Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Goodreads Summary
What if you had only 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: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day 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. 

My Thoughts
I've heard quite a few great things about this book and I loved Oliver's Delirium but it took me some time to pick this one up. I'm so glad I finally did.

At first, I thought the hype was unwarranted. The first few chapters just felt like we were dealing with some snotty popular girls who were fairly unlikeable. As Sam starts to replay the last day of her life, everything changed. Oliver does a great job of showing the gradual changes that Sam makes as she begins to connect the dots from her behavior to the behavior and feelings of others. As she strives to change her way of thinking and her behavior, I fell more in love with her.

Her growth was slow enough to be frustrating but I felt that was fairly accurate with her being a spoiled teenage girl because, hey, they are a stubborn bunch. The portrayal of high school was scarily accurate. I'd never really been bullied and I sure wasn't popular but I still felt as though I'd been transported back 10 years to high school. Oliver writes beautifully, the words just flow like water down a stream and makes it so easy to get caught up in the story.

If you are one of the, what, 3 people who haven't read this book. Go do it now. Seriously.