读物，也是2011年美国图书馆协会最佳小说。本书是她的第二部作品，以奇谲的想象和纯净的笔调、奔放的激情，讴歌了真爱的美好和对自由的热烈赞颂。别致的风格使其刚一出版，便立刻成为亚马逊书2011年春季选书。这位热情又活泼的作家除了自己的官网外，在其他社交网站如Facebook, Twitter, Myspace上都有她的身影，便于与读者的