Review: Before I Fall

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Released: October 2010
Pages: 470
Genre: Contemporary
Favourite Quote: “It's funny, isn't it? When you are young you just want to be old, and then later you wish you could go back to being a kid.” 
Add on GoodReads

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.

My Review

Initial Thoughts: To be honest, I'm not quite sure what I think about this book. It had some really good moments that kept me intrigued to keep reading and find out what happened but at the same time it also had moments where I could put the book down for long periods of time and not feel the need to read it. There were times when I would go to continue where I left off, but forgot what happened the last time I read it. And this was because it didn't keep me intrigued or entertained.

Before I Fall follows Samantha - she (along with her group) is the most popular girl in the school. She walks all over people, never caring for how she treats others. She'll happily change herself in order to fit into the 'popular' group. But after a car accident that cost her life, she is forced to relive the same day over and over again until she gets it right.

The Pros: I liked the main message in this novel - how everyone is able to change, whether it be for better or for worse. It was so nice to see Sam change and develop into a nicer person and attempt to fix her past mistakes. It also really shows you how everything can be taken away from you in an instant - in one moment, your life could be lost forever so it's best to stop being the person you are trying to be and instead be the person you are. 

The Cons: There is a bit that I didn't like a this novel. I often got bored at times, reliving the same day over and over again. I often got confused between the events of day 1 and if it happened in day 2. But then again, this could be because I wasn't very invested in this story too much. 

In the beginning of the novel, I found the main character to be very annoying (and that was because of her up her self attitude). I do not like reading about these types of characters as I hate how they only think of themselves and that is it. However, I guess this was necessary to show the character development of Samantha. 

Would I recommend this book? I would recommend this novel to those who do want a moving story to read about. It does tackle the topic of death so if your not prepared to read about car accidents and stuff like that then you may want to give this book a miss. I am happy I finished the novel - I particularly enjoyed the last half of the book. However the first half was very difficult for me to get through.