January 23, 2011

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver



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. Th
e 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.

Death. One simple word, yet it holds so much meaning. When we're young we never think twice about death. We think we're invincible, untouchable, and that death is something that will happen many years into the future. We don't expect that one ordinary day could be our last...

Samantha Kingston was one of those people. She lived her life having fun; drinking, partying, not really thinking about the consequences and who she hurt. Along with her three best friends, Sam ruled her high school. She was to put it plainly, a bitch. But one night tragedy strikes and her life is cut short. End of story. Only things don't stay that wa
y when Sam wakes up the next more to find that its the same day, over again. At first she thinks that it was all a dream, but as she begins to piece everything together she realizes all that was wrong with her life. So for seven days Sam relives it all, and with each day her eyes begin to open wider. Will she find a way to save herself before its too late, or will she let fate decide?

This book was not what I expected, but in a good way.
When we first meet Samantha she is the typical high school mean girl. But she changes so much throughout the book that by the end she's a different person. Kind of like Ebeneezer Scrooge in a way, only instead of just watching her life and her behavior towards others, she gets to live it and correct it as she goes. Sam finds out not only things about her friends that she didn't know, but her classmates as well. She learns you can't always judge a book by its cover, and that first impressions aren't everything. Sam finally sees the bigger picture and when it comes down to doing the right thing or the selfish thing, she does what she knows in her heart is right.


Overall I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to read more books by Lauren Oliver. I love when an author keeps me guessing, and even at the second to last page I could not predict how it would end. Now that my friends, is good writing!




7 comments:

  1. Hmm I picked this book up today and hummed and harrred,, liked the review off to pick it up at our local shop tomorow its only $6-50 :) thanks for posting the review !!!
    kat via facebook

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  2. It's the kind of book that sticks in your mind long after you've finished it!

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  3. I loved this book! Even though i knew the ending was set i really wanted it to change by the end and this was the first book in awhile that had me bawling my eyes out at the end.

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  4. I remember absolutely loving this book. There was one point in the middle when I shook it and asked, "When is she going to figure it out so I can stop reading about this same day?" But the feeling quickly subsided. As you pointed out, Oliver is a great writer who keeps you guessing! Nice review!
    -Jenna @ Fans of Fiction

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  5. I loved this book so much! It was great to see Sam's transformation throughout the whole book.

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  6. I read this book not that long ago and it turned out disappointing for me. It would have been good for me if things didn't repeat so much.

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