Reading Reflection: Before I Fall

Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
Published March 2nd 2010
P. 470
Rating: 3/5

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.

Is it possible to hate the lead character so much in the beginning of a novel that you wished she died?  Because I did.  And when Sam did die in the beginning I was like: GOOD RIDANCE!  I know, very harsh, but I hate mean girl bullies.  In high school I would've given her a black eye. 

My hatred for her almost stopped me from finishing the book, but I figured she died and came back for a reason.  I hoped it was to learn that it wasn't okay to be such a snobby b****.  I was right.  The whole book had a "Groundhog's Day" motif.  Sam went through a normal Friday, being a snob with her group of friends, but on their way home from a party her drunk best friend Lindsey swerved and hit a tree: hence Sam dying.  But, she woke up the next morning, actually the same day of her death: Friday.  She relived the day over and over again, each time learning or experiencing something new. 

The reason I finished the book is because sge did learn, it took her a few tries, but she finally got it.  She learned her idiot boyfriend was, well, an idiot.  She learned to accept her friends, faults and all.  She found real acceptance and adoration in her family and she experienced the inklings of real life.  She just bacame more aware and appreciative of her world in general.  By the end of the book I found myself rooting for her, the polar opposite of my initial feelings.  I wanted her to have all these experiences and learn.  She did, but just when I hoped for more... nothing.  These are the book endings where I wish I stopped reading just a few pages sooner.