Before I Fall

Feb 05, 2013 Penny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Penny by: presentinglenore.blogspot.com

Shelves: ya-fiction, penny-s-favorite-books, reviewed-books, bullies, contemporary, mean-girls, only-the-good-die-young, re-read

Before I get to the review I just wanted to let everyone know I don't typically write reviews for books I love. The reason being, I'm not good at writing worth-while and positive reviews (as opposed to my uncanny ability to write crazy rants about books I totally loathe). Or rather, I know I'm not up to the task: writing a review worthy of a book so beautiful, so eloquently written I can't stop thinking about it long after I've finished it.

I know there is nothing I could say that could not be b...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews

I have to confess something before I write this review. This book is about a teenager, Sam, who is a Mean Girl who trips into Groundhog Day world and is set on a path to redemption. My confession is that I used to be a girl almost exactly like Sam.

Shallow, egotistical and worst of all - mean. Really, really mean.

I've commented before on the fact that I was a terrible teenager. My parents did not so much try to raise me through these years. More like they tried to survive me as you would a hurri...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, ya, ala-s-best-books

I am in awe of this author’s talent. I hated this book, and loved it. It’s cruel, and frustrating, unfair, and yet it’s also sad, and hopeful, and honest and authentic. I’m not sure how everyone else feels about their High School experience, but I despised mine. You couldn’t pay me to go back. However, this story was so vivid, that I felt as though I could smell the grease from the cafeteria, feel the rough tile on the bathroom floor and the chill of that cold fateful night. I even cringed at th...more I am in awe of this author’s talent. I hated this book, and loved it. It’s cruel, and frustrating, unfair, and yet it’s also sad, and hopeful, and honest and authentic. I’m not sure how everyone else feels about their High School experience, but I despised mine. You couldn’t pay me to go back. However, this story was so vivid, that I felt as though I could smell the grease from the cafeteria, feel the rough tile on the bathroom floor and the chill of that cold fateful night. I even cringed at the hurt that all these characters so casually inflicted upon one another, so I guess I went back after all.

Sam is not a nice girl. In fact, she is a bit of a bitch. Scratch that, she is a bitch. She doesn’t set out to maliciously attack anyone, but she doesn’t stand against it either. She won’t instigate the chant of “psycho” at the school outcast, but she shouts it just as loudly as her group of popular she witches. Worse, she actually believes that others should just accept the way they are mercilessly attacked because she was once mocked in the third grade for blushing, as if blushing were the equivalent to being called a whore, who bared the goods for grass when the person at the butt of that malicious lie doesn’t smoke or has even been kissed. Naturally, when Samantha meets an unfortunate end after forcing us to spend a day in her insipid world, I hardly felt bad for her. How sad is that? A teen girl dies tragically, and I thought she got what she deserved. Thus is the beauty of this book.

Told in seven chapters, each representing the same day, Before I Fall tells the story of a typically popular girl, who gets six days to right some wrongs. Make no mistake. I hardly think one day is sufficient to mend the hurt that these girls created. It in no way rectifies the things that Samantha has done, but it’s a start in the right direction. Rather, I felt this story allowed readers to realize that there is depth to us all, even the bitches and we all have thoughts that should shame us. The character development of all the characters was astounding, and the character growth, drastic though it may be, was entirely believable.
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May 21, 2013 Nenia Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-2010s, ya-baby-ya, beautiful-words-lets-swim-in-them, gorgeous-covers, feels-broken-and-shattered, all-the-lovely-bones, heroine-is-flawed, heroine-is-pretty-decent, heroine-needs-to-be-my-best-friend, holy-character-development-batman, magic-realism, originality-done-right, real-teen-problems

You can read more reviews at my blog, The Armchair Librarian!

I am in bed right now sobbing the way I did when I read The Fault in Our Stars, or when the wife in Up died, or when my sweet little kitty had to be put down, and I'm not even ashamed.

Before I Fall is one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a while. Everything about it, from concept to characterization, is perfect. It's hard to write a flawed protagonist and still make her likable, but Oliver does, and I found myself wanting to...more You can read more reviews at my blog, The Armchair Librarian!

I am in bed right now sobbing the way I did when I read The Fault in Our Stars, or when the wife in Up died, or when my sweet little kitty had to be put down, and I'm not even ashamed.

Before I Fall is one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a while. Everything about it, from concept to characterization, is perfect. It's hard to write a flawed protagonist and still make her likable, but Oliver does, and I found myself wanting to like Sam in spite of knowing I really shouldn't. It's got a great supporting cast, and she really captures how it feels to be a teenager.

Because even though Before I Fall is about death, it's also a celebration about life. About the choices we make. And how those choices effect us--and those around us--and shape and transform our lives' trajectories...for better, or for worse.

If you took Groundhog Day, Mean Girls, Speechless, and Donnie Darko and threw them all in a blender, you'd have an idea about what Before I Fall is like. Beautiful, cinematic, existential. Before I Fall captures a piece of what it truly means to be human, and in spite of all its flaws, still manages to turn it into something worth salvaging, just like the MC, Sam.

A lot of reviewers talked about how they were Sams in high school, and how reading this was painful because it made them remember what it was like thinking you were untouchable, and subsequently blameless. Sometimes the greatest cruelties are the ones performed in ignorance.

Before I Fall was a painful read for me, too, but not because I was a Sam. I was a Juliet, and I remember coming home after being bullied and feeling as if I had a crack running down straight through the middle of my soul, with everything bleeding together until I no longer knew who I was anymore. The people who bullied me did it, I think, because they were also unhappy, and because it united them as a group, cementing their friendship by excluding all outsiders.

A few years later, one of the bullies apologized. I forgave them. A few years after that, the same bully tried to add me as a friend on a site we both used. All those memories came flooding back. I never forgot. I can forgive, but I never forgot, and I don't think I ever will because it destroyed the part of me that could. Even after nine years. It still hurts. Can you imagine how fresh the pain would feel after only one? Two? Even four? That's one of the things I loved about Before I Fall. Oliver gets this, the finicky nature of time, and how years might go by in a snap for one person but linger for another.

The ending to Before I Fall is devastating. It isn't fair, as one reviewer said. The sheer injustice of that ending, it just makes you want to weep, and wonder if all things in life are that transient. The answer is, yes. But part of Sam's journey is learning that the most evanescent qualities of life--a burst of laughter with friends, the love of your parents, the taste of your favorite ice cream, a kiss--are the most important, and that, precisely because life is so short, we have to live each day as if it were the last, so we aren't ashamed to look down over our shoulder and see the effects of our decisions at the end of the road.

