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A review by votesforwomen
Before I Fall Enhanced by Lauren Oliver
2.0
One of the most popular girls in school is a jerk to everyone, gets in a car wreck one night on the way home from a party, and dies. She then wakes up in bed the next morning--except it's not the next morning. It's the day she "died." And over and over this pattern repeats--our heroine, Sam, wakes up on the same morning seven times, and seeks to find a way to escape the loop. On the way she'll try to save a classmate who hates her and who she and her friends hate from committing suicide.
The premise of this book was really cool, and honestly, I was a major fan of the way it was executed. Sam was a horrible person at the beginning of the book, and her character arc was also kind of cool as she became less selfish and realized what she was actually supposed to do. One of the days she skipped school and spent the whole day with her parents and little sister, which was really sweet. Despite the fact that she was really mean, I still felt for her and wanted her to be able to escape the loop.
However. The content level of this book made it so that I really could not enjoy it.
Tons and tons of underage drinking without a thought. Getting drunk as a teen is portrayed as a good thing. Lots of detailed makeout scenes, most of which I skimmed because EWW. At one point Sam kisses one of her teachers, which....just no. Sorry. Lots of talking about sex. The whole point of Sam going to the party is that she wants to "lose her v-card", if you know what I'm saying. Language to beat the band. Smoking as a teen also portrayed as a good thing. The kids have no respect at all for the adults in their lives, from teachers to parents to random people at Starbucks. A large part of the plot revolves around a character who is suicidal, which thankfully is NOT portrayed as a good, but it is in there.
I thought about DNFing this book a couple of times, but the plot was compelling. So I finished it, skimming a lot of scenes. I cannot recommend this book, even though it had an interesting character arc and a worthy message that living life with meaning and helping those who can't help themselves are what really matters. Probably won't be reading anything else by this author :P
The premise of this book was really cool, and honestly, I was a major fan of the way it was executed. Sam was a horrible person at the beginning of the book, and her character arc was also kind of cool as she became less selfish and realized what she was actually supposed to do. One of the days she skipped school and spent the whole day with her parents and little sister, which was really sweet. Despite the fact that she was really mean, I still felt for her and wanted her to be able to escape the loop.
However. The content level of this book made it so that I really could not enjoy it.
Tons and tons of underage drinking without a thought. Getting drunk as a teen is portrayed as a good thing. Lots of detailed makeout scenes, most of which I skimmed because EWW. At one point Sam kisses one of her teachers, which....just no. Sorry. Lots of talking about sex. The whole point of Sam going to the party is that she wants to "lose her v-card", if you know what I'm saying. Language to beat the band. Smoking as a teen also portrayed as a good thing. The kids have no respect at all for the adults in their lives, from teachers to parents to random people at Starbucks. A large part of the plot revolves around a character who is suicidal, which thankfully is NOT portrayed as a good, but it is in there.
I thought about DNFing this book a couple of times, but the plot was compelling. So I finished it, skimming a lot of scenes. I cannot recommend this book, even though it had an interesting character arc and a worthy message that living life with meaning and helping those who can't help themselves are what really matters. Probably won't be reading anything else by this author :P