Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver: A Review

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: October 2011
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 stars

~ The Scoop from Goodreads ~

What if you only had 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 turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

What I loved? The writing. Lauren Oliver has a way of sucking me and making me forget my own life. For that alone I will always be willing to read her stories. This particular one had been sitting on my shelf for nearly a year. It sounded sad. Doesn't it sound sad? And it is. But it's so much more than that.

In the beginning, there's a group of stuck up, b*tchy (yes, I really did just asterik that... lol) girls who are best friends. And they are not very nice people. They are mean to people just for the fact that they are different or just because. Honestly, I was almost done with the first day and I was thinking, Why do I care what happens to Sam? I mean, yeah, dying sucks, but I just don't like her. And then, came this:

"Is what I did really so much worse than what anybody else does? Is it really so much worse than what you do? Think about it."

I thought, Whoa. Wait a minute. Did she really just make me rethink it? Here I was judging her and her actions and not liking her... how did that make me much different from her? So I opened my mind a bit and read on. By the time I got near the end I was so anxious. Was Lauren Oliver going to rip my heart out? She had already broken it numerous times... but would she rip out completely and do a Mexican Hat Dance on it or help it get mended? (I won't say which happened...)

Needless to say Sam grows as a character. It wouldn't be a story if she was a complete and total b*tch the entire time. We have various characters throughout the story, some of which I didn't care for and some I cared for very much. Sam's boyfriend, Rob, is a grade-A tool. I mean, she can only be with him for the 'status' that comes with it, and that right there says so much about her state of mind. She doesn't care enough about herself to be with someone who would treat her like she should be and appreciate her for all she is, or all that she could be. Her best friend, Lindsey, isn't the nicest person either. The more I found out about her the less I liked her... until Lauren Oliver started peeling back the layers. Most of the characters in the forefront of the story had more than the superficial facade we first see at the beginning. I started to see them for more of who they really are or who they want to be than who they portrayed themselves as throughout.


As I said, I wasn't sure how my heart was going to feel when I was done, nor was I sure if I was going to need a full box or a half a box of Kleenex. So. Emotional. Heart-wrenching. Unnecessarily necessarily so. It's not action packed, it's not an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller. It's character driven. It's about evolving and acceptance and friendship and love. And it should make you think... if I were to die tonight have I lived today as I would want to be remembered? Have I shown love, compassion, happiness, or kindness to others? I realize that's dripping with sappiness, so hopefully it doesn't pour out and make your screen sticky. But really. I can guarantee that I don't act the way I probably should every day. But the next day isn't always guaranteed. Not that we don't know that, but it helps to be reminded of that. I think.

Read it. Love it. Or hate it. Personally, I loved it.

Have you read it? If so, what'd you think? If you haven't read it, do you think you will?

Smiles,
B

Memorable Monday ~ Before I Fall

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book.  I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays.  I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate?  It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below.  If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote.  Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog.  :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time.  It's always nice to have visitors.  There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks.  Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice:

“Here's one of the things I learned that morning: if you cross a line and nothing happens, the line loses meaning. It's like that old riddle about a tree falling in a forest, and whether it makes a sound if there's no one around to hear it.

You keep drawing a line farther and farther away, crossing it every time. That's how people end up stepping off the edge of the earth. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to bust out of orbit, to spin out to a place where no one can touch you. To lose yourself--to get lost.

Or maybe you wouldn't be surprised. Maybe some of you already know.

To those people, I can only say: I'm sorry.”  

And...

“I shiver, thinking how easy it is to be totally wrong about people-to see one tiny part of them and confuse it for the whole, to see the cause and think it's the effect or vice versa”  

Any quotes strike you recently?

Smiles,
B 

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

 

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I'm more than halfway thru this one. I'm not going to lie, I started out hating the main character... well, strongly disliking and not caring much what happens to her one way or the other. Now I find myself hoping it ends differently.

Recently Finished

 

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

  I was a little disappointed with this one. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. In a nutshell I wasn't drawn into the story and ended up not caring about what happens next. (You can read my full review if you're interested.)

Might Read Next

 

Splintered by AG Howard

I've had an eGalley of this for some time and haven't gotten around to it. I am really hoping to get to it next. :) Malissa wants to read it, too, so hopefully hers comes in the mail soon and we can read it together. 

Thanks for stopping by... share with us... what have you been reading? Have you enjoyed your latest reads?

Smiles,

B

   

Memorable Monday ~ Before I Fall

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book.  I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays.  I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate?  It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below.  If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote.  Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog.  :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time.  It's always nice to have visitors.  There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks.  Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice:

 

"Is what I did really so much worse than what anybody else does? Is it really so much worse than what you do? Think about it."

This quote struck me because the entire time I was reading up to this point I kept thinking about how the narrator is not that nice of a person. I read this and thought holy schnikies... she was just mean to me. But, I got to thinking about myself, especially as a teenager, and realized that there were definitely some things I did that wouldn't exactly be considered "nice". So yeah... it made me re-think how I felt about her. :)

Any quotes strike you recently?

Smiles,
B

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading



I've had this book for a while, but I'm now reading it and loving it. ♥

Recently Finished

   

Both of these are wonderful. Code Name Verity is probably is beautifully written and amazing. Let it Snow is fun and light-hearted (definitely a change of pace from the other!)

Might Read Next

  

Paper Valentine & The Madness Underneath both I received from Net Galley. I want to read and review them soon. I have had Before I Fall for nearly a year now and I want to read it! :)

What books are you reading right now?

Smiles,
B