5 stars.(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Karolina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I had high expectations for this book for 2 reasons: 1. I loved Delirium, it's one of my favorite series and 2. so many people raved about Before I fall , saying it is the best of Oliver's work. I couldn't disagree more. At the beginning I couldn't get into the story, it was a bit repetitive, so I had to put it down and read something else in the meantime. In the end I was getting a bit frustrated as I couldn't understand the whole idea of the book. Having finished it yesterday I've been thinkin...more

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Jun 12, 2010 Annalisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mild language, sexual content, and drug use

Recommended to Annalisa by: Penny

Shelves: young-adult, speculative, voice, favorites, cover

Reading through Sam's last day of life, I was transported back to high school with those girls who were shallow, self-centered, and unaware and thought they were cool and better than everyone else because they were shallow, self-centered, and unaware. I felt emotions I had not experienced in years, emotions I had long forgotten. Oliver captures that teenage-centric narcissism so vividly, so much more intently than I ever understood in high school, that I couldn't help but hate Sam and feel some...more Reading through Sam's last day of life, I was transported back to high school with those girls who were shallow, self-centered, and unaware and thought they were cool and better than everyone else because they were shallow, self-centered, and unaware. I felt emotions I had not experienced in years, emotions I had long forgotten. Oliver captures that teenage-centric narcissism so vividly, so much more intently than I ever understood in high school, that I couldn't help but hate Sam and feel some level of vindictive justice.

As she starts the same day over again, just as full of herself, I doubted Sam could grow enough to satisfy me. But she did. It was slow and painstaking at times; sometimes I wanted Sam to just get it and be fixed, but that wouldn't have been realistic. She needed to figure it out on her own and at her own pace. Oliver does an excellent job showing us that gradual shift from spoiled teenager to thoughtful person, realizing that there were consequences to her actions, that the universe did not revolve around her, that maybe popularity wasn't worth the price she'd paid for it. While I don't think Sam reached perfect self-actualization, I don't think I wanted her to. She had a long way to come and I believed a character that was aware but still a little bit selfish.

Oliver is an amazing writer, so unobtrusive and descriptive. I didn't so much read this book as experience it. She manages to keep a day that is lived over and over again from being repetitive and gives us enough events in that day to give Sam plenty of chances to both mess up and unmess other people's lives. She manages to take a story that doesn't sound very original (Mean Girls vs. Groundhog Day) and own it. She manages to make me care about a girl that I couldn't stand, that represents very real girls that I couldn't stand (but not Lindsay; I never liked her).

(view spoiler)[My only disappointment was that the day before the last seemed more perfect than the last. Not for Sam, who learned to fall (or fly), but for everyone else. Especially Kent. I think you can interpret the last day two ways: either Sam learned what she needed to learn to move on, or the final day was the way that day was fated to be and Sam needed to get to a point where she could make that sacrifice. It makes no difference to her, but it makes a difference to everyone else. Which day do they remember? If it's the first, that's too bad for Sam and the mess she left. If it's the last, she left a lot of people with unanswered questions. I get that she couldn't focus on Kent, but she teased him and gave him too little. Even though the day wasn't about him, I still wanted Sam to leave him with an apology and a goodbye. I think Sam believed the last day only happened in her memory and a perfect day included a goodbye kiss to Kent, but then she bothered to give Anna that book and Izzy her necklace and save Juliet. I think a part of her still wanted to leave a legacy. I wanted to believe that last day for Sam and Juliet and Kent and maybe even a little bit for Lindsay. Maybe I didn't hate her so much after all.

I keep going back and forth on what day is the real day. Sometimes I think the first one is an obvious choice, but then there are things about the last day that make me think that maybe that one was real. Especially with Juliet. It's like Sam was being told "you're dead anyway. You can be selfish and claim that day, or you can use it to save someone's life." And that goes for Lindsay too. Getting drunk and killing your best friend would have messed her up. I think I believe the last day. At least I hope it. I love the ambiguity of it, but that it doesn't feel ambiguous. When you close the book, you know what happened, even though it could be interpreted on different levels.

Either way, Sam took seven days to grow into the person she needed to be. For as sad as the ending is, there is so much redemption in. And that's what it's about, Sam's redemption, not Juliet's or Lindsey's or anyone else's. As hard as she tried, there was nothing she could do to affect change in anyone else. Lindsey can take the wake up call of her friend's death to change into a better person; Juliet can take Sam's sacrifice to get her through high school; or they can keep going on their set paths. Their redemption is up to them; all Sam could do was take what little she could in one day to encourage change in a lot of people. I can see this having an affect on teenage girls who might be caught up in their own lives and learn these lessons along with Sam. I'm an adult and I'll be thinking about this one for awhile. There's something amazing in Sam's growth and for that she gets five stars. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Mar 16, 2010 Tiffany rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-books-i-read

I have no idea how to rate this book. I would say 5 stars to author Lauren Oliver in taking juveniles with a blatant disregard for humanity and turning it into the story of Sam who discovers the importance of humanity. Some of the thoughts that Sam would think as she would pass from one day to the next were beautifully thoughtful causing you to question how you treat and respect the people and things we have. How do we (ourselves) treat individual people? How much affect do we have on the world...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tatiana by: Heather, Ryan, Penny

Shelves: 2010, ya, ala-ya-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "Before I Fall" is Lauren Oliver's debut novel and I think for a first effort it is pretty good.

The premise of the book is not too original - it is a sort of cross between "Mean Girls" and "The Groundhog Day," but Oliver develops it well. Samantha, one of her school's mean girls, relives her last day over and over again, learning more about herself and people around her with each replay. Will she learn enough to make a difference, to change her attitude and her life?

Being a foreigner, I was spa...more "Before I Fall" is Lauren Oliver's debut novel and I think for a first effort it is pretty good.

The premise of the book is not too original - it is a sort of cross between "Mean Girls" and "The Groundhog Day," but Oliver develops it well. Samantha, one of her school's mean girls, relives her last day over and over again, learning more about herself and people around her with each replay. Will she learn enough to make a difference, to change her attitude and her life?

Being a foreigner, I was spared the misfortune of being bullied by mean girls, I don't have any experiences of Samanthas and Lindsays of this world. Therefore I am guessing my opinion of the book is somewhat skewed. I don't hate Samantha and her friends, instead I find this gang amusing in a dysfunctional way and feel sorry for them. Samantha seems to be an extremely unaware person, with low self esteem who doesn't even realize that she is constantly mistreated by her boyfriend, she is directionless and has almost no aspirations beyond getting drunk with her friends and sleeping with her boyfriend. Isn't that a total waste of life?

