This month, we read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. If you haven’t read this, I HIGHLY recommend it. One of the first books to make me SOB by the end, not to mention it also introduced me to the lovely Lauren Oliver. She is one of my all time favorites (see: Delirium Trilogy & Panic). Which fun fact: They just announced Panic is becoming a mini-series on Amazon…OBVIOUSLY I’m thrilled. But back to the book at hand. This is Groundhog Day meets Thirteen Reasons Why, in all the best ways. I can’t actually remember if I originally read this before Thirteen, or after, but I adored both of them. They have a way of making you acutely aware of your actions and how they effect others.
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this just as much as I did when I read it years ago. The first three or four days I could feel the frustration with Sam, and felt the helplessness as her day keeps repeating. The last two days are still my favorite. They are beautifully written and never fail to bring tears to my eyes (I promise I know what’s going to happen….but my heart gets the better of me!). Lauren writes the story in a way that you can feel for all of the characters. And she is constantly addressing the reader, making you realize that there are so many pieces in motion, and it’s so easy to become that person we hate. I also thought the intricate way the events changed due to simple variations was done SO WELL.
Read this. Love it. Bring tissues. And then tell me what you thought, because I can’t have enough love for this book!
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, roll around it, let it slide like coins through you fingers. So much time you can waste it.
But for some of us there’s only today. And the truth is, you never really know.
Remembered Deservedly 