A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
If you got to live your last day again, what would you do with it?
My Review
I was excited to pick up this book having read a teaser for it in the back of Delirium. But I was also cautious because I loved Delirium but didn't really care for the rest of the trilogy. Brace yourselves, I may have loved Before I Fall even more than I loved Delirium.
Before I Fall starts of with Sam's typical day at school and we learn that her and her friends Lindsay, Ally and Elody aren't very nice people. They're your average popular bitches you hated at school. Think Mean Girls. Sam and her friends were the plastics. But even though I was reading about these people I didn't like, I wanted to follow them - much like the other characters in the book. I don't know whether this is because I never saw the popular side of school and it was amazing to me.
Of course, as you can imagine, as the book went on, I liked Sam, our protagonist, more and more as she realised that she wasn't good person. Sam stepped up and wanted to make sure people remembered her as a good person, even if she's only got that one day to turn it around. I forgave her as she hadn't realised before what she'd been doing to people. Her best friend Lindsay on the other hand, I hated more and more and more. She was cruel and a liar and I didn't want to read another sentence about her by the end of the novel. But as a contrast to Sam's character it was done beautifully. It was brilliant how much I hated her.
The actual plot itself was outstanding. When I realised it was like the film Groundhog Day I got stupidly excited. Oliver managed to find the perfect balance because amazingly, replaying this day over and over never got repetitive - well not in a bad way. If anything I got increasingly breathless with each repeat, the feeling of dread growing more and more intense. There were different details each time so I was constantly building up a picture of all the threads of this one day. It was incredible to think about all the different things happening at any given moment. It really made me stop and think. I was completely blown away by the description of how a person can feel in a moment. I've always admired Oliver's perfect description.
Evaluation
Plot - 10/10 - the most amazing idea
Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - day by day was the perfect way to do this
Characters - 8/10 - realistic
Style - 10/10 - I always love Oliver's description
Pace - 9/10 - chapters were a little long sometimes
Would I recommend it? - It was just awesome. Yes.
Would I look up the author? - Yes. I already have done but I've added another Oliver book, Panic, to my wish list!
Before I Fall was beautiful, thought-provoking, heart-warming and heart-breaking all at once.
Molly Looby
Author / Editor / Ghostwriter / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly.looby@hotmail.com
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