Recent Read: Before I Fall

Sam Kingston has the life most people at her school dream about: she's pretty, she has a hot boyfriend, and she's about as popular as it gets. Sam has no idea that when she wakes up on the morning of Cupid Day, it will be the last day of her life...but it won't be last time she wakes up. Over and over, Sam relives the last day of her life, and she starts to see her life with different eyes, coming to recognize what really matters.

Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall was so well done. I wasn't sure at the beginning because I so disliked the mean girl protagonist & friends (at one point she asks, "is it really so much worse than what you do?" to which i rolled my eyes and thought, "Yes, It is so much worse than anything I have ever done"), but as the book progresses, I got to know these girls--good and bad--and came to like them in spite of myself. Even better, I got to see Sam grow and transform in a convincing and meaningful way (one of the best character arcs I've read recently). I loved how it highlights both the beautiful things in life we take for granted and the things that actually matter. The teen voice is spot-on. The message/theme is similar to that of 13 Reasons Why, but the book is far, far superior.