Review: Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver

Published: March 2, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 470

Rating: 

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. The 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.

I was pretty excited when I finally got that email from the library telling me Before I Fall was ready for pick up. I had been on quite a waiting list, and didn't even realize I was getting close to first in line, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

I was pulled into the book from page one, but I was finding it very difficult to like Sam. She's a snobby girl who has it all, and what's worse--she thinks that's the way things should be. People should be made fun of because they aren't the most popular, people should bow down to her because she's Sam Kingston, oh and my favorite---you're lucky if she even knows your name. (Paraphrasing maybe, but you get the idea.) I'm not going to lie, it was hard to stomach at first. I knew girls like her growing up. I couldn't stand girls like her. That said, it was authentic. Like it or not.

As the book progresses, she starts to change. She becomes compassionate, and starts to really value life. It served as a great reminder of why we really shouldn't take a single thing in life for granted. I love books that actually have a lesson in there somewhere.

I applaud Lauren Oliver. She made me feel about every emotion possible, frustration, anger, sadness, she made me smile a few times. Actually I smiled quite frequently as I got closer to the end.

Then it ended, and I was frustrated all over again. The ending is the reason I gave it four stars instead of five. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but the ending wasn't exactly what I expected. However, it is definitely one that I would recommend.