Before I Fall

I just finished a really interesting book called Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver. This book would be appropriate for kids in high school and middle school, or even late elementary school kids who are advanced readers.
Samantha Kingston is the ultimate high school queen, with perfect friends, boyfriend, and reputation. Her best friends, Lindsay, Elody, and Ally, and her, are always together. Lindsay picks Samantha up and drives her to school like everyday. It just seems like a normal "Cupid Day" on February 12th, and Samantha goes to school like she owns the place. Everything goes normally, she pities the nerds in her chemistry, flirts with her teacher in calc, and gets a large bouquet of roses with little notes attached to them. On her way to lunch, she is invited to a party after school. She cuts 7th period with Lindsay like always, and then goes to Ally's house to prep for the party. At the party, things are normal, beer and vodka, boys and loud music. On the way home, Lindsay is drunk and driving, and crashes the car. Samantha dies, but wakes up the next morning, and it is February 12th again! She does the same thing for one week, until figuring out the mystery around her death.

This book was very suspenseful and kept me guessing at every page turn. For example, who would have thought that Samantha would keep "living" after she died. Even though it may not seem like it, this story is very true to life and easy to picture it actually happening. For example, when Samantha cuts 7th period to get frozen yogurt and sees Alex Liment cheating on his girlfriend.





(Sorry about the picture my webcam is like a mirror!!)