Monday, December 13, 2010

Before I Fall

Oliver, Lauren. Before I Fall. ISBN-10: 006172680x, ISBN-13: 9780061726804. HarperCollins. 2010.

Summary
Samantha is one of those popular girls, with perfect boyfriends and amazing friends, but she's also one of those girls so easy to hate because she is also very self-centered and ruthlessly mean. Unfortunately, she's dead. It seems her perfect life came to an abrupt end and she is given a chance—seven chances, actually—to change things in her life, to change the events that lead up to her death, and maybe to change her legacy for those she leaves behind.

Critical Evaluation
In the beginning of Before I Fall, Samantha is too perfect and too plastic. Most young adult readers will know someone like her, and will probably hate her. And that's why they should keep reading this book because, after her death, Samantha get a chance to become a better sister, better daughter, better person, as well as becoming a person that can die knowing she made better choices on the second, third… seventh time around. Readers will enjoy watching her mature and learn as her week progresses.

Reader's Annotation
Samantha is about to live the last day of her life again, and again. In one week, she will seduce a teacher, realize her dreamy boyfriend is less-than-dreamy, spend a ton of money using her parent's credit card, spend the day with her little sister and understand how actions and the reactions eventually lead-up to her death.

About the Author
Lauren Oliver is a person, and the actual writing of novels came after she received her Master's in Fine Arts from New York University. She worked in a major publishing house in New York before her debut novel, Before I Fall, was published in 2010. Oliver has written an second novel, Delirium, and it's slated to be released in early 2011.

Genre
Death/Dying
Girls/Women
Friendship

Challeneges
Alcohol Abuse
Sexual Content
Language

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
How would you handle knowing you died, and had to live your last day over and over…
If you could one day over and over, what day would it be and what would you do different..

Awards
Silver Prize in the German Audiences Book Award (2010)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
Before I Fall was "recommended" to me by a young adult reader.

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