Guest Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

"Before I Fall" is a story that revolves around 4 high school girls in their senior year. The main character in the story is Sam Kingston. Sam lives with her parents and younger sister. Sam is disconnected from her family but they continue to function as though this is normal. Sam's life is totally consumed with her 3 best friends and their activities. These girls are wrapped up in boyfriends, having sex, drinking to great excess, partying and being the coolest girls in school. The story takes place on one particular day in the life of these young women. The day involves various events that occur during the day and eventually lead up to a dramatic ending to that day. On the morning following this day, Sam awakens to find that she is living the day over again. This happens 6 more times. With each recurrence Sam makes different decisions and reacts in different ways. On the final replay of this momentous day, Sam comes to grips with life and makes decisions for herself that finally resolves her dilemma.

This is a serious story on many levels. I am saddened to think that this is life for high school girls. Unfortunately, it is probably much too true. I didn't see anything in any of these girls that made me like them, interested in them as people or enjoy getting to know them. They are selfish, arrogant, disrespectful and mean to other kids. They are drinking from the moment they get up until they go to bed. They are having sex. They are smoking, cutting classes, cheating on tests, basically living totally indulgent lifestyles. The reason I finished the book was because of the storyline. It was an interesting premise and I wanted to see how the storyline was resolved. I would only recommend this book to older teens, truly young adults.

~Janeth

Parents:  For more details on the content of this book, go to Before I Fall on Parental Book Reviews.