Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

(5/5 stars)

With this stunning debut novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver emerged as one of today's foremost authors of young adult fiction. Like Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Gayle Forman's If I Stay, Before I Fall raises thought-provoking questions about love, death, and how one person's life can affect so many others.

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives 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 ever imagined.

I love Lauren Oliver's books. So much. I liked the idea of this book so much, and it devastated me in the best possible way. 

What I liked: The writing is beautiful. Oliver knows how to string words together to make the most haunting and effective sentences. Also, the idea is super cool. It brings up that age old question of 'what would you do on your last day alive?'. It's also very Groundhog Day-esque in how Sam has to relive that day multiple times. I liked that it took Sam a couple tries before she finally got it, understood what was really going on. By the end of the book, she's such a completely different person and I'm in love with that character development. She doesn't take life for granted anymore, she tries to do everything right on her absolute final day. There's a sacrifice that was poetic and god, I cried like a baby. 

What I didn't like: I was a teeny tiny bit annoyed that she put up with so much stupidity from her friends and boyfriend for so long every day. And when I say every day, I mean that specific day she relives. I also can't say I'm super happy about the end. Which is weird because I thought it was perfect for Sam and the storyline, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Except, I did want it to end another way. Basically, I didn't want to cry so much. 

I don't want to over-rave because it'll take away from the book. But it's a beautiful message about life and humanity, and I one-thousand percent recommend it to everyone. You can even borrow my copy. That's how much I need people to read this.