Before I Fall in Around the Year in 52 Books

Mar 02, 2013 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, coming-of-age

I was disappointed in this book. All the rave reviews lead me to expect something extraordinary, but it was just ... okay.

I disliked the protagonist so much that it was difficult (or, impossible) for me to accept her redemption.

This reminds me a lot of Panic. The story is different, and the character is different, but the VOICE is the same; I guess that makes sense, it's Ms Oliver's voice.

First chapter was hard to read: straight on navel gazing with an insecure, self-centered and thoughtlessly ...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Brandi rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen, favorites, random-reads-column, audiobooks, librandian-blog, 2012

Before I Fall

By Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston is one of those girls. Her boyfriend ranks up with the hottest, dreamiest guys at school. Her clique is admired and envied by a majority of the school population. They go to the best parties, wear the trendiest clothes and sit at the coveted table in the lunchroom. It never crossed Sam’s mind just how quickly and how drastically things could change.

Every day played out in the same way. Sam would ride to school with her friends, latte waiting for her Before I Fall

By Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston is one of those girls. Her boyfriend ranks up with the hottest, dreamiest guys at school. Her clique is admired and envied by a majority of the school population. They go to the best parties, wear the trendiest clothes and sit at the coveted table in the lunchroom. It never crossed Sam’s mind just how quickly and how drastically things could change.

Every day played out in the same way. Sam would ride to school with her friends, latte waiting for her when she climbed in the car. Classes passed by without incident. After school, Sam and her girls would head off to whatever party piqued their interest. Friday, February 12th proved to be a special day. It was Cupid’s Day, the day when classmates send each other flowers to showcase the most-loved. What Sam didn’t expect was that this Cupid’s Day would be her last. When leaving a party that night, she would die in a car accident.

Usually when someone dies, you don’t think of them waking up in the morning, which is exactly what Sam did. In fact, Sam woke up seven times. Every morning began the same way, forcing Sam to live her last day again. At first, Sam carried out the same actions as she did on the original day. Eventually Sam realized that every action resulted in a distinct reaction in someone else’s life. Everything affected others. As her recurring days continued, Sam began to change things to benefit others. She also began to realize that her attitude towards others was unwarranted and needed changing. As a result, Sam helped a girl win a championship, realized the truth behind a harmless teacher crush, spent the day with her little sister, stopped a girl from hurting herself, and realized that there may be someone out there for her other than her boyfriend.

Before I Fall is a difficult book to review because of the large quantity of spoilers I could leak to you. Being as Sam lives the same day repeatedly, it’s the details and Sam’s realizations that make the story impossible to put down. Before I Fall can best be described as a combination of two movies, Groundhog Day and Mean Girls. Sam and her friends are carbon copies of The Plastics from the hilarious movie, Mean Girls. Although, Oliver counts on the reader developing a kind of remorse for Sam. After all she has experienced, her new wisdom about her behavior forces readers to view the character as redeemed. Usually, I have a very difficult time believing that a character can successfully complete a 180 degree switch in personality. Oliver makes me believe that the variety of things Sam experiences has changed her as a person. I don't want to give away too much, but, as the book continues, we see Sam stray away from her natural order to help others, rather than just herself. Honestly, this may be the best example of character redemption I have ever read.

Before I Fall is comprised of a full spectrum of emotions, seen through the eyes of a girl who has nothing but time to experience every single one of them. It's impossible to truly understand what someone in Sam's position would experience, but Oliver's interpretation is unmatched. ...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Beth Given marked it as shelved · review of another edition

The plot was good, but it's just too, too raw for me to keep reading. Plenty of swear words, bad role models, and perverted sexual innuendo. Do high schoolers really live like this?? Makes me worried for my daughter when she gets older ... my sons, too. Makes me realize how I have to be screening things my kids are reading. I don't want to censor them, but I want to protect them, too. Even if this might be "reality," it doesn't have to be reality for them.

This book did make me think about how lu ...more

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Apr 26, 2010 Liz rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2010-book-list

Although this book is classified as YA, I would consider it more for older young adults - there are definitely some mature elements in it.
I was unsure of this book at many points while reading, but the more I thought about it & its message, the more I liked it. This one really gives the reader a lot to ponder, & I found myself reevaluating how I personally live my life: the way I interact with others, how I treat my family, how I spend my time. If I could, I would rate this 4.5 stars.

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Nov 01, 2011 Deyara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, death-and-dying, living

I found it hard to get into, the beginning is very high school and teen-speak, which was a little off-putting, but I quickly got sucked into Sams story, and wanted to see how her choices affected her "life". Didnt love the ending, though it was the best of the options we were given. Not as sad as I had expected, but still made me think. ...more

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