March 27, 2023 by Heather Flow (‘25)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver is a great book for those who love the coming-of-age, drama, and mystery genres. This book is one that will leave you thinking about it for days–and thinking about how to take advantage of your own life.
Samantha Kingston is a typical teenage girl. She’s popular, has a popular boyfriend, goes to parties, and is part of an inseparable friend group. What seems to be a perfect life changes when she dies in a car crash, only to wake up and relive the day she dies over and over. She goes through each day trying to figure out how to avoid the crash and get rid of the loop. Many reviewers and readers say the message of this book is to treat people with kindness because you never know what they’re going through. This is certainly true, but Before I Fall also contains a lot more.
It makes you realize that you should live every day to its fullest because you never know what day will be your last. It urges you to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. It begs that you don’t waste away your time with laziness or pointless matters. Oliver’s writing presses you to spend your time with the people you care about, and of course, treat everyone with kindness. Life is a precious thing, and it should be filled with what’s important. My favorite quote from the text perfectly illustrates this. Oliver writes, “maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you, there’s a tomorrow. Maybe for you, there’s one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it…So much time you can waste it. But for some of us, there’s only today. And the truth is, you never really know.” I highly recommend reading this book. Personally, it is my favorite book, and the movie adaptation is amazing as well. Before I Fall will teach you to not take life for granted and transform your view of life.