I don't hate the girls, because there are always those people who lash out at others and bring people down to hide their own insecurities. There is nothing new about it. What I find appalling is the complacency of people around them - their classmates, parents, school officials. How can these 4 teenage girls have a free rein of the school, how can they possibly influence everyone around them? It literally boggles my mind. Why every girl so eagerly calls another one a slut or psycho when she can be at any moment the recipient of the same fate? It this is not a dumb herd mentality, I don't know what is. It is a scary thing in these days of school shootings and student suicides. But I digress...

I liked the book a lot, it is certainly a page turner and Samantha's road to self-awareness is compelling. However the ending is fairly unsatisfying IMO. I expected Samantha to face the consequences of her actions, to find a road to redemption, but I didn't think she would achieve this "redemption" so easily and would also be rewarded with a nice guy in the end. I personally don't think she ever completely owns up to her actions, never fully acknowledges her part in Juliet Sykes' demise and never confronts her friends. The whole time Samantha is more interested in hooking up with Kent than in saving a life or at least pointing to her friends the things she has learned. Whatever "sacrifice" she makes in the end doesn't make a difference. In reality I think everything would be on the same track the next day - bullying, vicious gossiping, taunting of Juliet by Lindsay. So, what is the point of this experience for Samantha? To convince herself she is not so bad after all because she can do a couple of nice things like giving her little sis a necklace and sending Juliet a rose? Not enough IMO.

But regardless of my general disagreement with the outcome of the story, "Before I Fall" is a memorable novel. It is poignant in the portrayal of school bullying, and its effect on people, it is thought provoking and definitely current. I will probably check out Lauren Oliver's future works.(less)

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Dec 24, 2012 Book Chick City rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary-fiction

Reviewed by Laura for Book Chick City. Rating 7/10 on the blog.

When I first started reading 'Before I Fall' it reminded me a little bit of a cross between the films 'Groundhog Day & 'Mean Girls'.

At the beginning, I didn't like Sam very much at all. She was one of those girls at schoolwho was more concerned about appearances than substance, and her friends were equally as shallow. They were more obsessed with how many red roses they would get on Cupid's Day, as a show of their popularity, tha...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: made-of-awesome, 2011-read, made-me-cry, heart-fluttering, elles-reviews, own-read

I'd heard from quite a few people that this book was pretty good...

That may be the most OUTRAGEOUS understatement of all time.

'Pretty good' doesn't explain the embarrassing amount of tears that poured out of me.

'Pretty good' doesn't touch on Lauren Oliver's incredible way with words and imagery.

'Pretty good' doesn't describe the range of conflicting emotions the story sparked in me.

And 'Pretty good' certainly doesn't account for the fact that, once I finished the final page, I literally threw t...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-arc, books-i-own, signed-arcs, signed-books, favorites

WOW.

That would be my one word review for this book... WOW.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, and to say that I was utterly unprepared for it's magnificence, would be an understatement. This book evoked such strong emotion. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was bawling by the end of the story. For me, the stories that awaken your emotions are always the most powerful and memorable. And I don't read many books like that, so when I do, it tends to really stand out.

What's so in...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Ash rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a hard book to rate. It’s in a whole different realm and I’m not sure what to do. It’s special. Not like in a good or bad way, but in a way that it’s different. You can’t compare it to anything else because…it isn’t like anything else. Yeah, I know I’m making a lot of sense. One thing that this does is make you feel and it makes you think.

Quick Overview: Samantha Kingston has everything a girl could want. She’s popular, has a hunky popular boyfriend, great friends, and there seems to be...more This is a hard book to rate. It’s in a whole different realm and I’m not sure what to do. It’s special. Not like in a good or bad way, but in a way that it’s different. You can’t compare it to anything else because…it isn’t like anything else. Yeah, I know I’m making a lot of sense. One thing that this does is make you feel and it makes you think.

Quick Overview: Samantha Kingston has everything a girl could want. She’s popular, has a hunky popular boyfriend, great friends, and there seems to be no stopping her charmed life from getting even better. February 12 is Cupid’s Day, a big deal for her school. She goes about the day not thinking much of anything except how many roses she’ll get and feeling anxious about sleeping with boyfriend for the first time. She doesn’t know that it’s the day she dies. The next day though she wakes up on the same exact day. She continues to live out the same day over and over. Sometimes she dies and sometimes she doesn’t but she always wakes up on February 12.

I REALLY did not like the beginning of this book. Sam is shallow, mean and so caught up in high school and in herself that she actually believes that everyone wants to be like her. If you aren’t already popular than you obviously want to be, right? I’ve moved around enough high schools to know how the rules of popularity generally work, but I think we’re all smart enough to know that not EVERYONE cares about what the heck you do! No matter how popular you are. That’s another thing. I’m not sure if Sam and her friends are really popular or just more infamous. I rolled my eyes when she mentioned that her school was both the booziest and had the highest suicide rate. Of course it is. Her friends are cruel, stupid and have the minds of pervy middle school (and sometimes "grown-up") boys. And this isn’t coming from a super mature person. I still laugh at stupid fart jokes. I know…it’s sad. One of the days she does really inappropriate stuff. I’m mean REEEALLY!!! Like she just goes around thinking about what are the most ridiculous, stupid, illegal things possible? You see the good in Sam and her friends but then it’s overshadowed by their sheer stupidness. This is everything I thought during the first half of the book. I didn’t actually start to like it until page 262. If I could rate these separately I’d give the first half a big fat slap in the face, and the other half a gold medal with 5 huge shiny stars.

The second half of the book is where you really start to feel something other than annoyed sympathy and anger towards Sam and her friends. Even though you get to know the characters during the first half, the second half is where you see their real vulnerability. And even if Sam’s friends are cruel and annoying they care about each other. You see how much Sam’s thinking has changed and how much she’s grown. The only thing that made me push through the first half is that I knew that there had to be a point where Sam finally got it. That she finally understands she isn’t reliving the same day for no reason. That she was meant to do something. There are some truly beautiful moments in here. You just want to cry at how simple and perfect they are. The moments with her sister Izzy and with Kent especially. 90%(okay maybe less, there's other good stuff too) of why I loved the second half was because of Kent. There is a reason why everyone is in love with him. He’s our hero. The message of the book is really brought home at the end, which is not happy. It’s very bittersweet. To really understand what the book is all about though, it’s the only way it could’ve ended. It’s amazing though that the author can bring hope to something that seems so final, and how Sam finds a way to truly save herself.

