Before I fall (Lauren Oliver)

So here's another review of one of my favorite books. Since I'm still kind of scared of reviewing long and epic fantasy book series with a complex world and a huge amount of characters, this one is for another contemporary book. I've read this way over a year ago and can't remember all the details, so I'm sorry if I mess anything up.

Before I fall follows 17-year-old Samantha Kingston, who has seemingly everything you want: she's pretty, is one of the most popular girls in her High School and dates the perfect guy. But on Valentine's day she gets into a fatal car accident after leaving a party with her drunk friends and instead of dying straight away, she awakes on the exact same day again and is forced to relive it seven times. This gives her the opportunity to change her perspective, rethink her actions and be fearless in standing up for what she believes in, because she has nothing left to lose.

"So many things become beautiful when you really look."

I have to admit that at first this book kind of had a Groundhog day vibe, and while that movie and its concept bored me so much I couldn't bear watching it longer than 15 minutes (and it was incredible predictable as well), this book was a completely new reading experience for me and definitely not an average contemporary novel with just a cute romance in it. I was sobbing throughout the entire time reading this really touching book and honestly couldn't put it down. I also loved seeing the huge and powerful character development Sam went through and the way her priorities and actions changed during every time she relived that day. But most important, the story really made me think about all the times I unintentionally hurt the people around me with my words and behavior and what actual damage I could cause without even meaning to, because the story is so realistic. I was able to relate a lot of the things that happened, but also characters to the real actions and people I see nearly every day in my school, so finishing the book left me with such a weird feeling and a different view on the way people are treated not just in school, but in general and what kind of consequences it can have. Apart from that, the most important topic in this book definitely is how unlasting your life actually is, and that really made me appreciate the now I'm living in and helped me to stop worrying about the past as well as the future quite a bit. I loved the small piece of text on the very first page of the book, probably because it reminded me so much of someone important to me I lost some time ago, but it's way too beautiful to not feature it here anyway:

"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it. 

But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

Rating: 4.5/5 ✹

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this review and might check the book out. And I promise you, even if you didn't enjoyed Lauren Oliver's Delirium series, you'll like this story a lot more!
I hope you're having a great day,

Leah

We probably won't be able to post regularly because we're quite busy studying for upcoming tests. We'll do our best to post as often as possible!