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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I can only describe Before I Fall as Groundhog Day meets Gossip Girl.
Before I Fall tells the story of a high school girl named Sam Kingston and her untimely death. Except the funny thing is, she doesn’t stay dead. Sam is forced to relive the last day of her life over and over, desperately trying to fix things in the hopes of avoiding a trip down that blinding white tunnel.
If ever I were to describe a novel as character-driven versus plot-driven, it would be Before I Fall. The traumatic events Sam lives and relives cause her to change drastically over a period of several days. She realises what a colossal asshole she’s been for the past five years and begins to understand the extent of the pain she’s inflicted on the people around her. She realises that perhaps she hasn’t surrounded herself with the right people, but that some of the right people have been under her nose all along.
She cycles through a year’s worth of character development within only 7 days but none of it feels rushed, it unfolds exactly as it should. This is especially interesting given how time has passed for every other character in the novel: they’re suffering whiplash because to them Sam has become a completely different person with different worldviews and relationships literally overnight.
I guessed the reason behind Sam’s death fairly early on in the novel, but Lauren Oliver still managed to take me by surprise. I predicted some of the answers but wasn’t able to predict the circumstances; Oliver wove the tale in a way that I didn’t expect. I remember getting to the final page and just thinking “holy fuck, is that it?! Is there seriously no more?!” I was shocked and needed something - anything - more from Sam!
I also have to praise Lauren Oliver for one of the romances in this novel. Too often the books I read are plagued with insta-love or characters who have zero chemistry - in spite of the author desperately trying to convince me otherwise - but I genuinely felt the attraction between Sam and one of the characters in the story. To put it simply, they gave me ALL THE FEELS and I could’ve read chapters of them cuddling in the dark or talking in the car all day long.
My only criticism of this novel (apart from not getting more, I want more closure!) is that sometimes Sam and her friends read a little too Mean Girls-esque. Maybe I’m at a disadvantage because I didn’t grow up in a North American context, but at times I found myself wondering if high schoolers there are actually this plastic, stereotypical, and like they are in the movies. I almost eye-rolled a little at the thought of Lindsay in her Jeep with her bagel, coffee, lipgloss, and biting Regina George-esque remarks.
The level of bullying in the novel also struck a nerve with me, but somehow I can’t tell if it affected me because I felt like it hit too close to home and it was therefore hard to read, or because I felt that it was wildly unrealistic and extreme. I’m not sure how to feel.
Overall: Y’know how in Doctor Who they describe the TARDIS as “bigger on the inside”? That’s how I feel about this novel. On the surface this story sounds simplistic and short, but the amount of character growth and development that took place over a period of several days was almost alarming. While elements of this were unoriginal or predictable, the way in which Lauren Oliver weaves the story is unexpected. I can’t wait to see the film!
Before I Fall tells the story of a high school girl named Sam Kingston and her untimely death. Except the funny thing is, she doesn’t stay dead. Sam is forced to relive the last day of her life over and over, desperately trying to fix things in the hopes of avoiding a trip down that blinding white tunnel.
If ever I were to describe a novel as character-driven versus plot-driven, it would be Before I Fall. The traumatic events Sam lives and relives cause her to change drastically over a period of several days. She realises what a colossal asshole she’s been for the past five years and begins to understand the extent of the pain she’s inflicted on the people around her. She realises that perhaps she hasn’t surrounded herself with the right people, but that some of the right people have been under her nose all along.
She cycles through a year’s worth of character development within only 7 days but none of it feels rushed, it unfolds exactly as it should. This is especially interesting given how time has passed for every other character in the novel: they’re suffering whiplash because to them Sam has become a completely different person with different worldviews and relationships literally overnight.
I guessed the reason behind Sam’s death fairly early on in the novel, but Lauren Oliver still managed to take me by surprise. I predicted some of the answers but wasn’t able to predict the circumstances; Oliver wove the tale in a way that I didn’t expect. I remember getting to the final page and just thinking “holy fuck, is that it?! Is there seriously no more?!” I was shocked and needed something - anything - more from Sam!
I also have to praise Lauren Oliver for one of the romances in this novel. Too often the books I read are plagued with insta-love or characters who have zero chemistry - in spite of the author desperately trying to convince me otherwise - but I genuinely felt the attraction between Sam and one of the characters in the story. To put it simply, they gave me ALL THE FEELS and I could’ve read chapters of them cuddling in the dark or talking in the car all day long.