Even though the first half of the book is not the type of stuff I generally like (i.e. unlikable main characters, perverted jokes, and scenes that get pretty darn close to going THERE) the writing is beautiful throughout. It makes you ask yourself questions: What is it that you’re taking for granted? What memories do you want to leave? What are your “greatest hits”? This book breaks your heart, makes you want to yell, enjoy the stillness and silence of the world, grab the sun’s rays, and sit bathing under the glow of the moon. It makes you realize and remember all the beautiful things that we don’t even notice. Just heartbreakingly beautiful. You have to give a book major kudos for doing all that. Even if the main characters friends are pervy.
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Feb 22, 2012 Hayden Casey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: omfg-amazing, high-schooler-recommendations

Goodreads Exclusive Prelude: If you have not read this, or given it at least four-and-a-half stars, you have no soul.

Oh . . . Oh, my God . . .

Five stars. Five billion stars. Five quadrillion stars. Five infinity stars.

I don't think I'll ever read a book that'll touch me in quite the same way.

A lot of Goodreadsers didn't like Before I Fall because they couldn't relate to it at all and the characters didn't relate to them. Before I Fall did relate to me because the main character, Samantha Kingsto...more Goodreads Exclusive Prelude: If you have not read this, or given it at least four-and-a-half stars, you have no soul.

Oh . . . Oh, my God . . .

Five stars. Five billion stars. Five quadrillion stars. Five infinity stars.

I don't think I'll ever read a book that'll touch me in quite the same way.

A lot of Goodreadsers didn't like Before I Fall because they couldn't relate to it at all and the characters didn't relate to them. Before I Fall did relate to me because the main character, Samantha Kingston, reminded me a lot of my best friend. I know, I know, that sounds bad, but I am in high school, and the things the people do in this book are scarily accurate to what I've come to know is high school over the past year and a half.

(view spoiler)

I never knew Before I Fall would have such an impact on my life. I saw it at Walmart about two years ago, and I kind of wish I would've gotten it then, because the book is indescribable in mere words. I don't even think any songs could describe it.

The teen voice in the novel is perfect. Oliver says things like I spot Amy Weiss -- probably the biggest gossip in the entire school -- making out with Oren Talmadge in the doorway like she's starving and his mouth is filled with Cheetos, and silly, corny stuff like that that only a high-schooler could say without sounding contrived. The book had some beautiful quotes, too, like Time and space recede and blast away like a universe expanding outward, leaving only darkness and the two of us on its periphery, darkness and breathing and touch.

Oliver wrote a truly beautiful novel that's touched me in more than one dimension. This novel shines through from the core, vulnerable, beautiful, transcendent. Before I Fall is a classic of this generation. It may not be 100 years old, but it has the emotional poignancy that deserves heavy praise. Please, people, if you only read one book in your entire life, let it be this one.(less)

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Feb 16, 2012 Aleeeeeza rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, absolute-favorite, 2011-faves

I went into this book rather anxiously--as many glowing reviews as it had received, I was pretty certain that reading about the same day over and over and over again was going to be a total drag. And boy, was I wrong or what?

First up I'm going to have to mention Lauren Oliver's STUNNING writing. It pretty much makes me want to give up writing, but at the same time makes me aspire to be a better one (if that makes any sense at all). The metaphors she constructs are absolutely beautiful, and even...more

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Oct 05, 2011 thewanderingjew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The author is young, not far from being a teen herself which probably accounts for her acute recall of the kind of behavior she explores in her book. She does it so well that the pages turn themselves. I am a senior citizen and my high school days came flooding back with memories of the "mean" girls in my school, although "mean" and/or popular girls then, were vastly different from their counterparts today. Today, the bullying behavior is more apparent, at even younger ages, for boys and girls....more The author is young, not far from being a teen herself which probably accounts for her acute recall of the kind of behavior she explores in her book. She does it so well that the pages turn themselves. I am a senior citizen and my high school days came flooding back with memories of the "mean" girls in my school, although "mean" and/or popular girls then, were vastly different from their counterparts today. Today, the bullying behavior is more apparent, at even younger ages, for boys and girls. Grade school is their training camp.
You will not like the characters but you will "remember" them. I hope you don't identify with them! The book is about a popular teen who relives the last day of her life for seven days, each day seeing different versions of it, each day changing her behavior bit by bit, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. You watch Samantha Kingston's evolution, always hoping that she will get a second chance at life. Whether or not she does, is for you to discover, however. It would be a real spoiler if I told you now.
Although, it hasn't always been this way, she is now part of a popular circle of friends, rounded out by Elody, Ally and Lindsay. Lindsay is the leader of the pack. These popular girls abuse other girls, and boys, whom they deem unfit for their company, sometimes for no reason other than it is "fun". They never think of the pain they cause their victims. They have boyfriends, experiment in sex, alcohol, and drugs and apparently have little supervision at home or at school. They are the "cool" ones everyone aspires to be, and even their parents are proud of their status, often overlooking obvious signs of cruel behavior and even accepting it.
The book was originally published as a YA (I read the ARC) but according to the author, the jacket will not say teen when it is published in its final version. I think that is a good choice because this book transcends all age levels. A young adult, young mom, mom of a teenager or grandmom will be equally drawn into it because, although it is about a teenager, we have all been or will be teenagers at some point!
I really recommend this book. The book held my interest all along, right to the last page, and as I read, I thought the message was about repentance and redemption, responsibility and maturity. I thought it would inspire young teens to behave better and be more healthy emotionally and physically.
Samantha's final words make me wonder, however, if my perception was correct. I hope that the message I got, is the message that will be received by teens because the opposite message would have disastrous results. (less)

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Nov 28, 2012 Oceana Fern {Assorted Insanity} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like beautiful books

Recommended to Oceana Fern {Assorted Insanity} by: all of y'all (did I really just say that?)

Shelves: favorites, science-fiction-romance, young-adult, signed-copies, cover-lust, five-stars, contains-boyfriend

Proper, coherent review coming soon. Lauren Oliver is amazingly thoughtful and sweet and BEFORE I FALL is beautiful.

That is a signed French copy of BEFORE I FALL, and it has a note in it. A note that almost, almost, almooooost brought tears to my eyes, before I realized that would be really creepy and stopped. My father found Lauren at a book signing in Paris and she sort of knew me from the billion tweets I sent her. I am also not going to tell you what the note says, either. Sorry. :D

SQUEEAAA...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Jessi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, youth-fiction

After reading Delirium (one of my favorite novels of the year) I'd been excited to read more from Lauren Oliver, but perhaps my expectations were too high. Repetition is a major theme as Samantha, the main character, loops through time to "relive" (so to say) her last day on Earth, but I thought her musings to be repetitive drudgery and found myself counting the days, literally.

