Title: Before I FallAuthor: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date:
March 2, 2010
Pages: 470
My Edition: ARC Paperback
Reading Level: YA: Ages 14+
Where I got it:
B&N's First Look
Reviewed for: B&N's First Look Book Club & Debut Author Challenge
Summary from Amazon:
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: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
Review:
Before I Fall was an amazing story about a teenage girl whose every action on one single day can make a huge difference in many people's lives. She lives the same day seven times and sees that every act she does has an impact on someone else. In the beginning of the story, you meet Samantha and her friends. They are the "popular" senior girls of the school, and everyone wants to be them and all that. They all are selfish, nasty, petty, and cruel to all the other unpopular people at their high school. They say and do want they want, and they get away with it because they don't think about how they affect everyone around them.
I won't go much more into the plot than what I stated above because you will figure that all out in the first twenty pages or so, and the unexpected plot makes the book so amazing. I loved the story because it was very original and unlike many other Young Adult books. The mean things Sam and her friends did made her very hard to like in the beginning of the story, but finally by the end I started to really like and even admire her. Once she finds out that she can change something important each day as she relives the same day over and over, she starts to make the right decisions and changes her attitude towards her old life.
The ending was sad, even though you knew what must happen. It was a really good ending, and it left me thinking about the story even after finishing it. I teared up at the end because I was moved by Sam's final act. She was a great character who made a total 360 by the end of the story. I don't have any complaints about the book, so I can guarantee you that you will have trouble putting this book down because each page keeps you wanting more. Even though she does relive the same day seven times, it never was repetitive because each day was so different. I can't believe this is Lauren Oliver's first book; it was very well written and unique, she made it seem like she had been writing for years. I look forward to reading other books by her in the future!
