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forevermorepages 's review for:
Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
I wrote four reviews today and I'm burnt out by now. Go me.
Trigger warning for suicide, self harm, eating disorders, and death
“So many things become beautiful when you really look.”
I was planning on writing an angry review cataloguing how much I hated this book, how all of the characters are selfish and horrible and bullies, but something changed when I finished it. Something changed when I hit the last chapter and last few pages and understood what had happened. I had witnessed some of the best character development I have ever read. Not to mention, this book literally made me cry, which is not common.
Before I Fall is something close to a masterpiece. Close. It's not one, and could probably use some fixing in parts, but it's close enough to render me speechless for a few minutes after finishing. I can't say much about the ending, just that I didn't see it coming, but understood it completely. There was some symbolism too and it was beautiful.
This book isn't about Sam, interestingly. I think it's about Juliet. I think it's about anybody Sam and her friends ever bullied and treated horribly for no reason whatsoever. And I also think that it's meant to show what could have happened to Sam herself as she was initially a girl that was bullied ("what's red and white and weird all over?"). I've never read a book so impactful that's about bullying and suicide. This hit me.
I'm not going to lie, I hated this book originally. I hated Sam and Lindsay and Elody and Ally. They were popular, which gave them rights to do whatever they wanted, no matter how crude or crass. I think I was supposed to hate them and boy did I. I also hated Oliver's constant use of "if you know what I mean". I don't like being pulled into the story in the way that I'm having a conversation with the character, it's disconcerting. Besides, how often do I know what she means?
Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to give this five stars because it took until the last chapter for me to really understand this book. It was also way too long. Contemporaries, no matter the fantasy elements, should never be longer than 350 pages. 470 was far too much and, while I was hooked the whole time, some parts definitely could have been cut out.
I highly recommend this book and it's going to take a lot to stop me from throwing it at nearly everybody I know. Don't fear if you hate the characters--you're supposed to. They're disgusting, but the character development, that's the important part.
“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.”
-Book Hugger
For more reviews, where I'm not like crying and a mess, check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com
Trigger warning for suicide, self harm, eating disorders, and death
“So many things become beautiful when you really look.”
I was planning on writing an angry review cataloguing how much I hated this book, how all of the characters are selfish and horrible and bullies, but something changed when I finished it. Something changed when I hit the last chapter and last few pages and understood what had happened. I had witnessed some of the best character development I have ever read. Not to mention, this book literally made me cry, which is not common.
Before I Fall is something close to a masterpiece. Close. It's not one, and could probably use some fixing in parts, but it's close enough to render me speechless for a few minutes after finishing. I can't say much about the ending, just that I didn't see it coming, but understood it completely. There was some symbolism too and it was beautiful.
This book isn't about Sam, interestingly. I think it's about Juliet. I think it's about anybody Sam and her friends ever bullied and treated horribly for no reason whatsoever. And I also think that it's meant to show what could have happened to Sam herself as she was initially a girl that was bullied ("what's red and white and weird all over?"). I've never read a book so impactful that's about bullying and suicide. This hit me.
I'm not going to lie, I hated this book originally. I hated Sam and Lindsay and Elody and Ally. They were popular, which gave them rights to do whatever they wanted, no matter how crude or crass. I think I was supposed to hate them and boy did I. I also hated Oliver's constant use of "if you know what I mean". I don't like being pulled into the story in the way that I'm having a conversation with the character, it's disconcerting. Besides, how often do I know what she means?
Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to give this five stars because it took until the last chapter for me to really understand this book. It was also way too long. Contemporaries, no matter the fantasy elements, should never be longer than 350 pages. 470 was far too much and, while I was hooked the whole time, some parts definitely could have been cut out.
I highly recommend this book and it's going to take a lot to stop me from throwing it at nearly everybody I know. Don't fear if you hate the characters--you're supposed to. They're disgusting, but the character development, that's the important part.
“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.”
-Book Hugger
For more reviews, where I'm not like crying and a mess, check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com