Chuyển đến nội dung chính

Before I Fall

Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver


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. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

Here are two things you should know: 1) I don't read realistic fiction. 2) I hate, hate, hate stories (in book form, TV shows, movies) that show the same events over and over from various perspectives, or in a "what if this one teensys detail had changed?" sorts of ways.

Having gotten those out of the way, I can tell you that even though this book was both of those, I LOVED it. I can't honestly say why it was so gripping. I mean, if you broke it down, probably 30% of this pretty long book consists of a fairly bitchy girl drinking coffee in an SUV with her fairly bitchy friends. And most of the rest of it is her taking high school classes, not quite fighting with her boyfriend, and attending the same drunken party. On paper, what's to like?

As it turns out, lots. It's a fantastic character study, a really honest look at teenage life that rings entirely true (at least to someone who left high school a few years ago). In a completely non-preachy/judgemental way, this book finds ways to discuss popularity, cliques, social pressures, growing up, identity, friendship, relationships.... I could go on and on, but that would probably make the book seem much duller than it is.

In any case, Samantha's journey is, at various times, frustrating, funny, heartbreaking, romantic, terrifying and triumphant. If you were a popular kid, a geek, or even an "average" kid in high school, this book will stick with you for a long time.

Nhận xét

Đăng nhận xét

Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

Flashes by Tim O' Rourke - Blog Tour!

Summary from Goodreads Flashes is the first in a new series of YA paranormal crime novels in which a 17-year-old girl cannot help seeing glimpses of dead people who seem to want her aid - much to the consternation of her boyfriend, who has just started work for the local CID. ***This is the full paperback novel--which was originally released in three separate parts over the course of three months via ebook. Paperback , 352 pages Published June 5th 2014 by Chicken House Ltd  My Review Wow! Flashes is an extraordinary crime/thriller with a fantastic supernatural twist. I loved so much about it and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I sussed out the mystery quite early on. Saying that, it still thrilled and excited me seeing everything unravel for main character, Charley. I really really liked Charley. She's a bit of a loaner but is strong willed and really down-to-earth. After the death of her best-friend, her life seems to fall in around h...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge - Blog Tour!

Summary from Goodreads The first things to shift were the doll's eyes, the beautiful grey-green glass eyes. Slowly they swivelled, until their gaze was resting on Triss's face. Then the tiny mouth moved, opened to speak. 'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.' When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on ...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Waiting on Wednesday #74

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine , that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.   This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Half Wild by Sally Green Summary from Goodreads After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him. Meanwhile, Soul O’Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fight...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm