Samantha and her friends are in a car accident, killing her and sending her into a week of reliving one day. This book will make you think about how you treat others and how your actions affect others in ways you can’t even imagine. Each time she relives the day she makes changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes creating horrible outcomes. I would recommend this book for high school only. It contains sex scenes/alchohol use and some pretty mean girls! It was well written and her ultimate last day is uplifting and worth the read.
Review by Kaydean Judy, Granger High School Media Center
Rating: 5 Stars
Interest Level: Grades 10-12
Before I Fall
Written by Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins
470 p.
Release Date: Mar 2, 2010
ISBN: 9780061726804
http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com
Editor’s Bonus Note:
Lauren Oliver’s second novel, Delirium, was just released this week. It appears to have that futuristic dystopian doomed romance flavor which a lot of the kids are liking these days. Check it out for your high schools.
I loved this book and have suggested it to several students. It reminds me of Ground Hog Day, one of my favorite movies. Sam relives the last day of her life 7 times, each time she learns something more about life and what is truly important. Sometimes she changes things and things turn out better, sometimes they turn out worse, but each time she grows. I have to admit I didn’t like her much in the beginning, but by the end I felt bad that she couldn’t change the fact that she was dead.