Hello dear readers!
Today I am reviewing the young adult novel Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. (Lauren Oliver is an up and coming young adult writer, and actually writes a wide variety of genres. I highly recommend you check out her website if you get the chance.)
Before I Fall is a novel that follow a high school girl named Samantha, or as she prefers, Sam. Sam is one of the popular girls and can get away with just about anything. Her clique that she hangs with can be mean (they bully one girl, Juliette, relentlessly) and snobbish. Think of that group of girls we have all known from high school - you know the ones.
Almost from the get go of the story, Sam ends up in a car crash and dies after we've seen a typical day for her. But she is given a second chance. And a third. And a fourth. In the end, Sam ends up reliving the day of her death a total of seven times. Each time is a chance for her to change things: to change how she lives, how she loves, and how she dies.
The novel is incredibly interesting. We see Sam go from a horrible, selfish girl to a compassionate one who changes the people around her for the better. In the end, Sam still dies. But her death is no longer a freak accident of a mean girl. Instead, it becomes a meaningful death in the place of someone else.
Before I Fall is one of those books I struggled with, but in a good way. At the start of it, I hated Sam with a passion. Memories of the girls who teased me in elementary school (before I was homeschooled) came back and I wanted to punch her in the face. But by the end of the book, her transformation was so amazing that I was bawling my eyes out when I finished. If that doesn't tell you it's worth a read, I don't know what else will.
I do recommend Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I think adults and high school students alike should read it. It's Oliver's first novel as well, so now I'm incredibly interested in reading the rest of her writing to see how it grows and changes. I highly encourage you to check out Lauren Oliver and especially Before I Fall. It will be worth your time.
~Meaghan
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