Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

It seems like Samantha Kingston has it all: three best friends, a cute boyfriend and adoring students at her high school. Sam is popular, and though she feels guilty at times for the way she and her friends treat other students, she still loves her life. That is, until Friday, February 12, when Sam and her friends get into a car accident, and now Sam is reliving the day over and over again. She doesn't know what to do or how to break the cycle; all Sam knows is that she's been given a chance to do-over her last day, and she better make the most of it.

I really enjoyed reading Before I Fall. The novel was so original, because even though I have read books that involve a dead protagonist, this one had one day repeating over and over again. This concept might seem boring, but each day Sam does something different and the author reveals new information that makes you want to keep reading. I also really liked Sam as a character. In the beginning, she's not the nicest person: she's rude to other students at school and shows no respect to her parents at all. I liked that Sam wasn't perfect; sometimes you read these books where the protagonist is pretty, nice, has a normal family. Sam had all these things but she was just a jerk to a lot of the other kids at her school. However, as the novel progresses, Sam begins to appreciate life more and see the mistakes that she has been making. I also loved that the book didn't have the normal, cookie-cutter happy ending. It was unexpected but the author took a different route than most other people would, which I liked. Overall, I thought Before I Fall had a great message, to appreciate every day, and I think the author executed her ideas flawlessly in a well-written story.

8 out of 10.

FTC: This book was provided to me through the Flamingnet Student Review Program.