Twelfth Book of Christmas: Before I Fall

You wanna know a secret? Well, the reason I picked this book for my twelfth and last book (for a supposedly year-ender personal reading challenge) is that I am head-over-heels in love with Lauren Oliver. And her writing prowess. I mean, have you read the Delirium Trilogy yet? No? Well, you're the lamest person EVER. Seriously, you have to read it. And this book, too! :)

So...

"What if you only had one day to live? What
would you do? Who would you kiss? And how
far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity,
the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12,
should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next
morning. Living the last day of her life seven
times during one miraculous week, she will
untangle the mystery surrounding her death—
and discover the true value of everything she
is in danger of losing."

Ok, I must admit I didn't like it at first. What, with all the high school drama when popularity and partying and drinking and smoking and being included in the "cool" crowd and losing your virginity and all-the-other-prohibited-things-that-teenagers-shouldn't-do-but-still-do-anyway were the first priority, I almost gave up on it. And the fact that Samantha Kingston or Sam─the heroine─was a little mean and conceited and self-centered (at least at first) didn't help much, either that I thought of just throwing the book in the corner and move on with my life. It was lots-of-grumbling-hair-pulling-and-tsk-tsk-ing frustrating.

But as I kept reading it (what, did you really believe I'd give up on it just like that?), I understood that Sam was on a life-changing transition. It was hard enough for her to accept her death let alone to live her last day on earth over and over and over again. Soon the frustration was slowly morphing into excitement then love. As Sam realized─little by little─the whole getting stuck in a "limbo" and why she was given seven chances to relive February 12, as soon as she realized that it was not even her story to tell, I, too am enlightened and I just couldn't help but be dumbfounded by it. (Tip: Stick through the rocky first chapter because until you see the whole scenario will you understand why it was written there and while you're at it, ponder on the things you're reading. Ask yourself, are you the Sam or Lindsay or Juliet or Kent of this world? Just think about it.)

I was completely blown away by this book. I love that Sam underwent change in a rather slow manner because that's how changes suppose to take place, right? It is a series of self-development and realizations and it most certainly doesn't happen overnight. And Sam truly changed for the better not until on the seventh Cupid Day.

Reading this book was like one emotional roller coaster ride. It made me frustrated (mostly Sam's fault), made me roll my eyeballs too many times (Lindsay's), made me cringe (Alex's), chuckle (Mr. Daimler's), smile (Kent's), wistful (Juliet's and Sam's), cry (Izzy's), and cry some more (Kent's and Sam's) at the ending. I loved how it ended by the way─I couldn't think of a better ending than that─but then I was actually, secretly kinda rooting for Sam to have a second chance in life. To live again and be the good sister/daughter that she was to Izzy and her parents, the better girl friend  to Lindsay, Ally and Elody (who wouldn't tolerate but would call crap on their stupidities), and to be the best person to everyone (without thinking highly of herself).

I highly recommend Before I Fall for everyone. I know I said in my previous post I don't particularly like reading about teenagers doing horrible things, though we can always make an exception to the rule, right? And this Lauren Oliver debut completely deserves the exception. I dunno if it is possible to fall in love even more with  someone (rather with her writing style) but I think I do now. Lauren Oliver is the prodigy.

Respect,
Joey

PS. I wrote this review in between breaks from work so excuse if my thoughts were all over the place as well as the grammatical errors. :)