The Eye Opening, Before I Fall

By Kaila T.

            The book Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver is extremely eye opening for the reader. In the story there is four friends named Samantha, Ally, Lindsey, and Elody. Samantha spent most of her school years being average, and often not noticed. Samantha's life changes drastically during seventh grade when she was finally noticed. The "it" girl Lindsey had taken interest in Samantha and took her under her wing. Lindsey was one of the most popular girls in the school, and was someone who did whatever they pleased. The whole story takes place in one day which is extremely important to the girls. The day is Cupids Day which is when the school celebrates Valentine's Day, and roses are handed out to the most popular students. When the roses are handed out a written note is attached to the rose. Since the four friends are extremely popular there is no doubt they will be receiving roses, but it's not so easy for the less popular students. A key character in the story is Lindsey's ex childhood friend Juliet Syke's. Juliet holds a secret of Lindsey's past which makes her Lindsey's number one target. Throughout the book you see how the characters develop and how they realize their wrong doings. As the characters grow, you will find yourself growing with them.

            Before I fall was an outstanding read. What I really liked about the book was how the whole entire book was based on "what if?" I found myself being able to relate with Samantha in the story because of the real life situations she faces. I thought Lauren Oliver did a great job with creating the character Samantha. Being a typical senior in High School Sam is self-absorbed and takes everything for granted. Her character is someone many people can relate to, and it can be eye opening to readers. Although for the most part I liked the book I wasn't fond of the ending. At the end of the book I felt unsure and left with many questions. When finishing the story I was hoping for a storybook ending for the character Sam. While the character Sam was at peace, I wasn't and was hoping for a different ending. For the most part though, I would definitely recommend this book especially to teenage girls. I really enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing and if you do she has another book called Delirium. You can find the book Before I fall online (for example amazon), or your local library.

                470 pages. Veer Incorporated. 2009.