My only criticism of this novel (apart from not getting more, I want more closure!) is that sometimes Sam and her friends read a little too Mean Girls-esque. Maybe I’m at a disadvantage because I didn’t grow up in a North American context, but at times I found myself wondering if high schoolers there are actually this plastic, stereotypical, and like they are in the movies. I almost eye-rolled a little at the thought of Lindsay in her Jeep with her bagel, coffee, lipgloss, and biting Regina George-esque remarks.
The level of bullying in the novel also struck a nerve with me, but somehow I can’t tell if it affected me because I felt like it hit too close to home and it was therefore hard to read, or because I felt that it was wildly unrealistic and extreme. I’m not sure how to feel.
Overall: Y’know how in Doctor Who they describe the TARDIS as “bigger on the inside”? That’s how I feel about this novel. On the surface this story sounds simplistic and short, but the amount of character growth and development that took place over a period of several days was almost alarming. While elements of this were unoriginal or predictable, the way in which Lauren Oliver weaves the story is unexpected. I can’t wait to see the film!
This book took a while for me to finish because it started kind of rough for me. But now that I’ve finished I think that was intentional for the story. This is such a well done story. Wow.
1. Book Name: Before I Fall
2. Author: Lauren Oliver
3. Publisher: Harper
4. Publication Date: 2010
5. Genre: YA, fiction
6. Rating: 4/5
Popular Samantha Kingston has it all: the right friends, a hot
boyfriend, and good looks, but a fatal car accident on February 12 after a drunken party ends all of that. However, instead of dying, she wakes up the next morning on February 12 to relive the day of her death. This happens for one incredible week, in which Samantha is able to untangle the mystery of her death and see everything and everyone she has overlooked and is about to loose. These seven days enable Samantha to find a new appreciation for her family, connect with her younger sister, and even reevaluate her supposedly perfect love life.
I have read the first two books of Lauren Oliver’s highly successful Delirium Trilogy and always noticed the pretty cover of Before I Fall in the bookstore. I read a couple of positive reviews and finally decided to pick up a copy for myself last week. I was unsure as to how Oliver was going to pull off repeating one single day seven times in a 470 page book without being boring. Suffice to say, I was impressed, the initially shallow character of Samantha Kingston is revealed to be much deeper through the repetition of her day of death in how she tries to change the situation, at one point to her own favor, and then for another’s. As much as I enjoyed this book, I did find it hard to make a connection to it as my own high school experience starkly contrasted with Samantha’s, but that’s the beauty of this story since Oliver makes the reader care.
“So many things become beautiful when you really look.”
2. Author: Lauren Oliver
3. Publisher: Harper
4. Publication Date: 2010
5. Genre: YA, fiction
6. Rating: 4/5
Popular Samantha Kingston has it all: the right friends, a hot
boyfriend, and good looks, but a fatal car accident on February 12 after a drunken party ends all of that. However, instead of dying, she wakes up the next morning on February 12 to relive the day of her death. This happens for one incredible week, in which Samantha is able to untangle the mystery of her death and see everything and everyone she has overlooked and is about to loose. These seven days enable Samantha to find a new appreciation for her family, connect with her younger sister, and even reevaluate her supposedly perfect love life.
I have read the first two books of Lauren Oliver’s highly successful Delirium Trilogy and always noticed the pretty cover of Before I Fall in the bookstore. I read a couple of positive reviews and finally decided to pick up a copy for myself last week. I was unsure as to how Oliver was going to pull off repeating one single day seven times in a 470 page book without being boring. Suffice to say, I was impressed, the initially shallow character of Samantha Kingston is revealed to be much deeper through the repetition of her day of death in how she tries to change the situation, at one point to her own favor, and then for another’s. As much as I enjoyed this book, I did find it hard to make a connection to it as my own high school experience starkly contrasted with Samantha’s, but that’s the beauty of this story since Oliver makes the reader care.
“So many things become beautiful when you really look.”
I'd probably give it a 3 1/2 stars but you can't here LOL I wasn't sure I would like this book because I HATE the movie Groundhog Day but it was a pretty good story and I didn't have to skim much due to repetitiveness like I first thought.
This book is written so beautifully and it left me thinking for hours after i was done reading...[b:Before I Fall|6482837|Before I Fall|Lauren Oliver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1289341713s/6482837.jpg|6674135] is one of my favorites and I definitely recommend everyone to read it!!! Words just can't explain how good this book is.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Somehow I missed this book many years ago. It is a beautiful book even though I started it very much disliking the girls in the book. Good life lessons, especially about making assumptions about people.