Before I Fall: Book Review

Author: Lauren Oliver

Genre: Fiction

*contains spoilers*

Hey Guys! Today I want to discuss the great book Before I Fall. A movie adaptation of this was released in 2017 is that rings a bell. Anyway, although I have heard several negative reviews on this book, I found it to actually be really good. This book is definitely meant for a more mature audience, though. There’s a lot of sexual content (blegh) and some drug and alcohol use.

The plot for this book is very unique. Basically, the main character, Samantha “Sam” Kingston is killed in a car accident. But instead of dying, she keeps reliving that same day over and over again. The book is mostly about what Sam does during those days. That might seem like a kind of basic plot, but there is immense character growth for Samantha. At the beginning of the book, she starts off as a total brat. She has no respect for her superiors and she is a complete bully to her fellow classmates. Plus, she is part of the “popular group” at school. There is one girl in particular whom Sam and her friends, particularly her friend Lindsay, constantly bully whose name is Juliet Sykes. Eventually, Sam finds out that the reason her car accident happened was because Juliet threw herself in front of their car in an effort to kill herself.

This discovery leads Samantha to try and prevent Juliet from killing herself but fails. Eventually, Samantha is able to save Juliet by being hit by the car herself instead. And that’s the ending. So yeah, Sam dies.

Of course, that’s not all there is to the plot. Sam has lots of relationships that are improved throughout the book such as her parents, her sister, and her friends. Plus, she breaks up with her idiot boyfriend, Rob, and falls in love with a way better guy.

So that’s the basic gist of the story. I really liked it. Not only is it interesting, but it also presents good moral ideas such as valuing life and family. The only thing that I did not like is that Sam dies. Why does the main character have to die?! It just doesn’t make sense to me. Overall I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this book as much as I did. Thx! xoxo

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