Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I admit it, at first I HATED Before I Fall. I first read it in August and got to page fifty. I recently reread it, and that's when I realized the parts that I hated before were done on PURPOSE, aka Sam's selfishness and others. 5 OUT OF 5 STARS~!!!!!!!!


Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
5 out of 5 stars
Published in 2010
Summary from Goodreads: What if you only had 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 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times 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.


I think what really hit me was Samantha. She's your average mean girl- the one who everyone is jealous of. And she knows you're jealous, which can kind of cause her to act like an arrogant jerk.
Then she dies. She has to relive her last day seven times until she finally realizes the reasons for the events that day has brought.
I was hit by how much Sam developed throughout the novel. In the beginning, she is this really self-centered, annoying person. However, every time she relives that day, she finds out how annoying she truly is. Every time she relives her life, she grows a little more. She gets rid of her problems bit by bit and finally gets a heart until in the end, her actions truly show how much of a heroine she truly is.
I would probably not have the heart to do what Sam did; I do not think anyone would have. I am honestly impressed with Sam. She truly is a heroine in the end.

I guess what really hits the readers is the harsh truth Before I Falls shines into high school popularity. The bullying, the cliques, the cattiness of it all. Lauren Oliver portrays it truly. She doesn't overdo it. (Is it possible that she spied on a high school to make it so real? JK!)
I honestly can't believe how real the events seem. What Sam and her friends do to other people is so mean, but unfortunately it is happening all over the world.

3 word review of the plot: Unique and beautiful. Amazing and inspiring. Reliving a day seven times has really not been done before. If that does not seem unique, then the ending definitely is. It is so unique that you literally want to tear the book and cry. As for the beauty, I found it beautiful how carefully death was talked about. It seemed almost like a friend in Before I Fall, as if it could take everything painful away. Not only that, but there were so times that the words were so heartwrenchingly graceful that it made me cry.

And I honestly did cry.

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