Book Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

One of my favorite books is Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I have read and re-read this book many times and each time I love it even more. Books can really have the ability to impact your life, and Before I Fall has definitely given me a new outlook on my life. This book has made me want to appreciate not only the people around me, but the things I have, even more than I used to.

In Before I Fall, the main character is Sam Kingston, a not-so-nice popular girl in her senior year of high school. Sam believes February 12th will be like just any other day in her life. On the way home from a party that night, Sam and her best friends get into a terrible car accident, and Sam doesn’t survive. The catch is she wakes up the next day. Sam relives that day in one miraculous week until she realizes just how much she was taking for granted in her life, and how poorly she and her friends treated other people.

All the other characters bring something great to this book. Lindsey is the “ringleader” of the group of friends. She is the most cruel out the group, yet Sam argues that Lindsey is fiercely loyal to her friends, and she makes you feel special if you’re around her. Elody and Ally are the other two girls in the group of friends. Just like Sam, they appear to just follow along with whatever scheme Lindsey has, not thinking about how much they are affecting and hurting people.  Izzy is Sam’s 8 year old sister, who at the beginning of the novel, Sam sees as a pest. But then as the story continues, Sam realizes how she is going to miss getting to see Izzy grow up.

This book is not one of those common yet cheesy books about mean girls in high school. Before I Fall is relatable, and it is also heartfelt yet hilarious. I feel like many people my age don’t like to read or maybe they just don’t have enough time to; but I feel that this is one of those books that teens have to check out. (Though I would not recommend it to people under the age of twelve….)