Maybe this feeling of going around in circles is because I've read this book before. I'm pretty sure I've seen the mov...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who liked IF I STAY and books like it

Shelves: covers-i-love, titles-i-love, left-me-feeling-conflicted, amazing-storytelling, best-characters, writing-to-which-i-aspire, realistic-fiction, 2011-reads, made-me-cry, stories-that-challenge-me, stories-with-a-message, surprisingly-liked, swoon-worthy-book-crushes, wowed-me, wish-i-could-write-a-book-like-this, worth-every-star, prose-envy, reviewed

(Note: I'm writing this review at 3 a.m., so my thoughts are a little disjointed. I am still digesting the book because sometimes it just wasn't easy to swallow or stomach. But it was worth it.)

Phew.

Those five stars were well-earned. Want to know why? My experience with Before I Fall was very rocky. Most times, I wanted to put down the book in frustration and walk away, but all the glowing reviews whispered in my ear, "Keep on reading. There's a good story here. Just wait." And you know what? T...more (Note: I'm writing this review at 3 a.m., so my thoughts are a little disjointed. I am still digesting the book because sometimes it just wasn't easy to swallow or stomach. But it was worth it.)

Phew.

Those five stars were well-earned. Want to know why? My experience with Before I Fall was very rocky. Most times, I wanted to put down the book in frustration and walk away, but all the glowing reviews whispered in my ear, "Keep on reading. There's a good story here. Just wait." And you know what? There was.

I have a problem reading books with unsympathetic characters. I just can't do it. I'm not a person who believes people can change so easily or permanently, so I'm always wary when a story thrives on a character doing a complete one-eighty before the end of the book. Before I Fall also has the misfortune to start out like a mold of the movie Mean Girls with all kinds of cruelty and nastiness bleeding from the four best friends Sam, Lyndsay, Elody, and Ally. Thus, the first one hundred or so pages of this book left a bad taste in my mouth, and I thought, "I just don't see how this will get better."

But I kept going. . .and doubt shifted to hope as Sam, the heroine, slowly began to see the big picture surrounding her, her friends, and her classmates. It was as if the picture had been totally dark to begin with, only to begin slowly growing lighter bit by bit, murkiness and fog turning into clarity and understanding. Just like Sam, I wasn't getting the whole picture. . .but, when it finally clicked with me, I couldn't help but be awed by it.

Even though the story eventually really engrossed and hooked me, though, it still wasn't an easy reading experience. I winced. I choked up. I smiled. I cringed some more. I laughed. I gaped. I wanted to throw the book across the room and then hug it to my chest. It was just an emotional roller coaster with this book! (And, all the while, my mind was screaming, "Happy ending, happy ending, PLEASE LET THERE BE A HAPPY ENDING!!" Don't you just know it that you never get exactly what you want by the end?)

Honestly, I mourned for all the characters because there was so much potential but so much hidden or buried because of social pressures or stigmas. Everyone in this book seemed affected by popularity and gossip in some way, and I hate that it was so true to life in that regard. Life's too short to deal with all that petty crap, you know? But high schoolers still worry about those things every day as they trudge along through their schools. It's such a waste and such a shame. I hope everyone, no matter how old, realizes that truth when they read this book.

I give you this advice if you pick up this book: Stick it out through the slow parts and think about what you're reading. What truths could you take for your own lives from reading this book? You may find something startling yet wonderful because of it. Enjoy, wonder, and ponder.(less)

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Nov 26, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, favorites

Initial reaction:
Wow. Just wow.

Full review:
Every so often you read a book that just resonates with you, a book that reaches deep down to your soul and rips it to shreds. For me this was one of those books. I rarely rate books five stars, but I couldn't give this one anything less.

Before I fall is the story of Samantha Kingston, one of the popular girls at her high school, who seems to have it all until she's involved in a tragic accident. Except instead of dying, Samantha is forced to relive h...more Initial reaction:
Wow. Just wow.

Full review:
Every so often you read a book that just resonates with you, a book that reaches deep down to your soul and rips it to shreds. For me this was one of those books. I rarely rate books five stars, but I couldn't give this one anything less.

Before I fall is the story of Samantha Kingston, one of the popular girls at her high school, who seems to have it all until she's involved in a tragic accident. Except instead of dying, Samantha is forced to relive her last day over and over again. Over the course of seven days, Samantha goes on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, learning harsh lessons about herself and her friends, as she searches for the reason why she's stuck reliving her last day, and a way to escape the time loop.

Reading the synopsis, it's easy to make comparisons to Groundhog Day and Mean Girls but unlike those movies, Before I Fall is not a comedy. There was no humor to cushion the cruelty and unpleasantness, making this a very different experience than either of the aforementioned movies. Instead of exaggerated truths, Oliver's portrayal of high school, popularity, and bullying were extremely realistic.

Samantha is your classic mean girl, yet I found myself sympathizing with her even though I hated those girls when I was in high school (note: I wasn't one of them although I wasn't bullied either). I was able to see how she came to be the person she was, and I understood why she acted the way she did. Her character development over the course of the novel was also very believable. Samantha's growth isn't linear. She falters along the way, taking several steps backwards at times, but in the end her character arc is resolved beautifully and realistically.

All of the characters, both major and minor, were very nuanced and three dimensional, although not always likable. Lindsay, the Regina George character, is never redeemed but she isn't cartoonishly evil either. Kent is a sweetheart and the voice of reason, and Juliet's character is heartbreaking. The relationships between the characters are also well developed and nuanced from the deeper relationships between Samantha and her close friends, to her budding romance with Kent, to her ambivalent relationship with her family. I could even understand why Samantha was dating Rob, despite the fact that he's a jerk. I also really enjoyed Samantha's brief interactions with minor characters and how they helped her evolve as a person.

On top of having realistic characters and relationships, Before I Fall is beautifully written. Samantha's voice sounds very authentic, and the descriptions are poetic at times without being overbearing. The dialogue was also well written and very realistic. I am in complete awe of Oliver's talent as a writer.

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this novel. I would recommend it to anyone who loves YA fiction so long as they're prepared to be taken on an emotional roller coaster. Although this book was not an easy read—by the end I was reduced to a sobbing mess—the story was worth it.(less)

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Nov 26, 2011 Lissa added it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, 2011

If you've had this book on your to-reads shelf for a while, do yourself a favour and go out and beg/borrow/steal a copy and READ IT.

Lauren Oliver broke my big old heart. So much that this isn't going to be very coherent.

I love it when authors write something so perfectly. The prose in this was beautiful and elegant. She made me cry fucking FOUR TIMES. BITCH. I have never cried so many times in one fucking book. It had such a great emotional impact on me which is really amazing because I didn't i...more If you've had this book on your to-reads shelf for a while, do yourself a favour and go out and beg/borrow/steal a copy and READ IT.

Lauren Oliver broke my big old heart. So much that this isn't going to be very coherent.

