Before I fall
Lauren Oliver
Young Adult
Published: 2010
5/5
On February 12th all Samantha Kingston is worried about is how she looks, what others think of her and of course losing her virginity to her incredibly hot boyfriend that she is sometimes still surprised wants her. However, not everything goes as planned after consuming too much alcohol Samantha and her friends leave the party and end up in a terrible accident.
The next morning Samantha wakes up in her bed, but it’s not Saturday like it should be, in fact it’s still February 12th and she’s late for school. Going through her day bewildered and confused she tries to unravel what happened on the night she thought she had already lived and died in. During the next seven Days Sam wakes up each morning, each day becoming closer to figuring out why she died, if she was supposed to die and trying desperately to figure out what is going on.
This is an epic adventure that really draws you in and grabs your attention. You cannot help but be horrified by Samantha Kingston and her friends as you read the book but the closer you get to the end of the book you learn more about each of them and why people aren’t always what they seem no matter how perfect they appear.
Samantha and many of the characters really develop quite a bit, Samantha of course developing the most as she’s the only one that’s re lived February 12th seven times and knows about it. She goes from being insecure and selfish to figuring out what is important and figuring out who she is and who she really was meant to be.
There are a whole host of Characters in this book that are directly affected both in good ways and bad ways by Samantha’s actions. There’s a very bad, bad, bad teacher, a girl who losing her spot in a competition because Samantha ends up making her late, there are new secrets spilt each day and Samantha kind of figures out who she really should be with and shares a passionate kiss with someone you least expect (a few times with a few different people)
It’s sad, it’s heartbreaking and it’s everything it should be. It’s a tale of self-discovery that you can’t help but feel in your own heart and in your own soul. It’s a world inside a world and it makes you question what really does happen when we die and what if we die when we’re not supposed too.
It for sure makes you want to live your life to the fullest. Don’t do what you think you should do, or what you think others want you to do. You are your own person and honestly, despite the 7day rerun in this story, you’re only going to live once. There is only one chance to do everything you want to and be who you want to be so go out there people and live your lives.
This story inspired me to travel, to try reading good books and maybe even try finishing the bad and it made me appreciate my Husband, my Family and my Friends a whole lot more. I didn’t get as emotional with this story as I’ve heard others have but it still touched me to the core of my being. I For sure recommend this book to anyone who thinks maybe they need to challenge their live and maybe they need something to inspire them to do so.
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