Before I Fall: Book Review

I've had my eye on the book, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, for awhile now, but never got around to purchasing it... thankfully, my bookworm friend had it and let me borrow it, among plenty of other books that I'll be doing reviews on in the upcoming weeks. This is definitely a book I would've bought myself just to have on my shelf though!

Synopsis from Barnes&Noble:

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: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High, from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12 should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Fortunately, she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day 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.

My Review:

While I liked the book, I have to admit, I really thought it'd be more interesting, but I am reminded of mean girls, four best friends who terrorize and make fun of all their classmates that they deem 'below' them. It's sad that Samantha Kingston dies, and has to relive the last day of her life seven times, but it's annoying to hear the day happen again exactly the way it had with minimal differences, still leading to the party, the first few times. However, I did enjoy seeing how little decisions changes what happens, and it's interesting to think about your own daily choices and how they change the evens of your own life. One decision, one thing that happens can cause other things to happen; and maybe, just maybe there's a list of things that could happen underneath each moment in life. After the fourth reoccurrence of the day Sam got into the accident and died, Sam finally realizes that she's dead. She's also realizing that even though she's popular, she doesn't have any real, true friends. 

Even though readers know she's dead, I feel as if she can still change her outcome. 

I get this feeling of anxiety while reading this book, again I know that she's dead and that she's going to repeat the same day seven times, but I can't help but wish that it'll stop, that she'll wake up and it'll all be a dream, and that she's not dead, but in a dream where she realizes who she really is. This book ended up having such a hold on me; it honestly made me afraid of dying, because you don't get the chance to redo things so it makes me think about my decisions today and all the days ahead. Everything in life is complex and connected, and while I didn't need to read a book to realize that, it became prominent in this book. 

Not all books have happy endings, but there were plenty of lessons learned. Aside from the book being slow in the beginning, it turned out to be a great story. I would definitely recommend this book. 

"You can see them every day- you can think you know them- And then you find out you hardly know them at all" (page 159). 

"But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know" (page 268). 

"I suppose that's the secret, if you're ever wishing for things to go back to the way they were. You just have to look up" (page 284). 

"As we pull out of the parking lot, it occurs to me that maybe it's not so complicated at all. Most of the time - 99% of the time - you just don't know how and why the threads are looped together, and that's okay" (page 425-426)

My Rating: 4 Stars