I love it when authors write something so perfectly. The prose in this was beautiful and elegant. She made me cry fucking FOUR TIMES. BITCH. I have never cried so many times in one fucking book. It had such a great emotional impact on me which is really amazing because I didn't identify with one single fucking character. They were all so different to anything I'd ever experienced, so kudos to Oliver for making me feel that emotional connection even though we had nothing in common.

I mean I really really hoped this book was going to be awesome because the blurb was so intriguing and and it sounded like a cross between Groundhog Day and Mean Girls. Sam Kingston is a bitch through and through. She follows her best friend Lindsay who is a horrible bully through whatever she wants to do and is basically a sheep bitchy popular girl. And Sam says in the book that bullying is normal, that someone needs to be the victim. I know I don't agree, and I'm pretty sure Oliver doesn't agree, because even though Sam never comes out and says 'Oh, I was wrong', she does learn important lessons such as selflessness and how to enjoy life not at the expense of others, and she even redeems herself in the end.

At first I got really pissed off when Sam kept insisting everyone wanted to be popular and that it's so normal and natural to bully people, but because she changed so much I forgive her. That's what she thought when she was a bitch. She doesn't do some miraculous leaf-turning and become a saint, she just learns what she needs to learn to help others and move on. I especially loved watching her realise her boyfriend was really a dick.

It was interesting reading this book. It kept reminding me of my own high school experience. By the time I was eighteen I wasn't friends with anyone I was friends with as a child. Sam's gone through her entire school life with the same people. Where I live, people that you go to primary school with go to different high schools (only five of the same people I went to primary school with went to high school as well). By the time I got to college I'd developed my own interests to the point where I didn't have classes with anyone I already knew - which was kind of terrifying but I also made some really good friends. But like I said, Sam went through school with all the same people,so there's a lot of politics of who did what in the second grade, and childhood crushes, and really old relationships that resound through the senior year.

I also wasn't popular and I never went to parties. Popular people are so concerned with being popular that they put all their energy in to it. People who aren't popular concentrate on other things. I knew one girl who was so desperate to be the Regina George of my high school that she started dressing like the last year's most popular girl and trying to score the hottest guy in the school when she had no chance. I watched her grades drop as she concentrated more and more on becoming popular. It was pathetic, really. Sam thinks that everyone wants to be popular, that everyone who's not is terrified of her and what she can do to their precious social standing. Maybe it's like that in the US, but in Australia some of the most popular girls were also the nicest, and the most popular guy in my high school turned out to be gay. I couldn't really connect with the whole queen bee thing because in my experience the popular girls (although yes they can bully and yes they did in my school to the point one girl changed schools) don't realise what they're doing and the non-popular people who actually have a backbone don't give a shit about them. I know I was far too busy with my work and my friends to care about who hooked up with whom and who was in the popular group's favour.

But I guess it was kind of a guilty pleasure to ride around in Sam's head as she exerts her magical popular girl powers to terrify others. I loved watching her figure out the butterfly effect and how every action was linked and had a reaction.

The only thing that confused me was (view spoiler)

Normally I don't like first person present but in this book it really worked.

I need to track down some more Oliver books because this one kicked my arse and although I don't think Delerium or Liesl & Po are going to have quite the same impact, Oliver is for sure going to stand as a great influence and a great author.(less)

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Nov 26, 2012 Stephanie (The Night Bookmobile) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, best-of-ya, love-of-prose, reviewed

Every now and then a book will come along that reminds me of the fine line between a favorite book and one that is just a great read. Sometimes I struggle with what shelves to place a book on when I’m done with it. Was it a favorite? I mean, it was so good, it must be, right? That’s not true though, is it? Before I Fall reminded me that the books that become your favorites are so much more than great, engaging and well written reads. They are the books that hold on to you long after you set them...more
Every now and then a book will come along that reminds me of the fine line between a favorite book and one that is just a great read. Sometimes I struggle with what shelves to place a book on when I’m done with it. Was it a favorite? I mean, it was so good, it must be, right? That’s not true though, is it? Before I Fall reminded me that the books that become your favorites are so much more than great, engaging and well written reads. They are the books that hold on to you long after you set them down, the books that resonate with you so much that you can’t stop thinking about them. Every book has the opportunity to become that for someone. That doesn’t mean the next person who picks it up will feel the same way. Everyone is a culmination of different experiences, no one is going to view any one book the same way, no one is going to feel it the same way. Sometimes though, a book comes along, and for you, it’s just right. It changes you in the most subtle of ways. I think that when the right book falls into our lap at the right time it’s one of the luckiest occurrences in the world. Before I Fall was one of those books for me.

I didn’t like the beginning of the book. I doubt that anyone did. The thing is, we weren’t supposed to. Samantha and her friends do not come across as people you would want to be friends with. They are cruel and unlikeable and the worst part is they don’t even seem to care. They’re bullies, plain and simple, and some of their actions can be hard to read. This is the point. You never really know when your time is up, are you going to like the person you are, when it’s your time to go? People so rarely get a second chance. Luckily for Sam, she gets seven chances to make things right.

This is a story that could easily have become a cliche piece, but in Oliver’s hands, it’s nothing short of beautiful. Her writing just melts and swirls in your brain like warm syrup and makes you feel. Her characters are believable and infuriatingly human and flawed. They could be you. They could be me. Sam thinks Starbucks coffee tastes like “dog pee strained through a trash bag” and so do I! See, we could be the same person. Sam doesn’t get to fix everything. You can’t make the world perfect, because not everything is black and white. It’s a credit to this story that Sam couldn’t fix it all, because not even seven chances can make the world perfect.

“And I guess that’s when it starts to hit me: the whole point is, you do what you can.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write romance better than Lauren Oliver. She did a great job in Delirium and she does an even better job here. Bittersweet, subtle, slow and heartfelt. Kent is a Nice Guy but not one who expects that he deserves something from Sam just because he’s nice. He wants to be her hero, as she was once for him, when they were children. Sweet Kent, with his eyes the color of grass. Sigh.

Sam’s friendship with Lindsay reminded me so closely of a friendship I had with a girl once. She was a lot like Lindsay. Loud, mean, selfish. She had her good points too, just like Lindsay, though it was hard for people to see them. Oliver manages to make her, perhaps not likeable, but understandable to a degree. She could have easily dumped her aside as the mean girl in the story who Sam had to learn to let go of but she didn’t. In my case, I had to let go of the friend, because her negatives started to outweigh the positives for me, but I think Oliver is right in showing that people aren’t usually just good or bad. They just aren’t meant to be your people.

