Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Teen
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Parental Advisory: drugs, alcohol, bullying, sex, suicide
Teachable Moments: honesty, respect, responsibility, relationship building, bullying, popularity, suicide, individuality

“You see, I was still looking for answers then.  I still wanted to know why.  As though somebody was going to answer that for me, as though any answer would be satisfying.

Not then, but afterward, I started to think about time, and how it keeps moving and draining and flowing forever forward, seconds into minutes into days into years, all of it leading to the same place, a current running forever in one direction.  And we’re all going and swimming as fast as we can, helping it along.

My point is:  maybe you an afford to wait.  Maybe for you there’s a tomorrow.  Maybe for you there’s one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you an bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers.  So much time you can waste it.

But for some of us there’s only today.  And the truth is, you never really know.”

Summary (from the publisher):
What if you had only one day to live?  What would you do?  Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all — looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend.  Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.  Instead, it’s her last.

The catch:  Samantha still wakes up the next morning.  In fact, she relives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

Opinion:
Before I Fall is one of those rare books that makes me actually feel the emotions of it’s characters down to the pit of my stomach. Despite the fantastical “groundhog day” plot of reliving the same day over and over there was a great deal of realism to this story.  Most specifically in the characterizations of Sam, her friends, family and the people she encounters at school.  The many situations she finds herself in — from navigating her romantic entanglements to managing her high maintenance girl friends — are what most teens would encounter as they wade through the murky waters of a high schooler.

Interestingly enough, Sam was part of a clique of friends who’s popularity was recognizable but not tremendously overt.  This allowed her to not only envision the mistake she’d made as part of the larger whole but also balance the good she did as an individual.  I found it quite enjoyable to see how, as each new day came upon her, she tipped the scales from being one of many to standing more on her own.  She began to fight more for what she truly believed in as opposed to towing the party line.  She truly became a better person as she attempted to change the final outcome of one extreme event in her life.

The diversity of supporting characters was equally enjoyable.  While her three friends were quite similar in their girlish charms and assertiveness each also had a unique quality and attribute that made her stand out from both Sam and each other.  In particular, Oliver did well with Lindsay, a girl who had the potential to be really obnoxious given her outlandish behavior.  However, despite that she was quite endearing and most certainly entertaining.

The men of her life, on the other hand, were quite different.  When we first meet Sam she is with her semi-meat head jock boyfriend Rob who’s primary goal is to get drunk and get her into bed.  Then, as the story progresses interaction between she and Kent, a slightly nerdish emo boy she’s known since childhood, blossoms. It’s not a triangle per se but the interaction she has with each does tend to give a reader the ability to root for one or the other.

Speaking of rootability, I found with each passing chapter that I my hopefulness for a certain outcome was increasing.  Sam was a girl with genuine desire to make a difference not only in her life but of the lives of those around her.  This made me like her as a character all the more.  I had the same hopes and dreams she did by the end of the story.  For obvious reasons (ie: not wanting to spoil the whole thing for you) I won’t clue you in to my ultimate opinion of the end of the story.  I can take that discussion off the blog if you’re interested.  But I will say that I did think that Oliver took great risks and didn’t cop out in the end.  Others may have gone a different route but I was pleased with the fact that she chose to write the end that she did.  I walked away from this book feeling satisfied.

Let me step back for one moment though, I’d like to clue readers into one small flaw of this book.  I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the story started out slowly for me.  The first two chapters were nuanced in such a way that the small differences between day one and day two made quite a bit seem redundant.  While, overall there is a consistent feeling of deja vu as the book is read I found myself constantly feeling confused in the first two chapters because I felt like I was still in the same place even though I knew I’d read it all before.  Good news is that from chapter three on Oliver took some larger strides and the progression of Sam’s endeavor kicked into high gear.  I felt the anxiety and the hopefulness she had with each passing day and by the end I was as breathless and emotional as this young girl trying to save her life was.

Before I Fall is definitely a book any reader should pick up.  There were lovely and important lessons to be learned about individuality, compassion and understanding weaved amongst the pages.  It had plenty of action for a boy and enough tenderness for a girl making it a well-rounded book for any audience of any age.  It was beautifully written, highly charged, and just an all around spectacular read.