Review - Before I Fall

Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver

Just when I was beginning to think that there were no good YA books being released, along comes Before I Fall. What can I say? It really is as great as everybody says it is. For once, a book does live up to all the hype.

Samantha Kingston is the girl everybody wants to be... until she loses it all when she dies in a car crash. But she wakes up the next morning, very much alive, and discovers that she has a second chance. In fact, she has a whole week of second chances, in which she must solve a mystery surrounding her death and maybe -- just maybe -- alter destiny.

While it's not the most original premise (it's much like the movie Groundhog Day, which Sam actually makes reference to in the story), it's done so well that one can forgive the slight unoriginality of the plot. The writing is a treat; most of the characters are so well-developed that they practically leap off the page as living, breathing beings; and the story and character arc mesh perfectly to arrive at a conclusion that is neither expected nor a cop-out.

Before I Fall is one of the best YA books I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it.

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Originality: 4/5

Overall: 4.6 out of 5