Before I Fall: A Book Review

If you follow me on Twitter, then you may have seen me tweeting about reading this book during a recent power outage at my house.  I ended up spending so much time reading that day and was able to fly through this book!  Anyhow, I hauled this book in my June Book Haul a little while back and was so excited to read it!  I have heard a LOT about Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series, so I wanted to check out another one of her books so that I could get a feel for her writing style before jumping into her trilogy.  And since I absolutely LOVED this book (see my Summer Reading Tag), I can’t wait to check out her other books! :)

Title: Before I Fall           

Author: Lauren Oliver

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Harper

Publication Date: March 2, 2010

Pages: 470

Out in Paperback?: Yes; October 25, 2010

Goodreads

Amazon

My Rating: 5/5

Review:

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Characters:

I loved these characters!  They seemed so realistic, acting like typical high school students.  The main character, Sam, and her group of close friends had an amazing relationship that is very relatable because they can say just about anything to each other and understand.  I really enjoyed these characters in the beginning, which really allowed me to get lost in the story.  They seemed to just be typical girls, who carpool to school together and goof around (which at times made me laugh out loud since this book is so relatable)!  Although my group of friends back in high school may not have been as risqué or blunt, it definitely reminded me of our fun times together just hanging out and enjoying each others company.  That being said, I found all of these characters really likeable and enjoyed reading about each one.  Throughout the story, some dark aspects appear in each of the characters, but I feel that it makes them that much more realistic!

Plot:

Before I Fall is about a girl who dies and must relive the day of her death 7 different times.  I don’t believe that I have read anything similar to this, so this plot was very unique and intrigued me right away!  I loved how each day of Sam’s death was so drastically different as she tried to make changes and prevent different things from happening.  The reader was able to see all the different sides to Sam’s personality as the week continued and different events played out.  Each day was different and unique so you definitely weren’t just reading about the same day and her same death over and over again, as one action would change several other events which was interesting to see!

Writing Style:

I really REALLY enjoyed the writing style of this book!  Like I have mentioned in previous posts, I like young adult books that have a more mature and universal tone to them so that they don’t feel so incredibly young.  I recently reviewed If He Had Been With Me (which also takes place in high school), however that book had an incredibly young feel to it.  I mentioned that I like books with an older feel, as they can be a bit more universal as many college-aged students still enjoy young adult novels.  This book is the perfect example of that.  It takes place in high school, however, it has an older feel to it that relates to college-aged students as well.  Aside from the tone, I really enjoyed the description from Oliver!  Especially the quote from the very beginning about time and coins!  Plus, I loved the chapter titles (it’s all about the small detail for me), such as “Math Class: Further Lessons in Chemistry,” “Does This Straight Jacket Make My Butt Look Big?,” “You Can’t Judge a Gym Teacher By His Handlebar Mustache,” and lastly, “You Can’t Judge a Book By It’s Steel-toed Combat Boots.”

I really enjoyed this book!  Have you read it?  What did you think?  Also, have you checked out Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series?  Would you recommend it?

FTC Disclaimer:

All items mentioned were purchased by me.  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliate links were used.