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Book Review of Before I Fall

Before I Fall


Samantha starts off this book by explaining how she dies. Then she wakes up and her last day starts all over again. She finds herself in a loop trying to figure out why she is reliving her last day over and over again. Although this is reminiscent of Run Lola Run and Groundhog Day, it has an original story that brings you back to high school life.

I was warned about this book by two people. One said they couldn't even finish this book because they were so angry and the other told me that they went to a book convention or something like that, where the author explained how you were supposed to hate the main character. However, I didn't feel hatred for the main character at the start, but pity and compassion and figured there would be a transformation.

I actually felt a lot of emotion while reading this book. I was drawn to the characters and wanted to learn more. I was so interested the whole time, that I read the first 100 pages one night and had to finish the rest of the book the following day (I took some breaks after each very long chapter).

What I didn't like about the book was the language and the sexual stuff. Yes, it is very shallow at times, just as many teenagers act. It definitely reminded me of how people acted in high school though (1998-2002 for me).

This book was so well written, really. I didn't think I'd enjoy it this much and was nervous, though I had been wanting to read it for a few years (before Delirium came out - which I did read those books). Well done, Lauren Oliver, well done.