Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Romance, Death, Time-Travel
Pages: 470
Publisher: HarperCollins
Before I Fall follows Samantha Kingston's last day -- Well, her last day seven different ways. I've never been a huge fan of dying books, but this one painted it a little differently.
Samantha Kingston is killed in a car accident after a party. Before she completely leaves this world, she relives her last day seven times. Each time she makes different choices and learns a little more about the people she's leaving behind.
I enjoyed Oliver's ability to show people as the complex beings they are. Initially, the book starts with a very typical day of a popular high school girl. I was honestly really annoyed and didn't enjoy reliving the stereotypes of high school. But as the book progresses, it shows each character a little more complexly. Because the focus was on imagining people complexly, the book avoided becoming too didactic. Even though it does carry some heavy morals (Like, I don't know, don't drink and drive, don't have sex, don't put up with a crappy boyfriend, spend time with your family, be nice to people, to name just a few) it's not weighed down by them. The morals happen as a result of the storytelling, not the other way round.
Good read. Thought-provoking. Good characters.
Follow Lauren Oliver on Twitter @OliverBooks.
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