I could go on about this book all day but I’d rather let you read it yourself.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Despina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: amazing-cover, summer-2012, young-adult, blew-me-away

WOW. JUST WOW.

When I first found this book on GoodReads,I loved the plot. It's so original and nothing like I've ever read. So yeah,I decided to buy this book and I did.

I had high expectations for this book because of the hype,which was big about this book. So the book lived up to my expectations and maybe excedded them too.

Lauren Oliver's writing is amazing. I absolutely love the way she describes people/situations and things. Her writing is poetic. There were also many great and meaningful quo...more WOW. JUST WOW.

When I first found this book on GoodReads,I loved the plot. It's so original and nothing like I've ever read. So yeah,I decided to buy this book and I did.

I had high expectations for this book because of the hype,which was big about this book. So the book lived up to my expectations and maybe excedded them too.

Lauren Oliver's writing is amazing. I absolutely love the way she describes people/situations and things. Her writing is poetic. There were also many great and meaningful quotes in this book.

Before I Fall is a book that actually teaches you something and changes your view on life/death etc.
It's about second chances,about mistakes that we made in our past and then we regret doing them. It's about regretting something and then try to fix it. It's also about having done something bad,which then makes you thing about it and so you have to change your attitude.

About the plot now. The plot is very original and very different from other book you might have read as I said before. The plot actually unravels in the first chapters and then actually repeats itself all over again. If plots like this make you bored,then don't read this book. You should be ready for a lot of repetition. Oliver did a great work trying not to repeat the exact same thing in the whole book,which is something hard to do because the plot itself is repetitive. She added many little details which actually made the repetitive plot very interesting. The book was slow in the beginning,but after the middle it had a very quick pace and I couldn't put it down.

About the characters: Sam and her friends in the beginning were bitches (and sorry for the word). They really were. They made everyone suffer,they did mean things to other people and they generally thought that they were too famous and too cool for people who weren't as popular as they were. But after the middle of the book,the main character,Sam,became very sensitive and started to understand the mistakes she did and tried to fix them. Then,I just couldn't do anything but sympathise with her. Also Sam and Kent's relationship was the cutest thing ever. It's the kind of unfulfilled love (from Kent's side).

The book brings up a very sensitive issue:death and loss of people. Oliver had to be very sensitive about this and had to write carefully about such a sensitive issue and she did a great job! Her writing was so beautiful and moving and in some pages very heartbreaking. The book was definitely a page-turner (after the middle!). The storyline was both moving and tragic. In some pages I just couldn't stand it and I started crying,because I got way too emotional to the point when my heart hurt (seriously!). It also makes you cry of joy and sadness too! It's something like an emotional rollercoaster.

All in all,it taught me these things:to live my life to the fullest and never leave a second pass by without doing nothing. Also it made me realise that life is precious,it's a gift from above and that every single choice we make has an effect. It was way too inspirational and thought-provoking for me.

This book is the point where Gossip Girl meets a tragedy and a mystery which has to be solved.

I'll never forget this book. It changed my view about a lot of things.

PS:You should know that firstly you're gonna hate this book,but then you're gonna love it so much and you'll wish it never ended...(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Giselle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, contemporary

Having heard numerous incredible reviews on this novel, I have finally jumped the this bandwagon and checked out what it was all about. Not disappointed in the least, this is one (rare) instance where my expectations has lived up to the hype. Before I Fall is a moving story of a girl who died, but she gets a second chance to make things right.

Samantha Kingston is the type of girl you either hate, or you're jealous of, in high school. She's pretty, popular, dating the hottest guy in school, and s...more Having heard numerous incredible reviews on this novel, I have finally jumped the this bandwagon and checked out what it was all about. Not disappointed in the least, this is one (rare) instance where my expectations has lived up to the hype. Before I Fall is a moving story of a girl who died, but she gets a second chance to make things right.

Samantha Kingston is the type of girl you either hate, or you're jealous of, in high school. She's pretty, popular, dating the hottest guy in school, and seems to be living the perfect life all around--until she isn't that is. After the accident that takes her life, Samantha wakes up the very same morning, again, and again… and again. Reliving the same day over and over is not a plot that hasn't been done before, but it's the one that harbours the most emotion I've encountered. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. The 5 stages of grief is something very real that Samantha goes through in this novel. And as much as this book surrounds her death, I believe it's actually about someone else's death. A someone she comes to know through these relivings, who she's slowly beginning to understand, to grieve for, and who, in the end, changes her completely. I loved how every day, a day that is essentially the exact same, something completely different comes about. It's a new experience every time where we see a new perspective of the same story, a different side of people Sam thought she knew. Changing just one little thing can alter so much, it was really an incredible journey; complex and all-consuming.

The writing is what makes this novel so potent. It's truly flawless, the way the characters are crafted into real people with real emotions that sucks you in and never lets go. It's amazing how every single relationship in this novel, be it between friends, sisters, mother daughter, or even two people you would never expect, is filled with love. It makes you grieve even more for the people she's leaving behind. Every giggle tore at my heart, every kiss came with never-ending longing. If there was ever a novel to call bittersweet, this would be the one. How often do you experience new love in a book that makes you thoroughly happy, giddy, butterflies and all, while at the same time you want to burst into tears? How a writer can create such powerful dynamics, can put into words such timeless messages while at it, is something worthy of praise. Her words are palpable, the emotions vivid, and as sad as it is, you will come out of this novel with nothing more than a feeling of fulfillment. Samantha, in death, learns to be a better person, learns that it's never too late to make things right; in death, she learns to live!

A ticking time-bomb of a book that lingers in your heart for a very long time, Before I Fall is a masterpiece in words. Brimming with meaning and depth, I urge you to pick this one up! Just pick it up, and never look back!

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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May 30, 2012 Lylaa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Lindsey doesn't budge. "Lost it. Flipped your lid. Gone bat shit. Since when do you bring Anna Cartullo presents?"

Sam Kingston
Sam was a stubborn, stuck up, snobby little shit. The only bit I liked about her was when they replayed Ken replayed the story about what happened with her and a guy named Phil in secondary school.
(view spoiler)

...more

Lindsey doesn't budge. "Lost it. Flipped your lid. Gone bat shit. Since when do you bring Anna Cartullo presents?"

Sam Kingston
Sam was a stubborn, stuck up, snobby little shit. The only bit I liked about her was when they replayed Ken replayed the story about what happened with her and a guy named Phil in secondary school.
(view spoiler)
In the end I liked her and teared up a bit. I hated her at first but grew to like her.

Lindsay Edgecombe
This girl. Lindsey's your average hormonal teenager. Popular, bitchy, horny. You name it. One thing I did like about her was the fact that she was pretty funny and tried to lighten up the mood - sometimes.
Psycho?
Mellow Yellow?
That's messed up.
No. That's freaking low.
Backstabbing, insecure biatch.

