Before I Fall

This is the first book of Oliver's that I've read, and I want to read more of her! Great summer beach book.

[8th Grade]

I read this as an alternate project. The class was reading “To Kill A Mockingbird”, but my mom felt I was too young to read it so requested that the teacher give me an alternate assignment. The assignment was this book.

I finished it in the span of a few hours in a literal (hi welcome to) Chili's. This book was just so moving and emotional that it took a lot of will to not cry in the restaurant. This book taught me to value your family, friends, and every day you have as if it's your last.

The assignment was to write an essay on how the plot of the book changed me as a reader and how the characters decisions influenced me as a person. I never did the assignment.

I've read it before, but I liked it better this time. Even though it's still unsatisfying, it's still so much better than Delirium and makes me hope that Lauren Oliver will write more contemporary things.

i'm emotionally compromised at 11 am and kent is the Best Boy

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The dialogue and characters in this book were so realistic and complex. I like that samantha and her friends were mean but not cartoonish mean girls level. They were realistic with feelings and their own issues in their lives under the surface. I also like the whole theme around death, realizing and fixing your mistakes, and appreciating life.

My favorite character was Samantha's friend, Eloddy. Although I wish we chore to see more of her and explore who she really was. She felt more than just the party girl.

Overall, I really like this book and glad this got a movie.

update: 17/10/2020: watched the movie and LOVED it and its kinda made me change my view on the book a lil. I'm raising it up one star :)

I have a feeling the movie will be better. It was an alright book, didn't like it or dislike it.
The main character is stupid. Thats all I have to say,,, I only read this so I could watch the movie but I don't regret reading it. It made me think about death and how it affects others. I'm excited to watch the movie now :)

Stayed up til 3:30 AM to finish it. Fucked me up a little. I was reading it at the gym and had to stop because I started crying. I had a lot of feelings about this book.

This is sort of “Groundhog's Day” meets “Thirteen Reason's Why. “ It follows some of the “ Mean Girls” at school and the change of heart one of them experiences following a car crash. I found some of the mean girl behavior disturbingly accurate and it's a painful story at some points. The ending not quite what I expected but still got it's point across.

Samantha Kingston mengalami kecelakaan mobil ketika pulang dari pesta Kent, bersama 3 sahabatnya, Lindsay, Elody & Ally. Namun ketika bangun keesokan harinya dia menemukan dirinya berada di pagi hari jumat, sebelum kecelakaan itu terjadi. Jadilah dia mengulang kembali hari jumat itu. Itu terjadi terus, setiap malam, entah seperti apapun malamnya berakhir, dia kembali ke pagu hari jumat. Apa yang sebenarnya terjadi? ADakah sesuatu yang seharusnya dia lakukan atau tidak dia lakukan?
Buku ini cukup bagus menurutku, untuk remaja, begitu banyak pesan yg terselip di dalamnya. Sayangnya belum ada terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia nya. Endingnya juga cukup mengharukan.

Intriguing premise mostly plays out like an after school special. Got it on Audible because it got good reviews and is going to be a movie. I imagine it'll be better as a movie. As a book it's ... YA I guess. I've gotten used to expecting that popular YA resonate with adults as well as kids but this feels mostly like sure, I guess a teen might get something out of it.

That's the way I feel, at least: like there's a real me and a reflection of me, and I have no way of telling which is which.

Excellent book, but the ending felt unearned.

Though not without its weak points, BIF was filled with bits of life's joy. I found a lot of the dialogue trite in the beginning, but the book fleshed itself out as the story progressed. A YA vibe permeated the entirety of the book but not it's detriment.

Connecticut – Part of my United States of YA project to read (at least) one YA per state.

I just finished and I can't even think of what to write in the review. I will say I almost wept at several points in the last 30% of the book, which is not something that a book can often move me to do.

Loved this book. Love how complex the characters are, even the ones who seem like they're going to be one-dimensional.

(reread 5/27/12)

I dare anyone to put this book down.
I couldn't.
My own deadline was on hold for a day while I devoured this poignant story from cover to cover.

“What if you only had one day to live...“
For teenager Sam Kingston, she finds out.

Had a lump in my throat several times.
Great read.

I don't know where to begin with this one. So very well written, so very dark and sad and hopeful. Throughout the book I was not a fan of Sam. I didn't think she deserved to die, but I wouldn't want to be friends with her. However, at some point near the end I found myself loving her, rooting for her, feeling her pain & confusion. I wish that Oliver had developed Juliet a little more and maybe Lindsay a little less, but this book shook me.