Juliet Syke
I don't know what it would have felt like to be her in position, hopefully never, but I actually admired Juliet. She never stood up for herself because she thought Lindsay was still her best friend.
Part of what happened to Sam was hers and Lindsay's fault.

"Everyone can be fixed."

Rob Cokran
*He's not one of the most important characters, in my opinion, but I felt the need to write something about him.
What. The. Hell.
I was completely turned off when I read about him. What I don't get is why when Sam found his boxers with 'stains' on it, scattered all over his room she still stayed with him. He's disgusting. Needs to wash his clothes. And get a fricken life. He didn't give two shits about Sam and only wanted to get laid. Typical ass.

Kent McFuller
I actually liked this kid in the beginning but Sam was too stubborn to give him a chance before she died. SMH. He was the perfect option yet she chose Rob. Double SMH.
Sometimes people need to take a chance. Never know what'll happen. You might be too late. Kent waited for Sam.

In the end
I was teary and nearly cried about twice.
I think this book was alright compared to the useless and annying books I've read before.
I've actually learnt a thing or two from this book.
The first, the thing I always do:
I shouldn't take things for granted.
The second:
You're actions/words reflect on others' behaviour.
I need to work on those two but I'll get there.

(less)

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Dec 01, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-2011

You know when you find a book that's so amazing you just want to pick it up and read it over and over again? Before I Fall is one of those books. I've already read this one twice, so I don't exactly have the big urge to rave about it to anyone and everyone anymore (I did the first time I read it. Unfortunately, I didn't have a blog at the time), but its almost as if I've come to think of this one as a classic. Its like when you find out someone has no clue what Romeo and Juliet is, your like wha...more You know when you find a book that's so amazing you just want to pick it up and read it over and over again? Before I Fall is one of those books. I've already read this one twice, so I don't exactly have the big urge to rave about it to anyone and everyone anymore (I did the first time I read it. Unfortunately, I didn't have a blog at the time), but its almost as if I've come to think of this one as a classic. Its like when you find out someone has no clue what Romeo and Juliet is, your like what!? Its the same with Before I Fall.
One of the great things about debuts is that you don't know what to expect. Unlike picking up a book by one of your favorite authors, you have no idea if the book is going to be absolutely amazing or if its going to leave you unsure about reading the author's next book. In this case, Lauren Oliver's debut knocked my socks off! In Before I Fall, we follow Sam as she relives February 12 (the day she died) seven times, Groundhog Day style.
At the start of the novel, I didn't like Sam or her friends very much. They were popular, and like most popular people, they did some things that were just mean. I continued to read on and after a short while I became very fond of Sam and her friends. The thing is, its true. There is always going to be someone who gets picked on, someone getting laughed at. I don't like saying it and it doesn't make it right, but it is true. I could still find myself relating to Sam and her friends.
As Sam relives February 12, we watch her grow and change as a person. She has many layers, and I appreciate that the author made her this way. I loved how she slowed down and took time to notice all the little things that affect her everyday life; and I loved how everyday she tired a different way to cope, and how even the smallest actions had a ripple effect. As a teenager myself, I found myself relating to Sam time and time again, even when she did "bad" things, like ditching class and cheating. I empathized with her through it all.
Lauren's writing style was another thing that made me love Before I Fall. The plot was addicting, and I felt as though I were there living through Sam's eyes the whole time. This book is an emotional roller coaster and an addictive story. And, I know I can't write about all the amazing things that made Before I Fall, but I can tell you it is a wonderful book, one that may even change your life. I was going through a rough time the first time I picked up Before I Fall. I read it, and things started to change. Its kind of hard to explain, so you may not understand what I'm trying to say, but it helped me through my rough time.
Before I Fall is a must read for teens and adults both. If you have not read this one yet, go buy it right now. You won't regret it.(less)

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Apr 14, 2013 9 3/4 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

I love Lauren Oliver. After I read Delirium (that I absolutely fell in love with) I wanted to read this. At first I was hesitant. But then I loved it. Lauren Oliver's writing is beautiful. This book gives you so much food for thought. The beggining was a little bit slow, but then the plot picks up leading into a heartbreaking conclusion.

It talks about so many things. Grief, loss, but most important of all death. When you are finished the only thing you can do is to lay down and think about it.

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Feb 04, 2012 ♥ Marlene♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, young-adult

Totally unexpected but I loved loved this book! I did not know what this book was about before I picked it up but I decided to give it a try and at first I thought O this is going to be boring but how wrong I was. I do not know how she does it but she made Sam experiencing the same day so interesting and not boring at all. I could relate to each character which does not happen much and had a hard time to put this book down. Actually I am a bit sad now that I've finished it. I am not good in writ...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok this is a bit of an odd review. The first 2/3 of the book was painful. I don't think it was really bad writting, it was simply because I absolutely LOATHED the characters. If I knew people like that in real life I would probably punch them in the face after oh half an hour at the most and thats with me overestimating my selfrestraint. So now that we established that its just awful thanks to the characters I need to point out the ending was fantastic. I'm not going to say it wasn't predicatabl...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Jude rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-my-shelf

I remember when I finished this book, I was sitting on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest, completely lost in thought; not really in shock but my mind was definitely working full speed.

I didn’t feel heartbroken with this book, I knew what I was getting into, the summary says it all. There's also the fact that the subject is not uncommon, there are movies with this sort of theme, like the one with Sandra Bullock – Can’t remember the name of the movie – What made this book so great and set it ap...more

9 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2010 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: firstread-galley-arc, 21st-century, american, careful-it-may-change-you, great-reads-other, great-ya, pov, young-adult, owned, ztlib, college-bound-reading

I received this as an ARC from Barnes and Noble, and I'm so glad I did! It's not one I would have chosen off the shelf; I would have waited for several reviews from friends... but it was FANTASTIC.

I have to echo the note I received from the publisher with the book - I can't believe I hated the protagonist so much at the beginning and loved her so much at the end. Oliver's writing is really beautiful, and even though the plot is about a girl who relives her dying day six times, she ties a lot of...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Affecting Our Society	4	57	May 23, 2013 12:19pm
Thoughts?	19	91	May 20, 2013 04:04pm
We ♥ Books: April group reads - Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver	25	21	May 06, 2013 07:26am
Before I Fall - Audiobook	5	27	Apr 27, 2013 11:20am
Can someone tell me...	12	110	Apr 12, 2013 07:15pm
David Estes Fans ...: Before I Fall	27	80	Apr 07, 2013 03:43pm

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Before I Fall

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